II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1939 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transportation to require that broadband conduits be installed as part of certain 

highway construction projects, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 1, 2011 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transportation to require that broadband conduits be installed as part of certain highway construction 

projects, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Broadband Conduit 

5 Deployment Act of 2011’’. 


rfrederick on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1939 IS

1 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF BROADBAND CONDUIT INSTALLA2 TION IN CERTAIN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION 

3 PROJECTS. 

4 Chapter 3 of title 23, United States Code, is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 330. Inclusion of broadband conduit installation in 

7 certain highway construction projects 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) BROADBAND.—The term ‘broadband’ 

10 means an Internet Protocol-based transmission serv11 ice that enables users to send and receive voice, 

12 video, data, or graphics, or a combination of those 

13 items. 

14 ‘‘(2) BROADBAND CONDUIT.—The term 

15 ‘broadband conduit’ means a conduit for fiber optic 

16 cables that support broadband or, where appro17 priate, wireless facilities for broadband service. 

18 ‘‘(3) COVERED HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

19 PROJECT.—The term ‘covered highway construction 

20 project’ means a project to construct a new highway 

21 or to construct an additional lane or shoulder for an 

22 existing highway that— 

23 ‘‘(A) is commenced after the date of enact24 ment of this section; and 

25 ‘‘(B) receives funding under this title. 


rfrederick on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1939 IS

1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall require 

2 States to install 1 or more broadband conduits in accord3 ance with this section as part of any covered highway con4 struction project. 

5 ‘‘(c) INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying 

6 out subsection (b), the Secretary shall ensure, to the max7 imum extent practicable with respect to a covered highway 

8 construction project, that— 

9 ‘‘(1) an appropriate number of broadband con10 duits, as determined by the Secretary, are installed 

11 along the highway to accommodate multiple 

12 broadband providers, with consideration given to the 

13 availability of existing conduits; 

14 ‘‘(2) the size of each such conduit is consistent 

15 with industry best practices and is sufficient to ac16 commodate potential demand, as determined by the 

17 Secretary; and 

18 ‘‘(3) hand holes and manholes for fiber access 

19 and pulling with respect to each such conduit are 

20 placed at intervals consistent with industry best 

21 practices, as determined by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS.—In establishing standards to 

23 carry out subsection (c), the Secretary shall take into con24 sideration— 


rfrederick on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1939 IS

1 ‘‘(1) population density in the area of a covered 

2 highway construction project; 

3 ‘‘(2) the type of highway involved in the project; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(3) existing broadband access in the area of 

6 the project. 

7 ‘‘(e) PULL TAPE.—Each broadband conduit installed 

8 pursuant to this section shall include a pull tape and be 

9 capable of supporting fiber optic cable placement tech10 niques consistent with industry best practices, as deter11 mined by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(f) ACCESS.—The Secretary shall ensure that any 

13 requesting broadband provider has access to each 

14 broadband conduit installed pursuant to this section, on 

15 a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, for 

16 a charge not to exceed a cost-based rate. 

17 ‘‘(g) DEPTH OF INSTALLATION.—Each broadband 

18 conduit installed pursuant to this section shall be placed 

19 at a depth consistent with industry best practices, as de20 termined by the Secretary, after consideration is given to 

21 the location of existing utilities and the cable separation 

22 requirements of State and local electrical codes. 

23 ‘‘(h) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

24 waive the application of this section or any provision of 

25 this section if the Secretary determines that, upon a showVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:29 Dec 02, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1939.IS S1939

rfrederick on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1939 IS

1 ing of undue burden or that a covered highway construc2 tion project is not necessary based on the availability of 

3 existing broadband conduit infrastructure, cost-benefit 

4 analysis, or consideration of other relevant factors, the 

5 waiver is appropriate with respect to a covered highway 

6 construction project. 

7 ‘‘(i) COORDINATION WITH FCC.—In carrying out 

8 this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the Fed9 eral Communications Commission, including with respect 

10 to determinations regarding— 

11 ‘‘(1) potential demand under subsection (c)(2); 

12 ‘‘(2) existing broadband access under subsection 

13 (d)(3); 

14 ‘‘(3) pull tape requirements under subsection 

15 (e); and 

16 ‘‘(4) depth-of-installation standards under sub17 section (g).’’. 

18 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

19 The analysis for chapter 3 of title 23, United States 

20 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘330. Inclusion of broadband conduit installation in certain highway construction projects.’’. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS