II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4331 

To preserve Indian Tribes’ and Native Hawaiian organizations’ autonomy 

of access to spectrum over Tribal lands and expedite immediate deployment of telecommunications services for critical government services, 

including national emergencies, natural disasters, public health and biohazard threats, safety, education, opportunity to participate in the 

broadband economy, self-governance, access to Federal, State, and Tribal 

voting and elections, and the Federal census count, for the protection 

of life and property in furtherance of the Federal trust responsibility, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2020 

Ms. WARREN (for herself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To preserve Indian Tribes’ and Native Hawaiian organizations’ autonomy of access to spectrum over Tribal lands 

and expedite immediate deployment of telecommunications services for critical government services, including 

national emergencies, natural disasters, public health and 

biohazard threats, safety, education, opportunity to participate in the broadband economy, self-governance, access to Federal, State, and Tribal voting and elections, 

and the Federal census count, for the protection of life 

and property in furtherance of the Federal trust responsibility, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Deploying the Internet 

5 by Guaranteeing Indian Tribes Autonomy over Licensing 

6 on Reservations Act’’ or the ‘‘DIGITAL Reservations 

7 Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

9 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 4. Indian Tribes’ and Native Hawaiian organizations’ exclusive right to all 

available or unlicensed electromagnetic spectrum over Tribal 

lands. 

Sec. 5. Access to spectrum over Tribal lands. 

Sec. 6. Existing spectrum licenses and spectrum over Tribal lands. 

Sec. 7. Tribal Broadband Fund. 

Sec. 8. Directing the Commission to engage in rulemaking proceedings for 

broadband development on Tribal lands. 

Sec. 9. Technical assistance for spectrum management, contractual agreements, 

and procedural requirements. 

Sec. 10. Annual reporting requirements. 

Sec. 11. Definitions. 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

11 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

12 (1) Indian Tribes are sovereign nations that are 

13 independent and legally distinct political bodies that 

14 exercise self-governance with the inherent power to 

15 control their internal relations including natural re16 source development and management of assets, in17 cluding spectrum over Tribal lands. 


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1 (2) This longstanding precedent established ter2 ritorial sovereignty through distinct and separate ju3 risdictions in which Indian Tribes retain their sov4 ereign power to control their internal relations and 

5 protect Tribal self-governance within designated 

6 Tribal lands or reservations. 

7 (3) Tribal lands were established during the 

8 ‘‘Allotment’’ or ‘‘Reservation’’ era of Federal Indian 

9 law and policy (1871–1928) when the Federal Gov10 ernment significantly narrowed the control and 

11 rights of Indian Tribes through the unilateral acqui12 sition of Tribal lands and resources, then subse13 quently gave the rights to this property to non-In14 dian settlers. 

15 (4) Under the General Allotment Act of 1887, 

16 Tribal members were forced to surrender their pre17 viously undivided interest in Tribally owned trust es18 tate for individually assigned land interests creating 

19 permanently divided land allotments on Tribal lands, 

20 and further coercing Native Americans into assimila21 tion and dependency on the Federal Government, 

22 thus depriving them of their traditional economies. 

23 (5) Congress has acknowledged that this Res24 ervation Era policy is widely known as failed Federal 

25 policy that established individual non-Indian land 


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1 holdings on reservations resulting in checkerboarded 

2 Tribal lands that cause complex jurisdictional and 

3 legal complications today. 

4 (6) In response to these failed, paternalistic 

5 Federal assimilation policies, forced acquisition of 

6 indigenous lands, and genocide of Native Americans, 

7 the United States has recognized the unique legal 

8 relationship and trust responsibility it has with 

9 American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Ha10 waiians to promote their self-determination and sov11 ereignty in furtherance of its treaty obligations and 

12 longstanding government-to-government relationship. 

13 (7) Congressional authority to manage this 

14 unique government-to-government relationship with 

15 Native nations and Indian affairs generally is recog16 nized as plenary; constitutionally vested congres17 sional authority to regulate commerce and govern 

18 activities with Indian Tribes, which is distinct and 

19 separate from executive and judicial branch powers. 

20 (8) The Federal Government’s trust responsi21 bility with Indian Tribes extends to all governmental 

22 branches requiring the United States to uphold its 

23 fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, to make trust 

24 property income productive, to enforce reasonable 

25 claims on behalf of Native Americans, and to take 


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1 affirmative action to preserve trust property, for the 

2 benefit of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 

3 and Native Hawaiians as part of this Federal-Tribal 

4 relationship and Tribal self-governance. 

5 (9) The Federal Communications Commission 

6 (FCC) has acknowledged this fiduciary responsibility 

7 to Native nations and has further recognized the 

8 Commission’s own responsibility to promote their 

9 self-sufficiency and economic development on Tribal 

10 lands. 

11 (10) In 2018, a Government Accountability Of12 fice (GAO) report noted that numerous Tribal enti13 ties, associations, and academic groups consider 

14 spectrum as a natural resource that should be man15 aged by Tribes. FCC officials responded that, ‘‘spec16 trum is not considered a reserved right under trea17 ties with Indian tribes, as it is not explicitly stated’’. 

18 (11) The first United States treaty with an 

19 American Indian Tribe was ratified in 1778, over 

20 240 years ago, and Indian treaty-making ended in 

21 1871, prior to the development of spectrum, and 

22 adoption of the existing regime for licensing and reg23 ulating spectrum access. 

24 (12) Further, a 2020 GAO report repeatedly 

25 stated that ‘‘spectrum is a finite natural resource 


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1 used to provide a variety of communication services’’ 

2 to governmental entities. 

3 (13) However, with the exception of the FCC’s 

4 efforts to allocate a severely limited bandwidth of 

5 temporary spectrum authority to select Tribal appli6 cants during the COVID–19 crisis, it failed to grant 

7 numerous emergency requests from Congress, Indian 

8 Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations to extend 

9 the 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window timeline 

10 by 180 days to give Native nations a fair oppor11 tunity to secure spectrum over their Tribal lands be12 fore the August 3, 2020, expiration date amidst the 

13 pandemic. 

14 (14) To date, the Commission has failed to im15 plement nationwide spectrum opportunities or uni16 form licensing for Indian Tribes and Native Hawai17 ian organizations to make spectrum available over 

18 their Tribal lands or account for the unmet needs of 

19 native Nations in compliance with the Federal trust 

20 responsibility. 

21 (15) To the contrary, the FCC has used its 

22 general authority to regulate for-profit commercial 

23 use of spectrum over Tribal lands to assign Indian 

24 Tribes’ spectrum licenses to non-Indian companies 

25 through privatized auctions, by promulgating regulaVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:00 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4331.IS S4331

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1 tions for licensed and unlicensed spectrum over Trib2 al lands, and by conducting oversight over secondary 

3 market transactions, including leasing spectrum li4 censes over Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands 

5 to private companies without Tribal consultation or 

6 consent. 

7 (16) The Commission’s actions parallel failed 

8 Federal Reservation Era policy that divided Indian 

9 land holdings and created systemic barriers to In10 dian Tribes’ economic development and legal juris11 dictional complications on Tribal lands that continue 

12 to disadvantage Tribal communities today. 

13 (17) Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian orga14 nizations continue to encounter substantial barriers 

15 to accessing spectrum on Tribal lands and Hawaiian 

16 Home Lands to deploy telecommunications services 

17 for the safety and well-being of their members to de18 crease the alarming rates of violent crimes, suicides, 

19 and additional unnecessary loss of lives that Native 

20 Americans disproportionately experience, especially 

21 through the lack of access to telehealth services and 

22 digital emergency resources as demonstrated during 

23 the COVID–19 pandemic that disproportionately im24 pacted Indian Country. 


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1 (18) Further, the 2018 Broken Promises Re2 port published by the United States Commission on 

3 Civil Rights found Native Americans rank near the 

4 bottom of all Americans in terms of health, edu5 cation, and employment due to the unique challenges 

6 and harsh living conditions as a result of the Res7 ervation Era when the Federal Government relo8 cated Indian Tribes to geographically isolated res9 ervations where ‘‘persistent discrimination has ren10 dered their reality often invisible to other Ameri11 cans’’. 

12 (19) Today, Tribal lands are some of the most 

13 digitally disconnected areas in the United States, 

14 where 1.5 million people lack basic broadband and 

15 wireless services at rates comparable to, and in some 

16 cases lower than, developing countries, leaving Trib17 al lands further behind in the digital divide by global 

18 benchmarks. 

19 (20) In 2018, the Broadband Commission for 

20 Sustainable Development reported that wireless net21 work coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa increased to 

22 70 percent, surpassing the network coverage rates 

23 on Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands in the 

24 United States. 


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1 (21) In 2018, the Government Accountability 

2 Office (GAO) and the Federal Communications 

3 Commission (FCC) reported that over 92 percent of 

4 people living outside of Tribal lands and Hawaiian 

5 Home Lands have access to fixed broadband serv6 ices, and 98 percent of American households have 

7 telephone services. However, only 65 percent of 

8 American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Ha9 waiians living on Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home 

10 Lands have access to fixed broadband services, and 

11 only 69 percent of households on Tribal lands have 

12 telephone services. 

13 (22) Lack of Indian Tribes’ access to spectrum 

14 over their Tribal lands during the COVID–19 pan15 demic also highlighted Indian Country’s expanding 

16 digital divide, as supported by the GAO’s finding 

17 that health information technology systems at the 

18 Indian Health Service (IHS) rank as the Federal 

19 Government’s third-highest need for agency system 

20 modernization since 50 percent of IHS facilities de21 pend on outdated circuit connections based on one 

22 or two T1 circuit lines (3 Mbps), creating slower re23 sponse times than any other health facility system in 

24 the country. 


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1 (23) A 2018 National Congress of American In2 dians and National Indian Health Board health re3 form comment filed with the Federal Communica4 tions Commission has further stated that 75 percent 

5 of rural Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities do 

6 not have reliable broadband networks for American 

7 Indians and Alaska Natives to access telehealth8 based services, which is a critical need in the most 

9 geographically isolated areas of the United States 

10 with some of the highest poverty rates, and lack of 

11 access to reliable transportation. 

12 (24) Additionally, IHS officials reported during 

13 the COVID–19 pandemic that deficiencies within 

14 their health IT system inhibited the agency’s ability 

15 to adequately conduct coronavirus disease surveil16 lance and record accurate data contributing to the 

17 disproportional rates of coronavirus transmissions on 

18 reservations. 

19 (25) The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) 

20 estimated from a survey of 142 out of 174 schools, 

21 that up to 95 percent of their students do not have 

22 access to residential internet services depending on 

23 Bureau school locations and data cap limitations be24 fore and during the pandemic. 


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1 (26) As an additional barrier, no dedicated 

2 Federal funding streams exist for Indian Tribes or 

3 Native Hawaiian organizations to deploy tele4 communications or broadband services, both wireline 

5 and wireless, on Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home 

6 Lands. In 2018, the GAO found that the FCC and 

7 Department of Agriculture’s combined total of 

8 $34,600,000,000 was available for broadband serv9 ices and infrastructure; however, from 2010 to 2017, 

10 only 0.7 percent was allocated to Tribal tele11 communications deployment. 

12 (27) It is estimated that only 0.3 percent of the 

13 13,000 radio facilities in the country belong to feder14 ally recognized Indian Tribes, indicating a severe 

15 lack of Tribal ownership of telecommunications serv16 ices generally. 

17 (28) Indian Tribes’ and Native Hawaiian orga18 nizations’ longstanding funding and administrative 

19 barriers to access spectrum over Tribal lands and 

20 Hawaiian Home Lands prohibits their self-govern21 ance and further exacerbate rates of unemployment, 

22 systemic poverty, health disparities, connection to 

23 the global market, educational and economic oppor24 tunities, unnecessary loss of lives, and unknown fu25 ture disparities resulting from the absence of indigeVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:00 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4331.IS S4331

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1 nous representation in the modernization of the dig2 ital sector, coding, general advancement of techno3 logical services and platforms, and Native ownership 

4 in the telecommunications industry. 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

6 (1) to clarify Indian Tribes’ and Native Hawai7 ian organizations’ inherent ownership of, and pre8 serve, Indian Tribes’ spectrum licenses and spectrum 

9 over Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands in fur10 therance of the trust responsibility and acknowledg11 ment of sovereign status in the United States; 

12 (2) to diminish the effect of the Commission’s 

13 Tribal priority filing windows, auctions for spectrum 

14 licenses over Tribal lands, and assignment and leas15 ing of spectrum over Tribal lands; ensure the Com16 mission’s competitive bidding authority does not 

17 apply to licenses or construction permits issued by 

18 the Commission over Tribal lands and Hawaiian 

19 Home Lands; and permanently eliminate the public 

20 availability of spectrum over Tribal lands and Ha21 waiian Home Lands; 

22 (3) to ensure the Commission requires all un23 used and unassigned spectrum licenses over Tribal 

24 lands and Hawaiian Home Lands to revert to the 

25 ownership of the Indian Tribe and Native Hawaiian 


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1 organization where they are geographically located in 

2 furtherance of prioritizing their ownership of spec3 trum over Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands 

4 as part of their inherent self-governance, and expe5 dite the immediate deployment of wireless services 

6 for critical government services, including national 

7 emergencies, natural disasters, and biohazard 

8 threats, access to health, public safety services, edu9 cational opportunities, ability to participate in the 

10 broadband economy, access to Federal, State, and 

11 Tribal voting and elections, and the Federal census 

12 count; 

13 (4) to promote Indian Tribes’ inherent self-gov14 ernance and autonomy over their respective Tribal 

15 lands by ensuring spectrum over Tribal lands and 

16 Hawaiian Home Lands are held by Indian Tribes 

17 and Native Hawaiian organizations in perpetuity in 

18 compliance with the Federal trust responsibility; 

19 (5) to ensure Indian Tribes and Native Hawai20 ian organizations have resources available for the 

21 full retention and immediate deployment of their 

22 spectrum over Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home 

23 Lands for wireless broadband service and tele24 communications services, including all commercial, 

25 noncommercial, mobile, radio, television, broadcast, 


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1 ‘‘middle mile’’ and long haul fiber, and future spec2 trum licenses, infrastructure, and interconnectivity 

3 services that are within the jurisdiction of their re4 spective Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands; 

5 (6) to encourage Indian Tribes and Native Ha6 waiian organizations to immediately develop and de7 ploy spectrum services over their lands, especially 

8 broadband and wireless services, to bridge the in9 creasing digital divide over Tribal lands for the real10 ization of full self-governance and autonomy through 

11 access to critical government services, resources for 

12 national emergencies, economic development, and 

13 management of resources; 

14 (7) to create opportunities for Indian Tribes 

15 and Native Hawaiian organizations to develop and 

16 build out digital and telecommunications networks 

17 and infrastructure on their lands and promote full 

18 self-governance and autonomy; 

19 (8) to require the Commission to initiate and 

20 complete the rulemaking process with robust, inter21 active, pre-decisional, informative, and transparent 

22 consultation with Indian Tribes and Native Hawai23 ian organizations in order for them to obtain free, 

24 prior, and informed consent before the approval and 

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1 tion that affects Tribal lands, or other associated 

2 Tribal resources, especially where telecommuni3 cations processes and associated information are un4 clear, unreported, or inadequate to meet the needs 

5 of Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 

6 to preserve spectrum rights over Tribal lands and 

7 Hawaiian Home Lands, establish the Tribal 

8 Broadband Fund, and build out robust digital net9 works on Tribal lands so their members can access 

10 digital services at rates proportional to non-Indians 

11 living off Tribal lands; and 

12 (9) to ensure the Commission ceases the allot13 ment of spectrum rights over Tribal lands and Ha14 waiian Home Lands to private telecommunication 

15 companies to protect life and property in furtherance 

16 of the Federal trust responsibility. 

17 SEC. 4. INDIAN TRIBES’ AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZA18 TIONS’ EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO ALL AVAILABLE 

19 OR UNLICENSED ELECTROMAGNETIC SPEC20 TRUM OVER TRIBAL LANDS. 

21 Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 

22 hold rights into perpetuity to use and manage all available 

23 or unlicensed electromagnetic spectrum over Tribal lands. 


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1 SEC. 5. ACCESS TO SPECTRUM OVER TRIBAL LANDS. 

2 (a) ELIMINATION OF ALL AUCTIONS, TRIBAL PRI3 ORITY FILING WINDOWS, SECONDARY MARKET OPPOR4 TUNITIES, AND COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR SPECTRUM

5 OVER TRIBAL LANDS.— 

6 (1) AUCTIONS OF INDIAN TRIBES’ SPECTRUM

7 LICENSES AND SPECTRUM OVER TRIBAL LANDS.— 

8 Any spectrum licenses over Tribal lands for any pur9 pose shall not be subject to any Tribal auctions exe10 cuted by the Commission. 

11 (2) TRIBAL PRIORITY FILING WINDOWS.—No li12 censes over any Tribal lands for the use of spectrum 

13 over Tribal lands shall be subject to any Tribal pri14 ority filing windows or auctions executed by the 

15 Commission. 

16 (3) SECONDARY MARKET OPPORTUNITIES.—No 

17 spectrum licenses over Tribal lands shall be subject 

18 to any secondary market opportunities or post-mar19 ket opportunities, including license partitioning, 

20 spectrum leasing, or assignment to any third party 

21 or other entity. 

22 (4) COMPETITIVE BIDDING.—Spectrum licenses 

23 over Tribal lands shall not be subject to competitive 

24 bidding under section 309(j) of the Communications 

25 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) from the date of the 

26 enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW CONTRACTUAL

2 AGREEMENTS FOR TRIBAL SPECTRUM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of an In4 dian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, new contracts 

6 may be established with third-party licensees, quali7 fying Tribal entities, or other Indian Tribes or Na8 tive Hawaiian organizations to assign or lease spec9 trum over the Indian Tribe’s or Native Hawaiian or10 ganization’s respective Tribal lands. 

11 (2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—At the request 

12 of an Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, 

13 or qualifying Tribal entity, the Commission shall en14 sure that any new contracts entered into from the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act must ensure that 

16 the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 

17 retains permanent spectrum rights over the Tribal 

18 lands where the spectrum is located. The associated 

19 terms and duration of any contract to assign or 

20 lease an Indian Tribe’s or Native Hawaiian organi21 zation’s spectrum to a qualifying Tribal entity, 

22 third-party licensee, or other Indian Tribe or Native 

23 Hawaiian organization must meet the following min24 imum requirements and conditions to implement a 

25 valid contract for spectrum use over Tribal lands: 


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1 (A) If an agreement is reached, all parties 

2 involved must execute a written agreement that 

3 sets forth the terms and conditions of the 

4 agreement. 

5 (B) Fair market value of the spectrum li6 cense or deployment of telecommunications or 

7 wireless services must be negotiated in good 

8 faith. 

9 (C) Rates must be calculated subject to in10 flation costs for the time duration specified 

11 under the agreement. 

12 (D) Negotiations must be entered into and 

13 conducted in good faith, requiring that an In14 dian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, 

15 qualifying Tribal entity, or third-party licensee 

16 responding to an offer proposed by the request17 ing party must provide reasons for each rejec18 tion of a negotiated offer in writing. 

19 (E) The party entering into contract nego20 tiations with the Indian Tribe or Native Hawai21 ian organization must have the financial capac22 ity to fulfill its requirement to deploy trans23 actional services on the Tribal lands where the 

24 spectrum licenses are located and the ability to 

25 meet its construction requirements. 


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1 (3) LIMITATIONS.— 

2 (A) SUBLEASING.—Any qualifying Tribal 

3 entity, Native Hawaiian organization, other In4 dian Tribe, or third-party licensee who does not 

5 receive the written consent from the Indian 

6 Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization where 

7 the spectrum is geographically located is barred 

8 from subleasing, assigning, or subcontracting 

9 the spectrum licenses over Tribal lands. If this 

10 is breached, such spectrum licenses shall auto11 matically revert to the Indian Tribe or Native 

12 Hawaiian organization for new negotiations and 

13 the existing contract shall be deemed termi14 nated. 

15 (B) DURATION.—A contract to assign or 

16 lease spectrum licenses to be operated over 

17 Tribal lands between the Indian Tribe, Native 

18 Hawaiian organization, qualifying Tribal entity, 

19 or third-party licensee may not extend past a 5- 

20 year time period, after which the Indian Tribe, 

21 Native Hawaiian organization, or qualifying 

22 Tribal entity may review the negotiated terms 

23 with the third-party licensee and choose to ei24 ther— 


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1 (i) terminate the contract or assign2 ment of such spectrum licenses, which 

3 shall automatically revert to the Indian 

4 Tribe where such spectrum licenses are 

5 geographically located; 

6 (ii) renegotiate the terms of such con7 tract with respect to such spectrum li8 censes over Tribal lands; or 

9 (iii) extend the existing contractual 

10 terms of such spectrum licenses over Trib11 al lands for an additional 5 years, or a fair 

12 and reasonable amount of time. 

13 (C) TERMINATION.— 

14 (i) REVERSION.—In the event of pre15 mature termination of a contract for as16 signment or lease of spectrum over Tribal 

17 lands, the spectrum licenses shall auto18 matically revert to the Indian Tribe or Na19 tive Hawaiian organization for new nego20 tiations and the existing contract shall be 

21 deemed terminated. 

22 (ii) PENALTIES.—Penalties for breach 

23 of contractual agreements or premature 

24 termination of a contract shall be enforced 

25 by imposing a fine of 5 percent of the 


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1 gross amount incurred, or projected 

2 amount to be incurred, from the negotiated 

3 rate of the spectrum licenses by the 

4 breaching party, to be assessed by the 

5 Commission and available as a source of 

6 funds for the Tribal Broadband Fund. 

7 (iii) EGREGIOUS BEHAVIOR OR LACK

8 OF GOOD FAITH.—If the breaching party 

9 participates in egregious behavior, or a 

10 clear showing is made that a party failed 

11 to negotiate contractual terms in good 

12 faith, it shall be subject to a 5-year penalty 

13 prohibiting the party from participating in 

14 any contract for spectrum licenses over 

15 Tribal lands, participation in the Tribal 

16 Spectrum Market, or additional penalties 

17 that the Commission sees fit to protect In18 dian Tribes’ or Native Hawaiian organiza19 tions’ telecommunications resources. In the 

20 case of a breaching party that is an Indian 

21 Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, the 

22 penalty under this clause shall not apply 

23 with respect to spectrum over its Tribal 

24 lands of such Indian Tribe or Native Ha25 waiian community. 


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1 (4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—This section 

2 is subject to additional requirements or other terms 

3 and conditions as the Commission determines nec4 essary to protect the interests of the Indian Tribe 

5 and Native Hawaiian community, or as determined 

6 necessary through subsequent rulemaking subject to 

7 the Tribal consultation requirements under section 

8 8(c). 

9 SEC. 6. EXISTING SPECTRUM LICENSES AND SPECTRUM 

10 OVER TRIBAL LANDS. 

11 (a) BUILD OR DIVEST PROCESS FOR EXISTING SPEC12 TRUM LICENSES AND SPECTRUM OVER TRIBAL LANDS.— 

13 (1) INITIATION.—An Indian Tribe, Native Ha14 waiian organization, or qualifying Tribal entity may 

15 initiate the build or divest process for an existing 

16 third-party licensee that held spectrum license rights 

17 for spectrum over Tribal lands of the Indian Tribe 

18 or Native Hawaiian organization as of the date of 

19 the enactment of this Act in a geographic area 

20 where that existing third-party licensee has satisfied 

21 the applicable construction requirements for the 

22 spectrum licenses over Tribal lands, yet has not built 

23 out to the undeveloped, unserved, or underserved 

24 Tribal lands within its license area as of the date of 

25 the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (2) PROCESS.—The Indian Tribe, Native Ha2 waiian organization, or qualifying Tribal entity 

3 where the spectrum over Tribal lands is located may 

4 file a Notice of Intent with the Commission to ini5 tiate the build or divest process to expedite reversion 

6 of the third-party licensee spectrum license rights 

7 over the aforementioned Tribal lands to make avail8 able the unused or unneeded license rights to the In9 dian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or quali10 fying Tribal entity. The Notice of Intent requires the 

11 Commission— 

12 (A) to include written notification to the 

13 Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or 

14 qualifying Tribal entity of the date on which 

15 third-party licensee’s notice of construction per16 mit fulfillment was filed with the Commission 

17 demonstrating that the third-party licensee sat18 isfied its final construction requirement for the 

19 license where the underserved Tribal lands are 

20 located; 

21 (B) if the third-party licensee has met ap22 plicable construction requirements but Tribal 

23 lands within the spectrum license remain 

24 unserved or underdeveloped after the Indian 

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1 fying Tribal entity files the Notice of Intent, to 

2 terminate the third-party licensee’s rights over 

3 such Tribal lands after a 1-year time period, 

4 with such spectrum licenses reverting back to 

5 the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organiza6 tion in perpetuity where the Tribal lands are lo7 cated; and 

8 (C) to permit the third-party licensee to 

9 opt out of the build or divest process, after the 

10 Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or 

11 qualifying Tribal entity has filed the Notice of 

12 Intent, by partitioning or relinquishing its spec13 trum license to the Commission, which shall 

14 subsequently relicense the spectrum licenses 

15 over the Tribal lands in perpetuity to the In16 dian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or 

17 qualifying Tribal entity, pursuant to this Act 

18 and the requirements pursuant to the Commu19 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

20 (3) CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENT.—If the ex21 isting third-party licensee has not satisfied the appli22 cable construction requirements for the spectrum for 

23 which it holds licenses over Tribal lands on the date 

24 on which the Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organi25 zation, or qualifying Tribal entity files the Notice of 


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1 Intent, the spectrum license rights over Tribal lands 

2 where the spectrum is located will automatically be 

3 made available to the Indian Tribe or Native Hawai4 ian organization. 

5 (4) EXPIRATION.—The license of any third6 party licensee that has failed to extend coverage on 

7 the underserved Tribal lands from 1 year from the 

8 date that the Commission accepted the third-party 

9 licensee’s notice of construction permit fulfillment to 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act shall imme11 diately expire, including all rights to the spectrum li12 censes. The Commission shall then immediately reas13 sign the spectrum licenses for the Tribal lands so 

14 that the licenses shall immediately revert to the In15 dian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization where 

16 the spectrum is geographically located. 

17 (5) ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION REQUIRE18 MENTS.—The applicable construction requirements 

19 above are subject to any additional construction re20 quirements determined by the Commission applicable 

21 to Tribal lands after the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act. 

23 (6) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.— 

24 (A) EXPEDITED PROCESS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

2 may make additional considerations to ex3 pedite the build or divest process prior to 

4 the 1-year expiration period where the geo5 graphic coverage area of the spectrum li6 cense on Tribal lands is under duress to 

7 deploy broadband or telecommunications 

8 services or for the purpose of access to life9 saving services, critical government serv10 ices, national or State emergencies, natural 

11 disasters, or in other circumstances where 

12 deemed appropriate. 

13 (ii) CRITICAL GOVERNMENT SERV14 ICES, NATIONAL EMERGENCIES, AND NAT15 URAL DISASTERS.—Congress, Secretary of 

16 the Interior, or another executive branch 

17 office or agency that is delegated authority 

18 over Indian affairs or oversees programs 

19 impacting Indian Tribes may also request 

20 that the Commission make additional con21 siderations to expedite the build or divest 

22 process on Tribal lands where the coverage 

23 area of the spectrum license is under du24 ress to expedite deployment of services. 


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1 (iii) DURESS.—For purposes of this 

2 subparagraph, a geographic area on Tribal 

3 lands that is considered to be under duress 

4 shall include an area on Tribal lands where 

5 there has been a substantial loss of or ex6 isting threat to human life, the Federal 

7 Government or State government has de8 clared an emergency, a natural disaster 

9 has occurred or will occur, or there is a 

10 need for critical government services. 

11 (B) LONGER TIMELINES.—Other timelines 

12 shall be considered to elongate the timeline to 

13 the 1-year expiration period with the consent of 

14 the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organiza15 tion where a longer time period is needed for 

16 special geographic or population needs. The 

17 Commission shall consider additional timelines 

18 on an ad hoc basis through consultation with 

19 the Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organiza20 tion over the Tribal lands of which the third21 party licensee possesses a valid spectrum li22 cense. Considerations of any modified timelines 

23 must be made with the written consent of the 

24 Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. 


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1 (C) OTHER ADDITIONAL CONSIDER2 ATIONS.—Additional considerations may be 

3 made by the Commission where existing tech4 nical rules are insufficient or circumstances are 

5 present to unnecessarily restrict types of serv6 ices that may be deployed within the Tribal 

7 lands with the consent of the Indian Tribe or 

8 Native Hawaiian organization. 

9 (D) ADDITIONAL RULEMAKING PRO10 CEEDINGS.—The Commission shall, at the re11 quest of Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian or12 ganizations, conduct specific rulemaking pro13 ceedings where service-specific technical issues 

14 arise under this subsection. 

15 (b) FAILURE TO NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH FOR

16 EXISTING SPECTRUM LICENSES AND SPECTRUM OVER

17 TRIBAL LANDS.— 

18 (1) OPPORTUNITY TO SECURE ACCESS.—Where 

19 third-party spectrum licenses have been authorized 

20 and the Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, 

21 or qualifying Tribal entity can show that the third22 party licensee entered into negotiations or auctions 

23 or secured assignment of an existing spectrum li24 cense over Tribal lands in bad faith, the Indian 

25 Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or qualifying 


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1 Tribal entity shall have an opportunity to secure the 

2 Indian Tribe’s or Native Hawaiian organization’s ac3 cess to such spectrum licenses. 

4 (2) PROCESS.—The Indian Tribe, Native Ha5 waiian organization, or qualifying Tribal entity 

6 where the spectrum is located may file a Notice of 

7 Intent with the Commission to initiate the failure to 

8 negotiate in good faith exemption process under this 

9 subsection to expedite reversion of the spectrum li10 cense rights over Tribal lands and make available 

11 the spectrum license rights to the Indian Tribe, Na12 tive Hawaiian organization, or qualifying Tribal en13 tity over the Tribal lands or Hawaiian Homelands 

14 where it is located such spectrum license rights to 

15 such Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or 

16 qualifying Tribal entity. 

17 (3) TIMING.—The Notice of Intent can be filed 

18 at any time during the license term, provided that 

19 the filing Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organiza20 tion, or qualifying Tribal entity can demonstrate 

21 that the third-party licensee failed to negotiate in 

22 good faith in previous dealings before the filing of 

23 the Notice of Intent. 

24 (4) STANDARD.—An Indian Tribe, Native Ha25 waiian organization, or qualifying Tribal entity may 


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1 demonstrate the third-party licensee failed to meet 

2 the good faith negotiation requirement through the 

3 totality of the circumstances standard in presenting 

4 the case of the Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian orga5 nization, or qualifying Tribal entity to the Commis6 sion. In demonstrating that the third-party licensee 

7 negotiated in bad faith, the Commission shall evalu8 ate whether the negotiations were made in good 

9 faith through the totality of the circumstances 

10 standard. 

11 (5) GOOD FAITH NEGOTIATION REQUIREMENT

12 FACTORS.—The relevant factors to determine wheth13 er the third-party licensee failed to negotiate in good 

14 faith are to include the following objective elements 

15 of negotiation standards: 

16 (A) The third-party licensee must have ap17 pointed a negotiating representative with au18 thority to bargain on partitioning and spectrum 

19 licensing issues. 

20 (B) The third-party licensee must have 

21 agreed to meet at reasonable times and loca22 tions with adequate notice. 

23 (C) The third-party licensee must not have 

24 acted in a manner that would unduly delay the 

25 course of negotiations. 


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1 (D) The third-party licensee must not have 

2 put forth an unreasonable, unilateral proposal 

3 or further demonstrated an unwillingness to 

4 consider alternative reasonable terms or coun5 terproposals. Bargaining without consideration 

6 of reasonable alternatives is inconsistent with 

7 an affirmative obligation to negotiate in good 

8 faith. 

9 (E) The third-party licensee must have 

10 showed good faith in negotiations through im11 plementing or concluding action within a rea12 sonable time period with reasonable notice and 

13 forum requests that are standard for negoti14 ating practices. This standard is also applicable 

15 to any proposed forum requests by either party. 

16 Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, 

17 and qualifying Tribal entities availing them18 selves of this process can also make a showing 

19 that the third-party licensee had reasonable no20 tice or understanding that the Indian Tribe, 

21 Native Hawaiian organization, or qualifying 

22 Tribal entity did not have the financial means 

23 to fulfill the third-party licensee’s expedited 

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1 tenuating circumstances existed that prohibited 

2 reasonable conduct to execute negotiations. 

3 (F) The Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian or4 ganization, or qualifying Tribal entity that is 

5 responding to an offer proposed by the third6 party licensee must also provide reasons and 

7 consideration for rejecting aspects of the third8 party licensee’s offer in writing. 

9 (6) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—The Com10 mission may make additional considerations for un11 reasonable behavior or egregious behavior for the to12 tality of the circumstances standard under this sub13 section to determine whether a party negotiated in 

14 bad faith. 

15 (c) SAFE HARBOR EXEMPTION FOR EXISTING

16 THIRD-PARTY LICENSEES.—Where a third-party licensee 

17 that holds a license to use spectrum over Tribal lands and 

18 has failed to meet additional construction requirements 

19 determined by the Commission under section 6(a)(5), a 

20 safe harbor exemption may apply to the third-party li21 censee, if such licensee has deployed coverage to at least 

22 90 percent of the geographic area over the Tribal lands 

23 within its license coverage area. 


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1 SEC. 7. TRIBAL BROADBAND FUND. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall establish, 

3 as an additional universal service support mechanism 

4 under section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

5 U.S.C. 254), a mechanism to be known as the ‘‘Tribal 

6 Broadband Fund’’. The Tribal Broadband Fund shall pro7 vide a source of funds for networks and infrastructure 

8 buildout over Tribal lands, including support for infra9 structure deployment, ‘‘middle mile’’ and long haul fiber 

10 buildout, adoption of digital literacy on Tribal lands, and 

11 other related activities to ensure Tribal lands have full ac12 cess to high-speed wireless broadband services and tele13 communications services and other spectrum use. 

14 (b) SOURCES OF FUNDING.—In addition to universal 

15 service contributions under section 254(d) of the Commu16 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)), the Tribal 

17 Broadband Fund shall be funded through proceeds from 

18 systems of competitive bidding under section 309(j) of the 

19 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) (notwith20 standing paragraph (8) of such section) and any other ac21 counts or reserve funds available to the Commission, in 

22 amounts to be determined under subsection (e). Should 

23 the Commission find that the Commission cannot robustly 

24 fund the Tribal Broadband Fund from these existing 

25 sources, the Commission shall undertake a rulemaking 

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1 tional universal service contributions is necessary to en2 sure a Tribal Broadband Fund commensurate with the 

3 funding need, purposes, and implementation determined 

4 pursuant to subsection (e). 

5 (c) PRIORITIZATION.—Funding allocations shall be 

6 prioritized under the Tribal Broadband Fund where tele7 communications or wireless broadband services have been 

8 either not deployed or inadequately deployed over Tribal 

9 lands. This includes ‘‘middle mile’’ fiber, backhaul costs, 

10 and repairs to damaged infrastructure, the cost of the re11 pairs to which would be less expensive than the cost of 

12 new infrastructure. 

13 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Commission shall 

14 provide requested technical assistance, training programs, 

15 and grants to assist Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian orga16 nizations, and qualifying Tribal entities, the Director of 

17 the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, inter-Tribal 

18 government organizations, and universities and colleges 

19 with Tribal serving institutions for the purpose of imme20 diate deployment of telecommunications or wireless 

21 broadband services or infrastructure development over 

22 Tribal lands. 

23 (e) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.— 

24 (1) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 60 days 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Commission shall initiate and complete the rule2 making process with robust, interactive, pre3 decisional, informative, and transparent consultation 

4 with Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, 

5 and interested qualifying Tribal entities in order for 

6 them to obtain free, prior, and informed consent to 

7 determine the appropriate funding for the Tribal 

8 Broadband Fund from the sources described in sub9 section (b) (including annual set-asides from each 

10 such source for the Tribal Broadband Fund), uses 

11 and administration of the Tribal Broadband Fund, 

12 and any other issues related to the establishment 

13 and implementation of the Tribal Broadband Fund. 

14 This will omit any competitive bidding requirements 

15 and any unnecessary barriers or limitations on fund16 ing for Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organiza17 tions, and qualifying Tribal entities to expedite the 

18 immediate deployment of current generation or bet19 ter terrestrial and wireless broadband services, 

20 where none are available or need to be updated or 

21 built out for the use of critical government services, 

22 national emergencies, natural disasters, or life-sav23 ing services. 

24 (2) ADVISORY AGENCY MEMORANDUM.—Not 

25 later than 6 months after the date of the enactment 


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1 of this Act, the Commission shall provide Indian 

2 Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and inter3 ested qualifying Tribal entities with an advisory 

4 agency memorandum on the issues addressed in 

5 paragraph (1). Such memorandum shall clearly out6 line the comment process and timeline for responses. 

7 (3) NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.—Not 

8 later than 12 months after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Commission shall release a No10 tice of Proposed Rulemaking, as described in para11 graph (2). 

12 (4) FINAL ORDER.—Not later than 18 months 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 Commission shall release a final order, adopting 

15 rules and policies associated with the establishment, 

16 implementation, and administration of the Commis17 sion’s permanent Tribal Broadband Fund. 

18 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion shall be construed to limit Indian Tribes, Native Ha20 waiian organizations, or qualifying Tribal entities from ac21 cessing existing or additional funding through the Com22 mission or any other Federal agency. 


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1 SEC. 8. DIRECTING THE COMMISSION TO ENGAGE IN RULE2 MAKING PROCEEDINGS FOR BROADBAND DE3 VELOPMENT ON TRIBAL LANDS. 

4 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to re5 quire the Commission to initiate and complete separate 

6 rulemaking proceedings under subsections (c), (d), and (e) 

7 to provide additional clarification for the deployment and 

8 buildout of telecommunications, broadband, and wireless 

9 services and other full use of spectrum over Tribal lands 

10 and Hawaiian Homelands, including existing reservations, 

11 landless Indian Tribes, noncontiguous land holdings, 

12 uniquely situated Indian Tribes, and Hawaiian Home 

13 Lands. 

14 (b) TIMING.—For each of the rulemakings listed 

15 under subsections (c), (d), and (e), the Commission shall 

16 initiate or complete each step according to the following 

17 timeline: 

18 (1) CONSULTATION.—Consultation shall be ini19 tiated not later than 6 months after the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act. 

21 (2) ADVISORY AGENCY MEMORANDA.—Advisory 

22 agency memoranda shall be issued not later than 12 

23 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

24 (3) NOTICES OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.—No25 tices of Proposed Rulemaking shall be issued not 


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1 later than 18 months after the date of the enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (4) FINAL RULES.—Orders promulgating final 

4 rules shall be issued not later than 24 months after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 (c) TRIBAL CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall ini8 tiate and complete a rulemaking proceeding to best 

9 determine how to conduct robust, interactive, pre10 decisional, informative, and transparent consultation 

11 with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organiza12 tions in order to obtain free, prior, and informed 

13 consent prior to the approval of, and before adopting 

14 administrative measures that affect Tribal lands, or 

15 other associated Tribal resources. Prior to initiating 

16 such proceeding, the Commission shall also engage 

17 with the FCC Native Nations Communications Task 

18 Force, qualifying Tribal entities, Native-owned tele19 communications providers, and Tribal organizations 

20 with telecommunications expertise. 

21 (2) PRIMARY GOAL.—The primary goal of the 

22 rulemaking under paragraph (1) shall be to deter23 mine how the Commission can best establish a bind24 ing agency policy for Tribal consultation for policy 

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1 tice and guidance, introduce mapping tools, provide 

2 robust outreach, and make government-to-govern3 ment training accessible to Indian Tribes and Native 

4 Hawaiian organizations to preserve and develop 

5 spectrum rights and spectrum access over Tribal 

6 lands, and to expedite the immediate deployment of 

7 wireless broadband services, other wireless services, 

8 or other full use of spectrum over Tribal lands for 

9 critical government services, national emergencies, 

10 natural disasters, or life-saving services. 

11 (3) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION.—In con12 ducting the rulemaking under paragraph (1), the 

13 Commission shall engage with Native Hawaiian or14 ganizations, and appropriate authorities of the State 

15 of Hawaii, to identify and designate potential exist16 ing entities within the State government of Hawaii, 

17 and the Native Hawaiian organizations or the com18 munity, for standing as licensable entities for the 

19 purpose of spectrum licensing rights and spectrum 

20 over the Hawaiian Home Lands. 

21 (4) NOTICE.—The Commission’s Tribal con22 sultation meetings shall be made open to the public 

23 and subject to reasonable and timely notice pub24 lished in the Federal Register, and through other 

25 appropriate public methods, not later than 30 days 


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1 prior to the scheduled meeting. The Commission 

2 shall make additional considerations for adequate 

3 notification to Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian orga4 nizations, and interested qualifying Tribal entities, 

5 that lack telecommunications services on Tribal 

6 lands. 

7 (5) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION AND NO8 TICE.—Open and public Tribal consultation and ap9 propriate notice and outreach to Indian Tribes, Na10 tive Hawaiian organizations, and interested quali11 fying Tribal entities shall be presented during each 

12 of the additional rulemakings prescribed in this sec13 tion. The Commission shall conduct each such addi14 tional rulemaking in accordance with the rules for 

15 consultation issued by the Commission in the rule16 making under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 

17 (d) TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.— 

18 (1) AVAILABLE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

20 initiate and complete a rulemaking proceeding 

21 to streamline applications to expedite funding 

22 (including through the Commission’s funding 

23 opportunities and other funding opportunities 

24 that may be available through other agencies) 

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1 cations, broadband, and wireless services, or 

2 other full use of spectrum or infrastructure de3 velopment over Tribal lands for critical govern4 ment services and national emergencies. 

5 (B) ONAP FEDERAL FUNDING DIREC6 TOR.—In the rulemaking under subparagraph 

7 (A), the Commission shall establish within the 

8 Office of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) of 

9 the Commission the position of Federal Fund10 ing Director. The Director shall have the fol11 lowing duties: 

12 (i) To coordinate with Indian Tribes, 

13 Native Hawaiian organizations, and inter14 ested qualifying Tribal entities to access 

15 the Commission’s funding opportunities, or 

16 other funding opportunities that may be 

17 available through other agencies, and as18 sist with the application processes for the 

19 Tribal Broadband Fund and other uni20 versal service support mechanisms. 

21 (ii) To coordinate with other Federal 

22 agencies that provide telecommunications 

23 and infrastructure funding to Indian 

24 Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, or 

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1 sist with expedited wireless broadband 

2 service and other telecommunications de3 ployment over Tribal lands. 

4 (2) NEW TRIBAL SPECTRUM MARKET.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

6 initiate and complete a rulemaking proceeding 

7 to establish a new Tribal Spectrum Market. 

8 Such market shall be an optional forum solely 

9 for the participation of Indian Tribes, quali10 fying Tribal entities, and Native Hawaiian or11 ganizations to engage with other Indian Tribes, 

12 qualifying Tribal entities, and Native Hawaiian 

13 organizations for leasing and assignment oppor14 tunities for the purpose of economic and busi15 ness development on Tribal lands for partici16 pants who choose to participate. Participation 

17 in such market shall not disallow Indian Tribes, 

18 Native Hawaiian organizations, or qualifying 

19 Tribal entities from participating in any other 

20 auction forum, or hinder their participation in 

21 secondary markets. 

22 (B) PURPOSE.—In furtherance of the Fed23 eral trust responsibility, Tribal self-governance, 

24 and to develop robust economic resources on 

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1 wanted spectrum over Tribal lands available to 

2 other Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organiza3 tions, and qualifying Tribal entities through the 

4 Tribal Spectrum Market and notify other In5 dian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, 

6 and interested qualifying Tribal entities identi7 fied under subsection (c) through adequate no8 tification processes established under this Act. 

9 Participants identified under this subsection 

10 must provide written consent to the Commis11 sion to make their unwanted spectrum over 

12 Tribal lands available to other Indian Tribes, 

13 Native Hawaiian organizations, or qualifying 

14 Tribal entities through the Tribal Spectrum 

15 Market. 

16 (C) LIMITATIONS.—Participants that are 

17 not identified under subsection (d)(2)(B) above 

18 shall not be eligible to participate in the Tribal 

19 Spectrum Market. 

20 (e) UNDEFINED AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND DE21 PLOYMENT OF TRIBAL BROADBAND, WIRELESS SERV22 ICES, AND SPECTRUM.— 

23 (1) AREAS OF TRIBAL INTERESTS AND NON24 GEOGRAPHICALLY DEFINED AREAS.—The Commis25 sion shall initiate and complete a rulemaking proVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:00 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4331.IS S4331

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1 ceeding to address unique land status on Tribal 

2 lands and associated undefined geographic areas of 

3 interest, including— 

4 (A) spectrum that is not geographically de5 fined due to spectrum propagation characteris6 tics; and 

7 (B) with respect to the build or divest 

8 process under section 6(a), questions over con9 trol of meteorological spectrum licenses over 

10 Tribal lands. 

11 (2) PRIMARY TRIBAL AREAS OF INTEREST.— 

12 The Commission shall initiate and complete a rule13 making proceeding to create licensing areas for In14 dian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and 

15 qualifying Tribal entities to provide spectrum li16 censes covering areas that are primary Tribal areas 

17 of interest, including noncontiguous land holdings, 

18 small or uniquely situated Indian Tribes, and unde19 fined Tribal lands or undefined Hawaiian Home 

20 Lands. Such proceeding shall also address deploy21 ment of digital services and other full use of spec22 trum over Tribal lands, including spectrum develop23 ment, infrastructure, and deployment of wireless 

24 broadband service and other wireless services for 


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1 landless Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian commu2 nities. 

3 (3) INTERRELATIONSHIP OF SPECTRUM USAGE

4 ON TRIBAL LANDS AND CONTIGUOUS AREAS.—The 

5 Commission shall initiate and complete a rulemaking 

6 proceeding to review the interrelationship between 

7 spectrum usage on Tribal lands and spectrum usage 

8 in areas contiguous to Tribal lands, including— 

9 (A) Indian Tribes’, Native Hawaiian orga10 nizations’, and qualifying Tribal entities’ ability 

11 to make wireless services available to Tribal 

12 members who reside in areas just outside the 

13 boundaries of Tribal lands; and 

14 (B) interference issues with neighboring li15 censes. 

16 (4) MILITARY, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND

17 INTERNATIONAL LAWS FOR SPECTRUM MANAGE18 MENT AND COORDINATION.—The Commission shall, 

19 in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and 

20 the Secretary of Commerce, initiate and complete a 

21 rulemaking proceeding to develop a nationwide 

22 framework for spectrum management and coordina23 tion that— 

24 (A) addresses— 


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1 (i) the relationship of spectrum over 

2 Tribal lands to spectrum used by the Fed3 eral Government, including the Depart4 ment of Defense; and 

5 (ii) the relationship of spectrum over 

6 Tribal lands to international laws and ne7 gotiations relating to the use of spectrum, 

8 including international exclusion zones; 

9 and 

10 (B) provides for the requirements of this 

11 Act relating to spectrum over Tribal lands to be 

12 administered pursuant to existing policies and 

13 procedures for spectrum management and co14 ordination. 

15 (5) NEW BUILDOUT REQUIREMENTS FOR EX16 ISTING LICENSE HOLDERS.—In carrying out section 

17 6(a) (relating to the build or divest process), the 

18 Commission shall do the following: 

19 (A) ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION REQUIRE20 MENTS FOR LARGE OR REMOTE TRIBAL

21 LANDS.—Where an existing third-party licensee 

22 has satisfied the applicable construction re23 quirements for a license over Tribal lands, yet 

24 the area that the license covers remains under25 served, the Commission shall initiate and comVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:00 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4331.IS S4331

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1 plete a rulemaking proceeding to determine an 

2 additional construction requirement for the 

3 Tribal lands of large, land-based Indian Tribes 

4 to expedite service and immediate broadband 

5 and telecommunications deployment or other 

6 full use of spectrum over Tribal lands. 

7 (B) ADDITIONAL TIMELINE CONSIDER8 ATIONS.—Subject to section 6(a), the Commis9 sion shall consider additional timelines on an ad 

10 hoc basis through Tribal consultation with the 

11 Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 

12 in which the third-party licensee possesses a 

13 valid spectrum license over Tribal lands. Con14 siderations of any modified timelines must be 

15 made with the adequate consent of the Indian 

16 Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. 

17 (6) SPECIFIC BANDS OF AVAILABLE SPECTRUM

18 OVER TRIBAL LANDS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

20 initiate and complete a rulemaking proceeding 

21 to identify the licensed and unlicensed spectrum 

22 bands that are available for deployment of serv23 ices over Tribal lands as defined under this Act, 

24 including existing reservations, landless Indian 

25 Tribes, noncontiguous land holdings, uniquely 


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1 situated Indian Tribes, and the Hawaiian Home 

2 Lands. 

3 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out sub4 paragraph (A), the Commission shall— 

5 (i) hold field hearings initiated with 

6 adequate notice; 

7 (ii) establish and make public specific 

8 processes to identify available spectrum 

9 bands over Tribal lands; and 

10 (iii) submit an analytical report to 

11 Congress to be made available to Indian 

12 Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, 

13 and associated Tribal entities identified 

14 under subsection (c)(1). 

15 (7) ADDITIONAL REVISION AND BUILDOUT RE16 QUIREMENTS TO EXPEDITE DEPLOYMENT OF WIRE17 LESS SERVICES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

19 initiate and complete a rulemaking proceeding 

20 to establish expedited buildout requirements for 

21 existing third-party licensees that hold a license 

22 over Tribal lands. These new buildout require23 ments shall preempt buildout requirements es24 tablished before the date of the enactment of 

25 this Act. 


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1 (B) PURPOSES.—The purpose of the estab2 lishment of these new buildout requirements is 

3 not intended to revoke spectrum licenses from 

4 third-party licensees, but to ensure that devel5 opment of telecommunications networks or 

6 other full use of spectrum over Tribal lands is 

7 expedited to deploy critical government services, 

8 provide access to life-saving resources, and es9 tablish currently nonexistent communication for 

10 national emergencies over Tribal lands to match 

11 the average coverage rates for fixed broadband 

12 services on non-Tribal lands or the nearest met13 ropolitan area. 

14 (8) DEVELOPMENT OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND

15 BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—In strict compliance 

17 with Tribal consultation and notice procedures 

18 established under subsection (c), the Commis19 sion shall, in conjunction with the Secretary of 

20 the Interior or the heads of other participating 

21 Federal agencies, initiate and complete a rule22 making proceeding to issue nonbinding, model 

23 regulations for grants of rights-of-way over 

24 Tribal lands for the potential development of 

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1 mission, the Secretary of the Interior, or the 

2 head of another participating Federal agency 

3 initiates and completes an aforementioned rule4 making proceeding without pre-decisional, in5 formative, and transparent Tribal consultation, 

6 as specified under subsection (c), it shall be in7 valid guidance considered nonbinding precedent 

8 on any subsequent decisions. 

9 (B) ISSUE AREAS TO BE INCLUDED.—Any 

10 model regulations issued under subparagraph 

11 (A) shall include analysis of right-of-way build12 out proposals and broadband deployment gen13 erally as it relates to Indian Tribes, Native Ha14 waiian organizations or communities, and Trib15 al lands, including the following: 

16 (i) Permitting and review process gen17 erally, including land use permitting and 

18 facilities siting. 

19 (ii) Review processes and robust, 

20 interactive guidelines in compliance with 

21 the National Environmental Policy Act of 

22 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), including 

23 small-cell infrastructure. 

24 (iii) Review processes and guidelines 

25 in compliance with division A of subtitle 


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1 III of title 54, United States Code (for2 merly known as the ‘‘National Historic 

3 Preservation Act’’ (16 U.S.C. 470 et 

4 seq.)), including small-cell infrastructure. 

5 (iv) Potential damage to sacred sites 

6 and heritage sites on or near Tribal lands. 

7 (v) Additional considerations and 

8 analysis for Indian Tribes, Native Hawai9 ian organizations, and Tribal lands with 

10 respect to the impacts of expedited permit11 ting decisions and buildout requirements 

12 for broadband projects or other future de13 velopment of telecommunications infra14 structure or spectrum development over 

15 Tribal lands and deployment of new gen16 eration networks, with an emphasis on 5G 

17 networks generally. 

18 (vi) Procedural proposals on how to 

19 best establish robust Tribal consultation 

20 between Indian Tribes and Native Hawai21 ian organizations and the Commission, and 

22 other associated Federal agencies, for the 

23 development of optional rights-of-way for 

24 broadband deployment, spectrum use or 


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1 development, or telecommunications infra2 structure. 

3 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SPECTRUM MANAGE4 MENT, CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS, AND 

5 PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS. 

6 (a) SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT.—At the request of an 

7 Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or qualifying 

8 Tribal entity, the Commission, acting through the Office 

9 of Native Affairs and Policy, shall provide technical assist10 ance and guidance for the most efficient and effective use 

11 of spectrum and spectrum management for the benefit of 

12 the Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian organization, or quali13 fying Tribal entity that submitted the request, including 

14 deployment of wireless services or other full use of spec15 trum over Tribal lands. This technical assistance and 

16 guidance shall include the following: 

17 (1) Best practices for Indian Tribes, Native 

18 Hawaiian organizations, and qualifying Tribal enti19 ties to secure access to spectrum and manage spec20 trum. 

21 (2) How to best expedite the immediate deploy22 ment of broadband and telecommunications services 

23 or other full use of spectrum over Tribal lands, in24 cluding support for— 


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1 (A) infrastructure development, fiber build2 out, adoption of digital literacy on Tribal lands, 

3 and other related activities to ensure Indian 

4 Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations have 

5 full access to resources for robust deployment 

6 of broadband and telecommunications services 

7 or other full use of spectrum over Tribal lands; 

8 (B) assistance for procedures enumerated 

9 under sections 5, 6, and 7; and 

10 (C) participation in the Tribal Spectrum 

11 Market and other spectrum programs managed 

12 by the Commission. 

13 (3) Coordination with other Federal agencies 

14 for activities related to Tribal spectrum manage15 ment, deployment of wireless services, infrastructure 

16 development, or other full use of spectrum over Trib17 al lands, or related activities, including coordinating 

18 with all applicable agencies with available Federal 

19 funding opportunities for which Indian Tribes, Na20 tive Hawaiian organizations, and qualifying Tribal 

21 entities are eligible to apply to further support de22 ployment of broadband on Tribal lands. 

23 (b) CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS AND NOTICE OF IN24 TENT REQUIREMENTS.—The Commission, acting through 

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1 nical assistance and guidance to the Indian Tribe, Native 

2 Hawaiian organization, and qualifying Tribal entity that 

3 submitted the request on the activities under this Act, in4 cluding, but not limited to— 

5 (1) contractual negotiations to assign or lease 

6 spectrum to other Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian 

7 organizations, qualifying Tribal entities, or third8 party licensees, including general information relat9 ing to activities under section 5(b) (including the 

10 fair market value of spectrum licenses, deployment 

11 of telecommunications services, and penalties under 

12 paragraph (3)(C)(ii) of such section) and participa13 tion in the Tribal Spectrum Market; and 

14 (2) filing a Notice of Intent and associated pro15 cedures and timelines specified under section 6. 

16 (c) WIRELESS BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT AND

17 ADOPTION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, act19 ing through the Office of Native Affairs and Policy 

20 and at the request of an Indian Tribe, Native Ha21 waiian organization, or qualifying Tribal entity, pro22 vide technical assistance to apply for and participate 

23 in the Tribal Broadband Fund, other universal serv24 ice support mechanisms, and the Tribal Spectrum 

25 Market. Requests under this paragraph from Indian 


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1 Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and quali2 fying Tribal entities shall receive priority where tele3 communications or wireless broadband services on 

4 Tribal lands have either not been deployed or have 

5 been inadequately deployed. This includes assistance 

6 for associated backhaul, repairs to damaged infra7 structure, or new infrastructure to deploy wireless 

8 broadband service. 

9 (2) ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In 

10 addition to the technical assistance provided under 

11 paragraph (1), the Commission shall provide further 

12 technical assistance that includes training programs 

13 and grant assistance to Indian Tribes, Native Ha14 waiian organizations, qualifying Tribal entities, the 

15 Director of the Department of Hawaiian Home 

16 Lands, inter-Tribal government organizations, and 

17 universities and colleges with Tribal serving institu18 tions for the purpose of immediate deployment of 

19 telecommunications or wireless broadband services, 

20 infrastructure development over Tribal lands, and 

21 related activities identified under this Act. 

22 (d) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, DEPARTMENT

23 OF COMMERCE, AND COMMISSION.—The Secretary of the 

24 Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Commission 

25 shall provide technical assistance to Indian Tribes, Native 


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1 Hawaiian organizations, and qualifying Tribal entities 

2 (and, if located on Tribal lands, to schools, libraries, 

3 health care facilities, public safety entities, Tribal chapter 

4 houses, community centers, government buildings of an 

5 Indian Tribe, and locations where Tribal, State, and Fed6 eral elections and census activities are carried out) to re7 solve barriers to the deployment and adoption of wireless 

8 broadband service and other services provided using spec9 trum, including— 

10 (1) classes or other education related to com11 puter literacy; 

12 (2) acquisition of computers and related hard13 ware and software; 

14 (3) use of wireless broadband service and com15 puters for public safety and emergency communica16 tions services and interoperability; 

17 (4) use of spectrum and wireless broadband 

18 service and computers where Tribal, State, and Fed19 eral elections and census activities are carried out; 

20 (5) use of spectrum and wireless broadband 

21 service and computers to respond to public emer22 gencies, including health and biohazard threats and 

23 natural disasters; and 

24 (6) such other areas as the Commission, or rel25 evant Federal agencies that have a role conducting 


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1 activities on Tribal lands, determines to be advisable 

2 to increase the deployment and adoption of wireless 

3 broadband service and other services provided using 

4 spectrum on Tribal lands, or where an Indian Tribe, 

5 Native Hawaiian organization, or qualifying Tribal 

6 entity holds a valid and active spectrum license. 

7 (e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing under 

8 this section should limit or supersede the Commission’s, 

9 or other Federal agencies’, existing responsibilities or en10 gagement with Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organiza11 tions or communities, and qualifying Tribal entities. 

12 SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

13 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

15 thereafter, the Commission shall submit to Congress and 

16 the Federal agencies specified in subsection (b) both a re17 port on the deployment of broadband and a spectrum li18 cense inventory over Tribal lands that include the fol19 lowing information: 

20 (1) The Commission’s work with Indian Tribes, 

21 Native Hawaiian organizations, qualifying Tribal en22 tities, and associated Tribal organizations, including 

23 spectrum-related matters, and efforts to bolster 

24 Tribal outreach through individual consultation, 

25 funding access, expansion of access to broadband or 


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1 other full use of spectrum over Tribal lands, activi2 ties executed through the Office of Native Affairs 

3 and Policy, rulemakings that have been executed re4 lated to such matters under this Act, and general 

5 updates. 

6 (2) The Commission’s data collection on wheth7 er spectrum license and auction applicants and exist8 ing spectrum license holders over Tribal lands are ei9 ther Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, 

10 qualifying Tribal entities, or third-party licensees. 

11 The Commission shall implement a requirement to 

12 record the ownership classification of all future spec13 trum licenses and new agreements established under 

14 section 5(b). 

15 (3) A verification that the Commission has pro16 vided information about assigned and unassigned li17 censes and license holders to the Indian Tribe, Na18 tive Hawaiian organization, or qualifying Tribal en19 tity where the licenses are geographically located, in20 cluding a detailed description of the licenses, license 

21 holders, and the Indian Tribe, Native Hawaiian or22 ganization, or qualifying Tribal entity to which the 

23 information was provided. 

24 (4) Verification that the Commission has made 

25 contact information easily accessible for Indian 


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1 Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and quali2 fying Tribal entities about participation in any op3 portunities to operate spectrum licenses over Tribal 

4 lands, secondary market opportunities, and the re5 spective processes. 

6 (5) Geographic locations on Tribal lands where 

7 broadband or wireless telecommunications services 

8 have not been built out or deployed. 

9 (6) Recommendations on how the Commission 

10 will support Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organi11 zations, and qualifying Tribal entities to obtain spec12 trum licenses and further deploy broadband 

13 connectivity and other wireless telecommunications 

14 services over Tribal lands where networks have not 

15 been developed. 

16 (7) Publication of available Federal funding 

17 across all agencies for which Indian Tribes, Native 

18 Hawaiian organizations, and qualifying Tribal enti19 ties are eligible to apply to further support deploy20 ment of broadband and telecommunications services 

21 on Tribal lands. 

22 (b) SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

23 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, the Commission shall make publicly available and 


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1 submit all annual reporting and recommendations devel2 oped under subsection (a) to— 

3 (1) Indian Tribes, Department of Hawaiian 

4 Home Lands, and Native Hawaiian organizations; 

5 (2) the Department of the Interior; 

6 (3) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Sen7 ate; 

8 (4) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

9 House of Representatives; 

10 (5) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

11 Transportation of the Senate; 

12 (6) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

13 the House of Representatives; 

14 (7) the FCC Native Nations Communications 

15 Task Force; 

16 (8) Tribal organizations with telecommuni17 cations expertise; and 

18 (9) requesting qualifying Tribal entities. 

19 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ADVISORY AGENCY MEMORANDUM.—The 

22 term ‘‘advisory agency memorandum’’ means docu23 mentation to be produced by the Commission after 

24 each Tribal consultation, prior to the development of 

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1 tion that impacts Tribal interests or Tribal lands. 

2 The purpose of such documentation is to make avail3 able to the public documentation of the proactive 

4 measures of the Commission to provide proper notice 

5 and guidance, introduce policy proposals, provide ro6 bust outreach, and make government-to-government 

7 training and communication accessible to Indian 

8 Tribes, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and 

9 interested Native Hawaiian organizations to preserve 

10 existing Tribal resources and further develop Tribal 

11 interests on Federal lands in furtherance of the 

12 trust responsibility. Such documentation shall estab13 lish the scope, purpose, timelines, relevant Bureaus 

14 and Offices of the Commission, and relevant Com15 mission actor for each Tribal consultation. Such doc16 umentation shall include the method for dissemi17 nating information to the public, and the dates and 

18 method of outreach to the relevant Indian Tribes, 

19 Native Hawaiian organizations, and interested quali20 fying Tribal entities. 

21 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

22 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

23 (3) CRITICAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE.—The 

24 term ‘‘critical government service’’ means any serv25 ice provided by an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 


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1 organization, or Department of Hawaiian Home 

2 Lands, or through an extension or qualifying Tribal 

3 entity of an Indian Tribe, that is used to— 

4 (A) preserve or protect Tribal self-govern5 ance; 

6 (B) control internal relations; 

7 (C) create economic development and the 

8 opportunity for residents of Tribal lands, In9 dian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, 

10 and qualifying Tribal entities to engage in the 

11 broadband economy, telecommunications mar12 kets, and future development of spectrum; 

13 (D) regulate Tribal lands and internal do14 mestic relations; or 

15 (E) manage governmental services, build16 ings, or emergency response, including— 

17 (i) response to national emergencies 

18 or biohazard threats; 

19 (ii) public safety; 

20 (iii) education; 

21 (iv) healthcare services and data; 

22 (v) development of natural resources; 

23 (vi) postal services; 

24 (vii) Tribal buildings (including librar25 ies, Tribal chapter houses, long houses, 


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1 senior centers, community centers, and 

2 other similar government buildings of an 

3 Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organiza4 tion with community purpose); 

5 (viii) cultural and language preserva6 tion; 

7 (ix) voting and services relating to 

8 voting in Tribal, State, and Federal elec9 tions; 

10 (x) services relating to the Federal 

11 census count, for the general welfare and 

12 sustainability of its Tribal lands or mem13 bership, and realization of full autonomy of 

14 resource management and economic devel15 opment, activity, and opportunity; or 

16 (xi) additional essential governmental 

17 services, including infrastructure and eco18 nomic development, that provide support to 

19 an Indian Tribe’s programs and services. 

20 (4) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit21 eracy’’ means information and communications for 

22 the purpose of developing support for technological 

23 deployment and understanding of issues including 

24 infrastructure deployment, fiber buildout, network 

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1 ated Commission programs and funding opportuni2 ties, and other related resources to expedite the im3 mediate deployment and full access to telecommuni4 cations, broadband, spectrum, and wireless services 

5 available for effective and efficient use on Tribal 

6 lands. 

7 (5) HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.—The term ‘‘Ha8 waiian Home Lands’’ means lands held in trust for 

9 Native Hawaiians by Hawaii pursuant to the Hawai10 ian Homes Commission Act, 1920. 

11 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

12 means the governing body of any individually identi13 fied and federally recognized Indian or Alaska Na14 tive Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 

15 affiliated Tribal group, or component reservation in 

16 the list published pursuant to section 104(a) of the 

17 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

18 (25 U.S.C. 5131(a)). 

19 (7) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

20 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’— 

21 (A) means any organization— 

22 (i) that serves the best interests of 

23 Native Hawaiians; 

24 (ii) in which Native Hawaiians serve 

25 in substantive and policymaking positions; 


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1 (iii) that has as a primary and stated 

2 purpose the provision of services to Native 

3 Hawaiians; 

4 (iv) that is recognized for having ex5 pertise in Native Hawaiian affairs, includ6 ing digital connectivity and broadband ac7 cess; and 

8 (v) that administers land applicable 

9 under paragraph (13); and 

10 (B) includes the Department of Hawaiian 

11 Home Lands. 

12 (8) QUALIFYING TRIBAL ENTITY.—The term 

13 ‘‘qualifying Tribal entity’’ means an entity des14 ignated by the Indian Tribe with jurisdiction over 

15 particular Tribal lands for which the spectrum ac16 cess is sought. The following may be designated as 

17 a ‘‘qualifying Tribal entity’’: 

18 (A) Indian Tribes. 

19 (B) Tribal consortia which consists of two 

20 or more Indian Tribes; or an Indian Tribe and 

21 an entity that is more than 50 percent owned 

22 and controlled by one or more Indian Tribes. 

23 (C) Federally chartered Tribal corpora24 tions created under section 17 of the Indian Re25 organization Act (25 U.S.C. 5124), and created 


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1 under section 4 of the Oklahoma Indian Wel2 fare Act (25 U.S.C. 5204). 

3 (D) Entities that are more than 50 percent 

4 owned and controlled by an Indian Tribe or In5 dian Tribes. 

6 (9) ENTITY THAT IS MORE THAN 50 PERCENT

7 OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY ONE OR MORE INDIAN

8 TRIBES.—The term ‘‘entity that is more than 50 

9 percent owned and controlled by one or more Indian 

10 Tribes’’ means an entity over which one or more In11 dian Tribes have both de facto and de jure control 

12 of the entity. De jure control of the entity is evi13 denced by ownership of greater than 50 percent of 

14 the voting stock of a corporation, or in the case of 

15 a partnership, general partnership interests. De 

16 facto control of an entity is determined on a case17 by-case basis. An Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 

18 must demonstrate indicia of control to establish that 

19 such Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes retain de facto 

20 control of the applicant seeking eligibility as a 

21 ‘‘qualifying Tribal entity’’, including the following: 

22 (A) The Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 

23 constitute or appoint more than 50 percent of 

24 the board of directors or management com25 mittee of the entity. 


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1 (B) The Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 

2 have authority to appoint, promote, demote, 

3 and fire senior executives who control the day4 to-day activities of the entity. 

5 (C) The Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 

6 play an integral role in the management deci7 sions of the entity. 

8 (D) The Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 

9 have the authority to make decisions or other10 wise engage in practices or activities that deter11 mine or significantly influence— 

12 (i) the nature or types of services of13 fered by such an entity; 

14 (ii) the terms upon which such serv15 ices are offered; or 

16 (iii) the prices charged for such serv17 ices. 

18 (10) SPECTRUM OVER TRIBAL LANDS.—The 

19 term ‘‘spectrum over Tribal lands’’ means all spec20 trum on Tribal lands, including wireless, radio, tele21 vision, broadcast, commercial and noncommercial 

22 uses, and current generation or better wireless 

23 broadband services. 

24 (11) THIRD-PARTY LICENSEE.—The term 

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1 fying Tribal entity that possesses valid spectrum li2 cense rights over Tribal lands, or an eligible third3 party licensee that an Indian Tribe or Native Ha4 waiian organization chooses to negotiate spectrum li5 censes for telecommunications services for the 

6 agreed-upon time period of the license contract on 

7 the specified geographic area on Tribal lands where 

8 it must meet its construction obligation or require9 ments. 

10 (12) TRIBAL BROADBAND FUND.—The term 

11 ‘‘Tribal Broadband Fund’’ means the additional uni12 versal service support mechanism established by the 

13 Commission under section 7 to provide Federal 

14 funding to Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organiza15 tions, and qualifying Tribal entities from universal 

16 service contributions, auctions proceeds, or any other 

17 accounts or reserve funds available to the Commis18 sion, for the purpose of providing a source of sup19 port for infrastructure deployment, ‘‘middle mile’’ 

20 and long haul fiber buildout, adoption of digital lit21 eracy, and other related resources to expedite the 

22 immediate deployment of and full access to tele23 communications, broadband, spectrum use and fu24 ture development, wireless services (including wire25 less broadband service), and other purposes specified 


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1 under section 7 for effective and efficient use on 

2 Tribal lands. 

3 (13) TRIBAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Tribal lands’’ 

4 has the meaning given that term in section 73.7000 

5 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as of April 

6 16, 2020, and includes the definition ‘‘Indian Coun7 try’’ as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United 

8 States Code, and includes fee simple and restricted 

9 fee land held by an Indian Tribe. This term also in10 cludes the definition ‘‘Hawaiian Home Lands’’ as 

11 defined under paragraph (5). 

12 (14) WIRELESS BROADBAND SERVICE.—The 

13 term ‘‘wireless broadband service’’ means wireless 

14 broadband internet access service that is delivered— 

15 (A) with a download speed of not less than 

16 25 megabits per second and an upload speed of 

17 not less than 3 megabits per second; and 

18 (B) through— 

19 (i) mobile service; 

20 (ii) fixed point-to-point multipoint 

21 service; 

22 (iii) fixed point-to-point service; or 

23 (iv) broadcast service. 

Æ 


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