# United States Code/Title 47/Chapter 12/Section 1304

§ 1304. Encouraging State initiatives to improve broadband
(a) Purposes. The purposes of any grant under subsection (b) are--
* to ensure that all citizens and businesses in a State have access to affordable and reliable broadband service;
* to achieve improved technology literacy, increased computer ownership, and broadband use among such citizens and businesses;
* to establish and empower local grassroots technology teams in each State to plan for improved technology use across multiple community sectors; and
* to establish and sustain an environment ripe for broadband services and information technology investment.
(b) Establishment of State broadband data and development grant program.
* In general. The Secretary of Commerce shall award grants, taking into account the results of the peer review process under subsection (d), to eligible entities for the development and implementation of statewide initiatives to identify and track the availability and adoption of broadband services within each State.
* Competitive basis. Any grant under subsection (b) shall be awarded on a competitive basis.
(c) Eligibility. To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (b), an eligible entity shall--
* submit an application to the Secretary of Commerce, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require;
* contribute matching non-Federal funds in an amount equal to not less than 20 percent of the total amount of the grant; and
* agree to comply with confidentiality requirements in subsection (h)(2) of this section.
(d) Peer review; nondisclosure.
* In general. The Secretary shall by regulation require appropriate technical and scientific peer review of applications made for grants under this section.
* Review procedures. The regulations required under paragraph (1) shall require that any technical and scientific peer review group--
(e) Use of funds. A grant awarded to an eligible entity under subsection (b) shall be used--
* to provide a baseline assessment of broadband service deployment in each State;
* to identify and track--
* to identify barriers to the adoption by individuals and businesses of broadband service and related information technology services, including whether or not--
* to identify the speeds of broadband connections made available to individuals and businesses within the State, and, at a minimum, to rely on the data rate benchmarks for broadband service utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed tiers, to promote greater consistency of data among the States;
* to create and facilitate in each county or designated region in a State a local technology planning team--
* to work collaboratively with broadband service providers and information technology companies to encourage deployment and use, especially in unserved areas and areas in which broadband penetration is significantly below the national average, through the use of local demand aggregation, mapping analysis, and the creation of market intelligence to improve the business case for providers to deploy;
* to establish programs to improve computer ownership and Internet access for unserved areas and areas in which broadband penetration is significantly below the national average;
* to collect and analyze detailed market data concerning the use and demand for broadband service and related information technology services;
* to facilitate information exchange regarding the use and demand for broadband services between public and private sectors; and
* to create within each State a geographic inventory map of broadband service, including the data rate benchmarks for broadband service utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed tiers, which shall--
(f) Participation limit. For each State, an eligible entity may not receive a new grant under this section to fund the activities described in subsection (d) within such State if such organization obtained prior grant awards under this section to fund the same activities in that State in each of the previous 4 consecutive years.
(g) Reporting; broadband inventory map. The Secretary of Commerce shall--
* require each recipient of a grant under subsection (b) to submit a report on the use of the funds provided by the grant; and
* create a web page on the Department of Commerce website that aggregates relevant information made available to the public by grant recipients, including, where appropriate, hypertext links to any geographic inventory maps created by grant recipients under subsection (e)(10).
(h) Access to aggregate data.
* In general. Subject to paragraph (2), the Commission shall provide eligible entities access, in electronic form, to aggregate data collected by the Commission based on the Form 477 submissions of broadband service providers.
* Limitation. Notwithstanding any provision of Federal or State law to the contrary, an eligible entity shall treat any matter that is a trade secret, commercial or financial information, or privileged or confidential, as a record not subject to public disclosure except as otherwise mutually agreed to by the broadband service provider and the eligible entity. This paragraph applies only to information submitted by the Commission or a broadband provider to carry out the provisions of this title and shall not otherwise limit or affect the rules governing public disclosure of information collected by any Federal or State entity under any other Federal or State law or regulation.
(i) Definitions. In this section:
* Commission. The term "Commission" means the Federal Communications Commission.
* Eligible entity. The term "eligible entity" means--
(j) No regulatory authority. Nothing in this section shall be construed as giving any public or private entity established or affected by this title any regulatory jurisdiction or oversight authority over providers of broadband services or information technology.