II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1504 

To establish a market driven telecommunications marketplace, to eliminate 

government managed competition of existing communication service, and 

to provide parity between functionally equivalent services. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2005 

Mr. ENSIGN (for himself and Mr. MCCAIN) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a market driven telecommunications marketplace, to eliminate government managed competition of 

existing communication service, and to provide parity 

between functionally equivalent services. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
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Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. General principle. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

Sec. 5. Consumer communications service. 

Sec. 6. Federal quality standards. 

Sec. 7. Consumer access to content and applications. 

Sec. 8. Regulatory authority of the commission. 

Sec. 9. Network interconnection and access requirements. 

Sec. 10. Unbundled access to copper loops, physical collocation, and resale. 

Sec. 11. Number portability. 

Sec. 12. Special provisions for 2-percent carriers. 

Sec. 13. Video services. 

Sec. 14. Copyright limitations on exclusive rights video service providers. 

Sec. 15. Municipally owned networks. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Since passage of the Telecommunications 

4 Act of 1996, there have been dramatic changes in 

5 the industry, technology, and marketplace requiring 

6 Congress to revisit the communications policy of the 

7 Nation. 

8 (2) Inter-modal competition is bringing con9 sumers more choice in voice, data, and video service 

10 options than ever before. 

11 (3) A new policy framework is required to allow 

12 functionally equivalent services to compete fairly. 

13 (4) Silos of regulation based on historical regu14 latory classifications only invite arbitrage and result 

15 in government influenced market distortions. 

16 (5) Such market distortions coupled with lack 

17 of regulatory certainty is chilling investment and 

18 stalling deployment of broadband networks. 
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1 (6) The United States is falling behind the 

2 world in broadband penetration and it must encour3 age investment to regain a leadership position in the 

4 world. 

5 (7) Communications networks are global in na6 ture and the United States must eliminate barriers 

7 for domestic communications providers to compete in 

8 the global marketplace. 

9 (8) As the United States transitions to a mar10 ket driven communications service sector, consumers 

11 should be protected with a safety net of access to af12 fordable Basic Telephone Service. 

13 (9) A new communications framework should 

14 foster consumer value and choice by unleashing mar15 kets, in lieu of government-managed competition. 

16 (10) The 1’s and 0’s of the digital age are not 

17 constrained by State lines or national boundaries, 

18 therefore, a patch work quilt of State and local regu19 lations will only stifle growth and impose undue 

20 costs and burdens on consumers. 

21 (11) In the event that market failure leads 

22 State or local governments to contemplate construc23 tion of their own communications services, the op24 tion to enter that market should first be provided to 

25 commercial providers under similar terms to ensure 
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1 that such governments are not competing unneces2 sarily with private industry. 

3 (12) Robust competition coupled with rapid 

4 number portability will empower consumers to 

5 choose the best services at the best prices. 

6 SEC. 3. GENERAL PRINCIPLE. 

7 (1) APPLICABILITY OF THE COMMUNICATIONS

8 ACT OF 1934.—Except as provided in this Act, any 

9 conduct, activity, service, or service provider shall on 

10 or after the date of enactment of this Act, be subject 

11 only to the requirements of this Act, if such conduct, 

12 activity, service, or service provider was, before the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, subject to— 

14 (A) titles I, II, and VI or section 332 of 

15 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

16 151 et seq.); 

17 (B) any equivalent State common carrier 

18 law or regulation with respect to telecommuni19 cations, telecommunications services, or infor20 mation services; or 

21 (C) any State or local law, regulation, or 

22 order with respect to cable services or video 

23 services. 

24 (2) LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT AUTHOR25 ITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision of Fed-
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1 eral, State, or local law, and except as provided in 

2 this Act, no Federal, State, or local government 

3 shall have authority— 

4 (A) to regulate the rates, terms, price, or 

5 quality of any communications service; 

6 (B) to require any facilities-based commu7 nications service provider to provide third par8 ties with access to its facilities; or 

9 (C) to regulate the rates, terms, and condi10 tions, if any, on which a facilities-based commu11 nications service provider chooses to afford 

12 third parties with access to its facilities. 

13 (3) NO EFFECT ON TITLES IV, V, VII OF THE

14 COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.—Nothing in this 

15 Act shall be construed to affect title IV, V, or VII 

16 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 

17 et seq.) and the provisions of such titles shall be ap18 plicable to any conduct, activity, service, or service 

19 provider subject to this Act. 

20 (4) AFFECT ON CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF TITLE

21 II OF THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act 

23 shall be construed to affect the authority of the 

24 Commission under sections 206, 207, 208, 209, 
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1 224, 225, 226, 227, 229, 230, 253, and 255 of 

2 the Communications Act of 1934. 

3 (B) AUTHORITY STILL VALID.—Except as 

4 provided otherwise in this Act, any conduct, ac5 tivity, service, or service provider subject to this 

6 Act shall be subject to the authority and the re7 quirements of the provisions of the Communica8 tions Act of 1934 described in subparagraph 

9 (A). 

10 (5) NO AFFECT ON STATE LAWS OF GENERAL

11 APPLICABILITY.—Nothing in this Act is intended to 

12 affect State laws of general applicability to all busi13 nesses, except to the extent that such laws are in14 consistent with this Act. 

15 (6) DIRECT-TO-HOME SATELLITE SERVICES.— 

16 No State or local government shall have the author17 ity to regulate through franchise agreements or oth18 erwise direct-to-home satellite services, including any 

19 activity, conduct, or matter concerning— 

20 (A) rates; 

21 (B) services; 

22 (C) billing; 

23 (D) equipment; and 

24 (E) sales. 
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1 (7) REGULATORY TREATMENT OF MOBILE

2 SERVICES.— 

3 (A) FORBEARANCE.—The Commission 

4 shall forbear from applying any regulation, pro5 vision, or requirement imposed by this Act or 

6 the Communications Act of 1934 to a mobile 

7 service or persons or classes of persons engaged 

8 in the provision of such service, to the extent 

9 such persons are engaged in the provision of 

10 such service, in all of the geographic markets 

11 served by such service, unless the Commission 

12 determines that enforcement of such regulation 

13 or provision is necessary— 

14 (i) because of the lack of competition 

15 among providers of such service; or 

16 (ii) for the protection of public health 

17 and safety. 

18 (B) PETITION FOR FORBEARANCE.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any provider or 

20 class of providers of a mobile service may 

21 submit a petition to the Commission re22 questing that the Commission exercise the 

23 authority granted under subparagraph (A) 

24 with respect to that provider or class of 

25 providers. 
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1 (ii) 1-YEAR REVIEW PERIOD.—Not 

2 later than 1 year after the Commission re3 ceives a petition submitted under clause 

4 (i), such petition shall be deemed granted 

5 if the Commission does not deny the peti6 tion on either of the grounds described in 

7 subparagraph (A), unless such 1-year pe8 riod is extended by the Commission. 

9 (iii) EXTENSION OF REVIEW PE10 RIOD.—The Commission may extend the 

11 initial 1-year period under clause (ii) by an 

12 additional 90 days if the Commission finds 

13 that an extension is necessary to complete 

14 the determination required by that clause. 

15 (iv) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.— 

16 The Commission— 

17 (I) may grant or deny a petition 

18 in whole or in part; and 

19 (II) shall explain its decision in 

20 writing. 

21 (8) REGULATORY TREATMENT OF SEAMLESS

22 MOBILITY.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—In implementing the 

24 provisions of this Act or any other proceeding, 
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1 the Commission shall not take any action to im2 pede the development of seamless mobility. 

3 (B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

4 paragraph, the term ‘‘seamless mobility’’ means 

5 the ability of a consumer and connecting de6 vices of consumer to move easily and smoothly 

7 between and among internet protocol enabled 

8 technology platforms, facilities, and networks. 

9 (9) RULEMAKING.—The Commission shall have 

10 authority to establish rules to implement the provi11 sions of paragraphs (3) and (4) that are no greater 

12 or lesser than the requirements contained in the ti13 tles described in paragraph (3) and the sections de14 scribed in paragraph (4). 

15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act: 

17 (1) BASIC TELEPHONE SERVICE; BTS.—The 

18 term ‘‘Basic Telephone Service’’ or ‘‘BTS’’— 

19 (A) means a single-line flat rate voice com20 munications service— 

21 (i) within a traditional local calling 

22 area; 

23 (ii) with access to 911; 

24 (iii) with touch tone dialing; and 

25 (iv) with access to long distance; and 
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1 (B) does not include any interexchange 

2 communications wireline service. 

3 (2) BROADBAND COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.— 

4 The term ‘‘broadband communications service’’ 

5 means a communications service enabling the trans6 mission of communications at a capacity greater 

7 than 64 kilobits per second. 

8 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

9 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

10 (4) COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.—The term 

11 ‘‘communications service’’— 

12 (A) means any service enabling an end 

13 user to transmit, receive, store, forward, re14 trieve, modify, or obtain voice, data, image, or 

15 video communications using any technology, in16 cluding— 

17 (i) copper; 

18 (ii) coaxial cable; 

19 (iii) optical fiber; 

20 (iv) terrestrial fixed wireless; 

21 (v) terrestrial mobile wireless; 

22 (vi) satellite; 

23 (vii) power lines; or 

24 (viii) successor technologies; and 

25 (B) does not include— 
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1 (i) television or radio broadcasting; 

2 and 

3 (ii) any service that is not provided to 

4 the public or to a substantial portion of the 

5 public. 

6 (5) CONSUMER.—The term ‘‘consumer’’— 

7 (A) means a consumer of goods or services 

8 whether for a fee, in exchange for an explicit 

9 benefit, or provided for free; and 

10 (B) includes— 

11 (i) an end user of communications 

12 service; 

13 (ii) individuals; 

14 (iii) partnerships; 

15 (iv) associations; 

16 (v) joint-stock companies; 

17 (vi) trusts; and 

18 (vii) corporations. 

19 (6) COPPER LOOPS.—The term ‘‘copper loops’’ 

20 means an entirely copper cable transmission facility 

21 used to provide circuit switched services, between a 

22 distribution frame (or its equivalent) in the central 

23 office of an incumbent local exchange carrier and the 

24 loop demarcation point at the premise of a con25 sumer. 
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1 (7) ELIGIBLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER; 

2 ETC.—The term ‘‘eligible telecommunications car3 rier’’ or ‘‘ETC’’ means a telecommunications carrier 

4 that has been determined, under section 214(e) of 

5 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

6 214(e)), to be eligible for Federal universal service 

7 support. 

8 (8) FACILITIES-BASED PROVIDER.—The term 

9 ‘‘facilities-based provider’’ means a provider of a 

10 communications service to the extent that such pro11 vider makes available such communications service 

12 predominantly by means of its own network. 

13 (9) FRANCHISE.—The term ‘‘franchise’’ has the 

14 meaning given to such term in section 602(9) of the 

15 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 522(9)). 

16 (10) INCUMBENT LOCAL EXCHANGE CAR17 RIER.—The term ‘‘Incumbent Local Exchange Car18 rier’’ has the meaning given to such term in section 

19 251(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

20 U.S.C. 251(h)). 

21 (11) INTERCONNECTION.—The term ‘‘inter22 connection’’ means the physical linking of 2 net23 works whether directly or indirectly for the mutual 

24 exchange of non video traffic. 
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1 (12) NARROWBAND COMMUNICATIONS SERV2 ICE.—The term ‘‘narrowband communications serv3 ice’’ means a communications service enabling the 

4 transmission of communications at a capacity of not 

5 more than 64 kilobits per second. 

6 (13) PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NET7 WORK.—The term ‘‘public switched telephone net8 work’’ means the collection of interconnected circuit 

9 switched telecommunications. 

10 (14) SATELLITE CARRIER.—The term ‘‘satellite 

11 carrier’’ has the meaning given to such term in sec12 tion 119(d)(6) of title 17, United States Code. 

13 (15) TRANSITING SERVICE.—The term 

14 ‘‘transiting service’’ means a service provided by a 

15 facilities-based provider which facilitates the indirect 

16 interconnection between 2 other facilities-based pro17 viders on the circuit switched network. 

18 (16) 2-PERCENT CARRIER.—The term ‘‘2-per19 cent carrier’’ means an incumbent local exchange 

20 provider which serves in aggregate less than 2 per21 cent of the access lines of the Nation on the date of 

22 enactment this Act. 

23 (17) VIDEO SERVICE.—The term ‘‘video serv24 ice’’ means— 

25 (A) video programming; 
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1 (B) interactive on demand services; and 

2 (C) other programming services. 

3 (18) VIDEO SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

4 ‘‘video service provider’’— 

5 (A) means a provider of video service that 

6 utilizes a public right-of-way in the provision of 

7 such service; and 

8 (B) does not include— 

9 (i) a satellite carrier; 

10 (ii) any person providing video pro11 gramming using radio communication; 

12 (iii) any other provider of video serv13 ice that does not use a public right-of-way 

14 in the provision of its service; or 

15 (iv) any person providing video service 

16 by means of a commercial mobile service, 

17 unless such person has substantially re18 placed a video service provider described in 

19 subparagraph (A) by occupying a position 

20 in the video service market comparable to 

21 that occupied by such provider. 

22 (b) COMMON TERMINOLOGY.—Except as otherwise 

23 provided in subsection (a), terms used in this Act shall 

24 have the same meaning given to such terms under sections 
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1 3, 332(d), and 602 of the Communications Act of 1934 

2 (47 U.S.C. 153, 332(d), and 522). 

3 SEC. 5. CONSUMER COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE. 

4 (a) BASIC TELEPHONE SERVICE SAFETY NET.— 

5 Each telecommunications carrier that is deemed to be an 

6 incumbent local exchange carrier on the date of enactment 

7 of this Act and any ETC shall offer BTS to business and 

8 residential customers throughout the service territory of 

9 such incumbent local exchange carrier, as such service ter10 ritory was defined on the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (b) RATE CAP.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Until January 1, 2010, BTS 

13 rates charged by an incumbent local exchange car14 rier shall be capped at current basic local residential 

15 or business rates. 

16 (2) EXCEPTION.—The cap under paragraph (1) 

17 does not include additional fees and charges that 

18 may be imposed to cover expenses related to— 

19 (A) subscriber line and universal service 

20 charges; and 

21 (B) other similar taxes and fees. 

22 (3) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT.—After January 1, 

23 2010, BTS rate caps may be adjusted annually by 

24 the incumbent local exchange carrier by an amount 
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1 not to exceed any adjustment in the Consumer Price 

2 Index. 

3 (c) EXPANSION OF BTS.—An incumbent local ex4 change carrier or an ETC may expand or modify the serv5 ices it provides in its BTS offering, if such expansion or 

6 modification results in a BTS offering that is equal or 

7 more favorable to consumers. 

8 (d) BTS TECHNOLOGY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An incumbent local ex10 change carrier or an ETC may determine the tech11 nology it uses to meet its BTS obligations under this 

12 section, if such technology does not alter the rates, 

13 terms, and conditions for a BTS offering required 

14 under subsection (b). 

15 (2) EQUAL ACCESS NOT REQUIRED.—Notwith16 standing any other provision of this Act or any other 

17 provision of law, a BTS offering may not require 

18 equal access to long distance, if the incumbent local 

19 exchange carrier or an ETC is offering BTS through 

20 a communications technology that does not support 

21 equal access as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

22 (e) TERMINATION OF BTS.—If a consumer purchases 

23 any service, capability, or function in addition to a BTS 

24 offering, the resulting offering shall not— 

25 (1) be deemed to be a BTS offering; and 
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1 (2) be subject to the requirements of subsection 

2 (a). 

3 (f) CARRIER OF LAST RESORT OBLIGATIONS.—Any 

4 carrier of last resort obligation under the Communications 

5 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) or any equivalent 

6 State law, regulation, or order shall be satisfied, subject 

7 to the exceptions provided in such section, by the ubiq8 uitous availability of BTS to all consumers in a service 

9 territory. 

10 SEC. 6. FEDERAL QUALITY STANDARDS. 

11 (a) QUALITY STANDARDS.—The Commission, taking 

12 into consideration that different technologies can poten13 tially be used to provide BTS service and that such tech14 nologies may have different performance characteristics 

15 than a public switched telephone network, shall establish 

16 Federal quality standards for BTS service relating to— 

17 (1) reasonable uptime; 

18 (2) installation intervals; 

19 (3) repair intervals; and 

20 (4) suitable voice quality. 

21 (b) ADDITIONAL STANDARDS.—The Commission 

22 shall establish reasonable maximum intervals for the per23 formance of different classes of incumbent local exchange 

24 carriers. 

25 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of this Act, a State commission shall have 

3 the authority to enforce the Federal quality stand4 ards established under subsections (a) and (b). 

5 (2) LIMITATION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The regulatory power 

7 granted to a State commission under this sub8 section shall apply only to the enforcement of 

9 the Federal standards under subsections (a) 

10 and (b). 

11 (B) PENALTIES.—Any penalties assessed 

12 by a State commission for violations of the 

13 standards established under subsections (a) and 

14 (b) shall be limited to those provided for in 

15 paragraph (4). 

16 (3) LIMITATION ON CLASS ACTIONS.—No class 

17 action alleging a violation of the standards under 

18 subsection (a) and (b) shall be maintained under 

19 this subsection by an individual or any private party 

20 in Federal or State court. 

21 (4) PENALTIES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

23 other provision of this Act, any ETC or incum24 bent local exchange carrier that violates the 

25 standards established under subsections (a) and 
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1 (b) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to ex2 ceed $50 per household for the first violation. 

3 (B) SUBSEQUENT VIOLATIONS.—Subse4 quent violations by any ETC or incumbent local 

5 exchange carrier of the standards established 

6 under subsections (a) and (b) shall increase at 

7 intervals of $50 per violation per household up 

8 to a maximum of $500. 

9 (C) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT.—The amount 

10 of penalties provided under this section shall be 

11 adjusted annually by an amount equal to any 

12 adjustment in the Consumer Price Index. 

13 (D) PENALTY TO BE PAID TO CON14 SUMERS.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—All penalties col16 lected under authority of this section shall 

17 be paid to consumers that are directly af18 fected by the failure to comply with the 

19 standards established under subsections 

20 (a) and (b). 

21 (ii) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—The pen22 alties established under authority of this 

23 section shall be the exclusive remedy for 

24 failure to comply with the standards estab25 lished under subsections (a) and (b). 
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1 (d) COMMISSION TO ACT IF STATE COMMISSION

2 WILL NOT ACT.—If a State commission fails to carry out 

3 its enforcement responsibilities under subsection (c), the 

4 Commission shall— 

5 (1) issue an order preempting the jurisdiction 

6 of the State commission; and 

7 (2) assume exclusive enforcement authority. 

8 (e) LIFELINE ASSISTANCE.—Nothing in this section 

9 shall affect the collection, distribution, or administration 

10 of the Lifeline Assistance Program provided for by the 

11 Commission under regulations set forth in section 69.117 

12 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, and other related 

13 sections of such title. 

14 SEC. 7. CONSUMER ACCESS TO CONTENT AND APPLICA15 TIONS. 

16 (a) ACCESS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer may not be de18 nied access to any content provided over facilities 

19 used to provide broadband communications service 

20 and a broadband service provider shall not willfully 

21 and knowingly block access to such content by a 

22 subscriber, unless— 

23 (A) such content is determined to be ille24 gal; 
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1 (B) such denial is expressly authorized by 

2 Federal or State law; or 

3 (C) such access is inconsistent with the 

4 terms of the service plan of such consumer in5 cluding applicable bandwidth capacity or quality 

6 of service constraints. 

7 (2) CUSTOMIZED CONTENT.—A broadband 

8 communications service provider may offer to a con9 sumer a customized plan developed through such 

10 service providers network or commercial arrange11 ments with providers of content, applications, and 

12 other service components to differentiate— 

13 (A) access to content; 

14 (B) the availability of applications; and 

15 (C) the character of service components 

16 available. 

17 (3) NON-CUSTOMIZED CONTENT.—Nothing in 

18 subsection (a) shall adversely affect the performance 

19 of non-customized consumer access to content, serv20 ices, and applications offered by the competitors of 

21 a broadband service provider. 

22 (b) ENFORCEMENT OF ACCESS VIOLATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may take 

24 such enforcement action as it may prescribe by rule, 

25 if the Commission determines that a broadband 
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1 communications service provider intentionally re2 stricted access to any content described in sub3 section (a)(1). 

4 (2) EXCEPTION.—A broadband communications 

5 service provider may not be in violation of subsection 

6 (a), if such service provider does not interrupt or 

7 block access to any content described in subsection 

8 (a)(1) when— 

9 (A) performing network— 

10 (i) optimization or management; 

11 (ii) security; or 

12 (iii) prioritization; 

13 (B) performing other measures to ensure 

14 network security and integrity; or 

15 (C) attempting to prevent unlawful con16 duct. 

17 (c) PARENTAL CONTROLS.—Nothing in this section 

18 shall be construed to prohibit— 

19 (1) any communications service provider from 

20 offering a service that allows a consumer to block 

21 display of programs with a common rating; and 

22 (2) a provider of mobile services from offering 

23 or providing access only to a family friendly service 

24 to a subscriber. 
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1 (d) CONNECTIVITY OF DEVICES.—Except as provided 

2 in this section, a broadband service provider shall not pre3 vent any person from utilizing equipment and devices in 

4 connection with lawful content or applications. 

5 (e) ACCESS TO VOIP APPLICATIONS.—Nothing in 

6 subsection (a) shall permit a broadband service provider 

7 to prevent a customer from using voice over Internet Pro8 tocol applications offered by a competitor. 

9 SEC. 8. REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION. 

10 (a) FEDERAL POLICY.—The Commission shall, with 

11 respect to communication service providers, develop rules 

12 and regulations regarding— 

13 (1) automatic dialing, telephone solicitation, 

14 slamming, cramming, E911, obscene and harassing 

15 telephone calls; 

16 (2) billing disputes; 

17 (3) the use, sale, and distribution of consumer 

18 proprietary network information; and 

19 (4) access for persons with disabilities, includ20 ing— 

21 (A) the hearing impaired; and 

22 (B) the speech impaired. 

23 (b) COMMISSION RULES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing the rules re25 quired under subsection (a), the Commission shall 
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1 take into account the technical limitations of the 

2 technology used by communications service pro3 viders. 

4 (2) TIMING.—Not later than 120 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

6 establish the rules required under subsection (a), 

7 and until such rules become effective, the require8 ments of Federal law, including all prior Commis9 sion rules and orders in effect on the date of enact10 ment of this Act relating to the matters described in 

11 subsection (a) shall— 

12 (A) remain in effect; and 

13 (B) be applicable to the matters described 

14 in subsection (a). 

15 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

16 (1) STATE COMMISSION AUTHORITY.—Notwith17 standing any other provisions of this Act, a State 

18 commission shall have authority to enforce the rules 

19 established by the Commission pursuant to this sec20 tion. 

21 (2) LOCAL POINT OF CONTACT.—Each State 

22 commission shall designate a local point of contact, 

23 which residents of that State may contact to alert 

24 the State of any potential violations of the rules and 

25 regulations set forth under subsection (a). 
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1 (3) LIMITATION ON CLASS ACTIONS.—No class 

2 action alleging a violation of the rules and regula3 tions set forth under subsection (a) shall be main4 tained under this subsection by an individual or any 

5 private party in Federal or State court. 

6 (4) PARENS PATRIAE AUTHORITY.—In any case 

7 in which a State commission has reason to believe 

8 that an act or practice violates the rules and regula9 tions set forth under subsection (a), the State com10 mission may bring a civil action on behalf of the 

11 residents of that State in a district court of the 

12 United States of appropriate jurisdiction, or any 

13 other court of competent jurisdiction, to— 

14 (A) enjoin the act or practice; 

15 (B) obtain— 

16 (i) damages in the sum of actual dam17 ages, restitution, or other compensation on 

18 behalf of affected residents of the State; 

19 and 

20 (ii) punitive damages, if the violation 

21 is willful or intentional; or 

22 (C) obtain such other legal and equitable 

23 relief as the court may consider to be appro24 priate. 

25 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 
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1 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

2 this subsection may be brought in the district 

3 court of the United States that meets applicable 

4 requirements relating to venue under section 

5 1931 of title 28, United States Code. 

6 (B) SERVICE OR PROCESS.—In an action 

7 brought under this subsection, process may be 

8 served in any district in which the defendant— 

9 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

10 (ii) may be found. 

11 (d) LIMITATION OF STATE AUTHORITY.—Notwith12 standing the provisions of this section, States and State 

13 commissions shall have no authority to impose different 

14 or additional interconnection or intercarrier compensation 

15 requirements on communication service providers. 

16 (e) COMMISSION TO ACT IF STATE COMMISSION

17 WILL NOT ACT.—If a State commission fails to carry out 

18 its enforcement responsibilities under subsection (c), the 

19 Commission shall— 

20 (1) issue an order preempting the jurisdiction 

21 of the State commission; and 

22 (2) assume exclusive enforcement authority. 

23 SEC. 9. NETWORK INTERCONNECTION AND ACCESS RE24 QUIREMENTS. 

25 (a) INTERCONNECTION ARRANGEMENTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Facilities-based providers 

2 shall establish commercial arrangements regarding 

3 the ability of such facilities-based providers to inter4 connect with other facilities-based providers. 

5 (2) SCOPE OF ARRANGEMENTS.—The commer6 cial arrangements described in paragraph (1) shall 

7 establish the rates, terms, and conditions on which 

8 facilities-based providers shall interconnect with 

9 other facilities-based providers. 

10 (3) EXEMPTION FROM REGULATION.—Except 

11 as provided in subsections (b) and (c), the commer12 cial arrangements described in paragraph (1) may 

13 not be subject to regulation by the Commission or 

14 by the States or State commissions. 

15 (b) COMMISSION INTERVENTION WITH

16 NARROWBAND COMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis19 sion shall develop a regulatory framework governing 

20 interconnection between facilities-based providers 

21 and narrowband communication service providers. 

22 (2) SCOPE OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.—The 

23 regulatory framework described in paragraph (1) 

24 shall apply only in connection with the termination 
28 

•S 1504 IS

1 or origination of traffic on narrowband communica2 tion service providers facilities. 

3 (3) UNIFORM RATE STRUCTURE.—The regu4 latory framework described in paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) shall establish a uniform rate structure 

6 governing interconnection between facilities7 based providers and narrowband communication 

8 service providers; 

9 (B) shall apply only in the event 

10 narrowband communication service providers 

11 cannot agree on the rates, terms, and condi12 tions of interconnection between facilities-based 

13 providers and such narrowband communication 

14 service providers; and 

15 (C) may not require the Commission to use 

16 any particular rate-making methodology in es17 tablishing the uniform rate structure required 

18 by this paragraph. 

19 (4) NO STATE AUTHORITY.—No State or State 

20 commission may establish rates, terms, or conditions 

21 governing interconnection between facilities-based 

22 providers and narrowband communication service 

23 providers regardless of the jurisdictional nature of 

24 the underlying traffic involved. 
29 

•S 1504 IS

1 (5) CONTENTS OF FRAMEWORK.—The regu2 latory framework described in paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) shall establish reasonable and equitable 

4 points of interconnection; 

5 (B) shall facilitate narrowband commu6 nication service providers efforts to innovate 

7 and introduce new services and packages of 

8 services to consumers; 

9 (C) shall eliminate arbitrage opportunities; 

10 (D) shall eliminate intercarrier disputes 

11 over the rates, terms, and conditions of direct 

12 interconnection; and 

13 (E) may not unduly burden electronic com14 merce. 

15 (c) TRANSITING SERVICE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Transiting service providers 

17 shall establish commercial arrangements with re18 spect to transiting services. 

19 (2) SCOPE OF ARRANGEMENTS.—The commer20 cial arrangements described in paragraph (1) shall 

21 establish the rates, terms, and conditions for 

22 transiting service. 

23 (3) EXEMPTION FROM REGULATION.—Except 

24 as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5), the commer25 cial arrangements described in paragraphs (1) and 
30 

•S 1504 IS

1 (2) may not be subject to regulation by the Commis2 sion or by the States or State commissions. 

3 (4) COMMISSION INTERVENTION FOR

4 TRANSITING SERVICE.— 

5 (A) ESTABLISHMENT OF REGULATORY

6 FRAMEWORK.—Not later than 6 months after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis8 sion shall develop a regulatory framework gov9 erning transiting service. 

10 (B) APPLICABILITY OF REGULATORY

11 FRAMEWORK.—The regulatory framework de12 veloped under subparagraph (A) shall apply 

13 only in the event agreement cannot be reached 

14 on the rates, terms, and conditions for 

15 transiting service pursuant to paragraphs (1) 

16 and (2). 

17 (5) SCOPE OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.—The 

18 regulatory framework described in paragraph (4) 

19 shall establish the rates, terms, and conditions on 

20 which facilities-based providers shall provide 

21 transiting service. 

22 (6) NO COMPENSATION OBLIGATION.— 

23 Transiting service providers shall have no obligation 

24 to compensate any party to an indirect interconnec-
31 

•S 1504 IS

1 tion of narrowband communications service providers 

2 for the delivery of any transited traffic. 

3 (d) SUNSET OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.—The 

4 regulatory frameworks established under subsections (b) 

5 and (c) shall terminate on the day occurring 5 years after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (e) NOTICE OF CHANGES.—A facilities-based pro8 vider of communications service shall provide reasonable 

9 public notice of— 

10 (1) changes in the information necessary for the 

11 transmission and routing of communications service 

12 using such facilities-based provider of communica13 tions service facilities or networks; and 

14 (2) any other changes that would affect the 

15 interoperability of such facilities and networks. 

16 (f) IDENTIFICATION OF TRAFFIC.—Any party seek17 ing to use a facilities-based provider of communications 

18 service network to route their traffic through another fa19 cilities-based provider of communications service shall, to 

20 the extent technically feasible and in a manner consistent 

21 with applicable industry standards, identify— 

22 (1) such traffic; and 

23 (2) the origin of such traffic. 

24 (g) EQUAL ACCESS.—Nothing in this Act shall re25 quire any communications service provider, or any other 
32 

•S 1504 IS

1 person, that was not required on the date of enactment 

2 of this Act to provide equal access to common carriers for 

3 the provision of telephone toll services to provide such 

4 equal access. 

5 SEC. 10. UNBUNDLED ACCESS TO COPPER LOOPS, PHYS6 ICAL COLLOCATION, AND RESALE. 

7 (a) INCUMBENT LOCAL EXCHANGE CARRIER OBLI8 GATIONS.— 

9 (1) UNBUNDLED ACCESS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—An incumbent local ex11 change carrier shall provide unbundled access 

12 to copper local loops on commercially reason13 able rates, terms, and conditions. 

14 (B) COMMISSION TO RESOLVE DIS15 PUTES.—The Commission shall resolve any dis16 putes regarding unbundled access to copper 

17 loops as described in subparagraph (A). 

18 (C) EXEMPTION.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (A), no facilities-based provider 

20 of communications service shall have any obli21 gation to provide unbundled access to any of its 

22 facilities, equipment, or support systems, either 

23 individually or in combination. 

24 (2) COLLOCATION.— 
33 

•S 1504 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—An incumbent local ex2 change carrier shall provide physical collocation 

3 at the central office of such carrier for access 

4 to unbundled copper loops. 

5 (B) VIRTUAL COLLOCATION.—If the phys6 ical collocation described in subparagraph (A) is 

7 not practical for technical reasons or due to 

8 space limitations, virtual collocation for access 

9 to unbundled copper loops shall be required. 

10 (3) RESALE.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—An incumbent local ex12 change carrier shall provide resale of any local 

13 narrowband communications service that is sub14 ject to regulation under this Act. 

15 (B) RESALE RATE.—The resale rate appli16 cable to subparagraph (A) shall— 

17 (i) be established by the Commission; 

18 and 

19 (ii) equal the retail rate for such serv20 ices less the costs actually avoided. 

21 (b) SUNSET.—The obligations established under sub22 section (a) shall terminate on January 1, 2011. 

23 (c) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 2009, the 

24 Commission shall submit to Congress a detailed report, 
34 

•S 1504 IS

1 with recommendations, on whether the obligations estab2 lished under subsection (a) are in the public interest. 

3 SEC. 11. NUMBER PORTABILITY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—All communications service pro5 viders that use numbers or the successor system assigned 

6 by the North American Numbering Plan, or any such suc7 cessor entity, shall provide number portability to con8 sumers. 

9 (b) 5-DAY RULE.—The Commission shall develop 

10 rules and regulations requiring that numbers be ported in 

11 no more than 5 business days. 

12 (c) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.—The Commission 

13 may commence a rulemaking proceeding if the Commis14 sion finds that excessive early cancellation fees charged 

15 by communications service providers are hindering the 

16 ability of consumers to change providers. 

17 SEC. 12. SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR 2-PERCENT CARRIERS. 

18 (a) OPT IN/OPT OUT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any 2-percent carrier may 

20 elect to continue to be subject to Federal and State 

21 statutory and regulatory requirements as such re22 quirements existed on the date of enactment of this 

23 Act. 
35 

•S 1504 IS

1 (2) STUDY AREA BASIS.—The election under 

2 paragraph (1) may be made only on a study area 

3 basis. 

4 (b) RURAL EXEMPTION.—If a communications serv5 ice provider that is also a rural telephone company, as that 

6 term is defined in section 3 of the Communications Act 

7 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153), elects under subsection (a) to 

8 continue to be subject to the regulatory requirements in 

9 existence on the date of enactment of this Act, such com10 munications service provider shall retain its rural exemp11 tion pursuant to section 251(f) of the Communications Act 

12 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(f)). 

13 (c) NECA TARIFFS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing in this 

14 section precludes or affects any tariff filed by the National 

15 Exchange Carrier Association, and any such tariff may 

16 continue to include— 

17 (1) all tariffed services in effect on the date of 

18 enactment of this Act; and 

19 (2) any new service or modifications to existing 

20 service typically covered by such tariffs. 

21 (d) NEGOTIATION AUTHORITY OF NECA.—For the 

22 purpose of conducting and concluding commercial negotia23 tions regarding interconnection arrangements, the Na24 tional Exchange Carrier Association is authorized to be 

25 the negotiating agent for any 2-percent carrier wishing to 
36 

•S 1504 IS

1 use the National Exchange Carrier Association for such 

2 purpose. 

3 SEC. 13. VIDEO SERVICES. 

4 (a) VIDEO SERVICE PROVIDERS.—A video service 

5 provider may not be required— 

6 (1) to obtain a State or local video franchise; 

7 (2) to build out its video distribution system in 

8 any particular manner; or 

9 (3) to provide leased or common carrier access 

10 to its video distribution facilities and equipment to 

11 any other video service provider. 

12 (b) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY TO

13 REGULATE.— 

14 (1) REASONABLE FEE.— 

15 (A) COMPENSATING LOCAL GOVERN16 MENTS.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—A State or local 

18 government may require a video service 

19 provider to pay a reasonable video service 

20 fee on an annual basis to the units of local 

21 government in which the video service pro22 vider provides video service for the purpose 

23 of compensating such local government for 

24 the costs that it incurs in managing the 

25 public rights-of-way used by such provider. 
37 

•S 1504 IS

1 (ii) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The video 

2 service fee imposed under clause (i) shall 

3 not exceed 5 percent of gross revenues. 

4 (B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

5 paragraph, the term ‘‘gross revenues’’— 

6 (i) means all consideration of any 

7 kind or nature received by a video service 

8 provider from its subscribers for the provi9 sion of video service within a municipality, 

10 including— 

11 (I) cash; 

12 (II) credits; 

13 (III) property; and 

14 (IV) in-kind contributions (serv15 ices or goods); and 

16 (ii) does not include— 

17 (I) revenue not actually received, 

18 even if billed, including bad debt; 

19 (II) revenue received by any affil20 iate or any other person in exchange 

21 for supplying goods or services used 

22 by a video service provider to provide 

23 video service; 

24 (III) refunds, rebates, or dis25 counts provided to— 
38 

•S 1504 IS

1 (aa) subscribers; 

2 (bb) leased access providers; 

3 (cc) advertisers; or 

4 (dd) the municipality; 

5 (IV) revenue from services not 

6 classified as video service, including— 

7 (aa) revenue received from 

8 telecommunications services; 

9 (bb) revenue received from 

10 information services; 

11 (cc) revenue received in con12 nection with advertising; 

13 (dd) revenue received in con14 nection with home shopping serv15 ices; or 

16 (ee) any other revenue at17 tributed by a video service pro18 vider to non-video service in ac19 cordance with any applicable 

20 rules, regulations, standards, or 

21 orders; 

22 (V) revenue paid by subscribers 

23 to home shopping programmers di24 rectly from the sale of merchandise 
39 

•S 1504 IS

1 through any home shopping channel 

2 offered as part of the video service; 

3 (VI) the sale of video service for 

4 resale in which the purchaser of such 

5 service is required to collect a 5 per6 cent fee from the customer of such 

7 purchaser; 

8 (VII) any tax of general applica9 bility— 

10 (aa) imposed upon a video 

11 service provider or upon sub12 scribers by a Federal, State, city, 

13 or any other governmental entity; 

14 and 

15 (bb) required to be collected 

16 by a video service provider and 

17 remitted to the taxing entity, in18 cluding— 

19 (AA) sales or use taxes; 

20 (BB) gross receipts 

21 taxes; 

22 (CC) excise taxes; 

23 (DD) utility users 

24 taxes; 
40 

•S 1504 IS

1 (EE) public service 

2 taxes; 

3 (FF) communication 

4 taxes; and 

5 (GG) the 5 percent fee 

6 described in subclause (VI); 

7 (VIII) the provision of video serv8 ice to public institutions, public 

9 schools, or governmental entities at no 

10 charge; 

11 (IX) any foregone revenue from 

12 the provision of free or reduced-cost 

13 video service by a video service pro14 vider to any person, including— 

15 (aa) the municipality; 

16 (bb) other public institu17 tions; and 

18 (cc) other institutions; 

19 (X) sales of capital assets or 

20 sales of surplus equipment; 

21 (XI) reimbursement by program22 mers of marketing costs incurred by a 

23 video service provider for the intro24 duction or promotion of programming; 
41 

•S 1504 IS

1 (XII) directory or Internet adver2 tising revenue, including revenue 

3 from— 

4 (aa) yellow page sales; 

5 (bb) white page sales; 

6 (cc) banner advertisement; 

7 and 

8 (dd) electronic publishing; 

9 and 

10 (XIII) copyright fees paid to the 

11 United States Copyright Office. 

12 (2) RIGHTS-OF-WAY DISPUTES TO BE RE13 SOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OR FEDERAL

14 COURTS.—Any dispute regarding the application or 

15 amount of fees charged under paragraph (1) shall, 

16 upon request of a local unit of government or af17 fected video service provider, be resolved— 

18 (A) by the Commission; or 

19 (B) by filing a claim in the district court 

20 of the United States that meets applicable re21 quirements relating to venue under section 

22 1931 of title 28, United States Code. 

23 (3) STATE ADJUSTMENT OF FEES AND

24 TAXES.— 
42 

•S 1504 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A video service provider 

2 may petition the Commission for a reduction of 

3 the fee paid by such provider under this sub4 section, if a State adjusts the fees and taxes 

5 paid by communications service providers or 

6 their customers for the purpose of— 

7 (i) providing fairness; 

8 (ii) equality of treatment; or 

9 (iii) simplification of the fees and 

10 taxes of such providers relative to each 

11 other or to other commercial and industrial 

12 tax payers in general within such State. 

13 (B) COMMISSION ACTION ON PETITION.— 

14 The Commission shall act on any petition de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) not later than 60 

16 days after its receipt. 

17 (C) GRANT OF PETITION.—The Commis18 sion shall grant a petition described in subpara19 graph (A) if and to the extent it determines 

20 that the fees paid by a video service provider 

21 should be reduced in order to achieve the pur22 poses of fairness, equality of treatment, or sim23 plification described in subparagraph (A). 

24 (4) FEE APPEARANCE ON SUBSCRIBER’S

25 BILL.—A video service provider may designate that 
43 

•S 1504 IS

1 portion of a subscriber’s bill attributable to a video 

2 service fee as a separate item on the subscriber’s 

3 bill. 

4 (c) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE VI OF THE COMMU5 NICATIONS ACT; CABLE ACT PROVISIONS.— 

6 (1) OBLIGATIONS AND DUTIES.—Any video 

7 service provider shall— 

8 (A) not be subject to any provision of title 

9 VI of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

10 U.S.C. 521 et seq.), except as otherwise pro11 vided in this paragraph; 

12 (B) be subject to the retransmission con13 sent obligations of section 325(b) of the Com14 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)); 

15 (C) carry and determine the appropriate 

16 channel positioning and grouping of, within 

17 each local franchise area, not more than 4 pub18 lic, educational, or governmental use channels 

19 as required under section 611 of such Act (47 

20 U.S.C. 531); 

21 (D) carry the signals of local commercial 

22 television stations as required under section 614 

23 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 534); 
44 

•S 1504 IS

1 (E) carry the signals of local noncommer2 cial educational television stations as required 

3 under section 615 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 535); 

4 (F) be subject to the regulation of carriage 

5 agreements under section 616 of such Act (47 

6 U.S.C. 536); 

7 (G) be subject to the requirements regard8 ing obscene or indecent programming under 

9 section 624(d)(2) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

10 544(d)(2)); 

11 (H) be entitled to the benefits and protec12 tions under section 624(f)(1) of such Act (47 

13 U.S.C. 544(f)(1)) regarding the content of 

14 video service; 

15 (I) be subject to the emergency informa16 tion requirements under section 624(g) of such 

17 Act (47 U.S.C. 544(g)); 

18 (J) be subject to the consumer electronics 

19 equipment capability requirements under sec20 tion 624A of such Act (47 U.S.C. 545); 

21 (K) be entitled to the benefits and protec22 tions under section 628 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

23 548); 

24 (L) be subject to the requirements under 

25 section 629 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 549); 
45 

•S 1504 IS

1 (M) protect the personally identifiable in2 formation of its subscribers in the same manner 

3 as is required of cable operators with respect to 

4 subscribers to cable services under section 631 

5 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 551); 

6 (N) be entitled to the benefits and protec7 tions under section 633 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

8 553); 

9 (O) be subject to the equal employment 

10 provisions as required under subsections (a) 

11 through (h) of section 634 of such Act (47 

12 U.S.C. 554); 

13 (P) be subject to criminal or civil liability 

14 under section 638 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 558); 

15 (Q) be subject to the penalties prescribed 

16 for the transmission of obscene programming 

17 under section 639 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 559); 

18 and 

19 (R) be required to comply with the scram20 bling requirements under section 640 of such 

21 Act (47 U.S.C. 560). 

22 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF LOCAL SIGNALS.— 

23 For purposes of complying with subparagraphs (C) 

24 and (D) of paragraph (1), a video service provider 

25 shall treat as local stations with respect to a cus-
46 

•S 1504 IS

1 tomer located within the jurisdiction of any fran2 chising authority the same stations that are treated 

3 as local television stations for a cable system located 

4 within such jurisdiction. 

5 (3) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

6 (A) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later 

7 than 120 days after the date of enactment of 

8 this Act, the Commission shall prescribe regula9 tions to implement the requirements of para10 graph (1) that are no greater or lesser than the 

11 obligations required by the specifically ref12 erenced provisions of the Communications Act 

13 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

14 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS.— 

15 The regulations required under subparagraph 

16 (A) shall take effect 6 months after the date of 

17 enactment of this Act. 

18 (4) EXISTING FRANCHISES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any provision in any 

20 franchise granted by a franchising authority 

21 that is inconsistent with the provisions of this 

22 Act shall be deemed to be preempted and super23 seded. 

24 (B) TREATMENT AS A VIDEO SERVICE

25 PROVIDER.—A cable operator operating under 
47 

•S 1504 IS

1 the authority of any franchise described in sub2 paragraph (A) prior to the date of enactment of 

3 this Act shall be treated as a video service pro4 vider under this Act. 

5 (5) CABLE CHANNELS FOR PUBLIC, EDU6 CATIONAL, AND GOVERNMENTAL USE.—The govern7 mental entity that was the franchising authority for 

8 a State or a political subdivision of a State on the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, shall for that State 

10 or political subdivision determine which public, edu11 cational, or governmental entities shall be authorized 

12 to designate the channels required under paragraph 

13 (1)(C). 

14 (6) CONSUMER PROTECTION AND CUSTOMER

15 SERVICE.— 

16 (A) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later 

17 than 120 days after the date of enactment of 

18 this Act, the Commission shall establish regula19 tions with respect to customer service and con20 sumer protection requirements of the video 

21 service provider. 

22 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS.— 

23 The regulations required under subparagraph 

24 (A) shall take effect 6 months after the date of 

25 enactment of this Act. 
48 

•S 1504 IS

1 (7) STATE COMMISSION AUTHORITY.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

3 other provision of this Act, a State commission 

4 shall have the authority to enforce the require5 ments of paragraph (6)(A). 

6 (B) LOCAL POINT OF CONTACT.—Each 

7 State commission shall designate a local point 

8 of contact, which residents of such geographic 

9 area may contact to alert such State commis10 sion of any potential violations of the require11 ments and obligations established under para12 graph (6)(A). 

13 (C) LIMITATION ON CLASS ACTIONS.—No 

14 class action alleging a violation of the obliga15 tions set forth in the regulations established by 

16 the Commission under paragraph (6)(A) shall 

17 be maintained under this subsection by an indi18 vidual or any private party in Federal or State 

19 court. 

20 (D) PARENS PATRIAE AUTHORITY.—In 

21 any case in which a State commission has rea22 son to believe that an act or practice violates 

23 the obligations set forth in the regulations es24 tablished by the Commission under paragraph 

25 (6)(A), the State commission may bring a civil 
49 

•S 1504 IS

1 action on behalf of the residents within its ju2 risdiction in a district court of the United 

3 States of appropriate jurisdiction, or any other 

4 court of competent jurisdiction, to— 

5 (i) enjoin the act or practice; 

6 (ii) obtain— 

7 (I) damages in the sum of actual 

8 damages, restitution, or other com9 pensation on behalf of affected resi10 dents of the State; and 

11 (II) punitive damages, if the vio12 lation is willful or intentional; or 

13 (iii) obtain such other legal and equi14 table relief as the court may consider to be 

15 appropriate. 

16 (E) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

17 (i) VENUE.—Any action brought 

18 under this paragraph may be brought in 

19 the district court of the United States that 

20 meets applicable requirements relating to 

21 venue under section 1931 of title 28, 

22 United States Code. 

23 (ii) SERVICE OR PROCESS.—In an ac24 tion brought under this paragraph, process 
50 

•S 1504 IS

1 may be served in any district in which the 

2 defendant— 

3 (I) is an inhabitant; or 

4 (II) may be found. 

5 (F) LIMITATION.—A State commission 

6 that is authorized to enforce the requirements 

7 of paragraph (6) may not be authorized to im8 pose additional obligations beyond those estab9 lished by the Commission in paragraph (6)(A). 

10 (d) COMMISSION TO ACT IF STATE COMMISSION

11 WILL NOT ACT.—If a State commission fails to carry out 

12 its enforcement responsibilities under subsection (c)(7), 

13 the Commission shall— 

14 (1) issue an order preempting the jurisdiction 

15 of the State commission; and 

16 (2) assume exclusive enforcement authority. 

17 (e) ABILITY TO MANAGE PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

19 section, nothing in this Act shall affect the authority 

20 of a State or local government to manage the public 

21 right-of-way in a manner that is— 

22 (A) non-discriminatory; 

23 (B) competitively neutral; and 

24 (C) consistent with applicable State law. 

25 (2) CONSTRUCTION PERMITS.— 
51 

•S 1504 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In managing the public 

2 rights-of-way a State or local government may 

3 require the issuance of a construction permit, 

4 without cost, to a video service provider that is 

5 locating facilities in such public right-of-way. 

6 (B) RESPONSE WORK OR REPAIR.—If 

7 there is an emergency necessitating response 

8 work or repair in the public right-of-way, a 

9 video service provider may begin such work or 

10 repair without prior approval from a State or 

11 local government, if such provider notifies the 

12 State or local government as promptly as pos13 sible after beginning such work or repair. 

14 (3) TIMELY ACTION REQUIRED.—In managing 

15 the public rights-of-way a State or local government 

16 that is required to issue permits or licenses for such 

17 use shall be required to act upon any such request 

18 for use in a timely manner. 

19 (4) NEW ROADS.—Nothing in this section shall 

20 effect the ability of a State or local government to 

21 impose reasonable limits on access to public rights22 of-way associated with newly constructed roads. 

23 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE COMMU24 NICATIONS ACT OF 1934.— 
52 

•S 1504 IS

1 (1) POLE ATTACHMENTS.—Section 224 of the 

2 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 224) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘local 

5 exchange carrier’’ and inserting ‘‘telecommuni6 cations carrier’’; 

7 (B) by striking subsections (a)(5) and 

8 (d)(3); 

9 (C) in subsection (d)(3), in the first sen10 tence by striking all after ‘‘cable television sys11 tem’’ through the period at the end and insert12 ing ‘‘and facilities of other video service pro13 viders, regardless of the nature of the services 

14 provided.’’; and 

15 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(j) WIRELESS SERVICE FACILITY EXEMPTION.— 

17 Nothing in this section applies to a wireless service facil18 ity, including to towers of a provider of mobile services.’’. 

19 (2) CARRIAGE OF LOCAL COMMERCIAL TELE20 VISION SIGNALS.—Section 614(b)(4) of the Commu21 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 534(b)(4)) is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(4) SIGNAL QUALITY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) NON-DEGRADATION.—The signals of 

25 local commercial television stations that a cable 
53 

•S 1504 IS

1 operator carries shall be carried without mate2 rial degradation. 

3 ‘‘(B) CARRIAGE STANDARDS.—The Com4 mission shall adopt carriage standards to en5 sure that, to the extent technically feasible, the 

6 quality of signal processing and carriage pro7 vided by a cable system for the carriage of local 

8 commercial television stations will be no less 

9 than that provided by the system for carriage of 

10 any other type of broadcast local commercial 

11 television signal when using the same trans12 mission technology.’’. 

13 (3) CARRIAGE OF NONCOMMERCIAL EDU14 CATIONAL TELEVISION.—Section 615(g)(2) of the 

15 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 535(g)(2)) 

16 is amended to read as follows— 

17 ‘‘(2) BANDWITH AND TECHNICAL QUALITY.—A 

18 cable operator shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) provide each qualified local non-com20 mercial television station whose signal is carried 

21 in accordance with this section with bandwith 

22 and technical capacity equivalent to that pro23 vided to commercial television stations carried 

24 on the cable system when using the same trans25 mission technology; and 
54 

•S 1504 IS

1 ‘‘(B) carry the signal of each qualified 

2 local non-commercial educated television station 

3 without material degradation.’’. 

4 (4) DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETITION AND DI5 VERSITY IN VIDEO PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTION.— 

6 Section 628 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

7 U.S.C. 548) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 628. DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETITION AND DIVER9 SITY IN VIDEO PROGRAMMING DISTRIBU10 TION. 

11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is— 

12 ‘‘(1) to promote the public interest, conven13 ience, and necessity by increasing competition and 

14 diversity in the multichannel video programming 

15 market; 

16 ‘‘(2) to increase the availability of MVPD pro17 gramming and satellite broadcast programming to 

18 persons in rural and other areas not currently able 

19 to receive such programming; and 

20 ‘‘(3) to spur the development of communica21 tions technologies. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for an 

23 MVPD, an MVPD programming vendor in which an 

24 MVPD has an attributable interest, or a satellite broad25 cast programming vendor to engage in unfair methods of 
55 

•S 1504 IS

1 competition or unfair or deceptive acts or practices, the 

2 purpose or effect of which is to hinder significantly or to 

3 prevent any MVPD from providing MVPD programming 

4 or satellite broadcast programming to subscribers or con5 sumers. 

6 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PROCEEDING REQUIRED.—Not later than 

8 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

9 Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act, 

10 the Commission shall prescribe regulations to specify 

11 particular conduct that is prohibited by subsection 

12 (b), in order to promote— 

13 ‘‘(A) the public interest, convenience, and 

14 necessity by increasing competition and diver15 sity in the multichannel video programming 

16 market; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the continuing development of com18 munications technologies. 

19 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM CONTENTS OF REGULATION.— 

20 The regulations required under paragraph (1) 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) establish effective safeguards to pre23 vent an MVPD which has an attributable inter24 est in an MVPD programming vendor or a sat25 ellite broadcast programming vendor from un-
56 

•S 1504 IS

1 duly or improperly influencing the decision of 

2 such vendor to sell, or the prices, terms, and 

3 conditions of sale of, MVPD programming or 

4 satellite broadcast programming to any unaffili5 ated MVPD; 

6 ‘‘(B) prohibit discrimination by an MVPD 

7 programming vendor in which an MVPD has an 

8 attributable interest or by a satellite broadcast 

9 programming vendor in the prices, terms, and 

10 conditions of sale or delivery of MVPD pro11 gramming or satellite broadcast programming 

12 among or between cable systems, cable opera13 tors, or other MVPDs, or their agents or buy14 ing groups, except that an MVPD programming 

15 vendor in which an MVPD has an attributable 

16 interest or such a satellite broadcast program17 ming vendor shall not be prohibited from— 

18 ‘‘(i) imposing reasonable requirements 

19 for— 

20 ‘‘(I) creditworthiness; 

21 ‘‘(II) offering of service; and 

22 ‘‘(III) financial stability and 

23 standards regarding character and 

24 technical quality; 
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•S 1504 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) establishing different prices, 

2 terms, and conditions to take into account 

3 actual and reasonable differences in the 

4 cost of creation, sale, delivery, or trans5 mission of MVPD programming or satellite 

6 broadcast programming; 

7 ‘‘(iii) establishing different prices, 

8 terms, and conditions which take into ac9 count economies of scale, cost savings, or 

10 other direct and legitimate economic bene11 fits reasonably attributable to the number 

12 of subscribers served by the distributor; or 

13 ‘‘(iv) entering into an exclusive con14 tract that is permitted under subparagraph 

15 (D); 

16 ‘‘(C) prohibit practices, understandings, 

17 arrangements, and activities, including exclusive 

18 contracts for MVPD programming or satellite 

19 broadcast programming between an MVPD and 

20 an MVPD programming vendor or satellite 

21 broadcast programming vendor, that prevent an 

22 MVPD from obtaining such programming from 

23 any MVPD programming vendor in which an 

24 MVPD has an attributable interest or any sat25 ellite broadcast programming vendor in which 
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•S 1504 IS

1 an MVPD has an attributable interest for dis2 tribution to persons in areas not served by an 

3 MVPD as of the date of enactment of the 

4 Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice 

5 Act; and 

6 ‘‘(D) with respect to distribution to per7 sons in areas served by an MVPD, prohibit ex8 clusive contracts for MVPD programming or 

9 satellite broadcast programming between an 

10 MVPD and an MVPD programming vendor in 

11 which an MVPD has an attributable interest or 

12 a satellite broadcast programming vendor in 

13 which an MVPD has an attributable interest, 

14 unless the Commission determines (in accord15 ance with paragraph (4)) that such contract is 

16 in the public interest. 

17 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATIONS.—Nothing 

19 in this section shall require any person who is 

20 engaged in the national or regional distribution 

21 of video programming to make such program22 ming available in any geographic area beyond 

23 which such programming has been authorized 

24 or licensed for distribution. 
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•S 1504 IS

1 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY TO SATELLITE RE2 TRANSMISSIONS.—Nothing in this section shall 

3 apply— 

4 ‘‘(i) to the signal of any broadcast af5 filiate of a national television network or 

6 other television signal that is retransmitted 

7 by satellite but that is not satellite broad8 cast programming; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) to any internal satellite commu10 nication of any broadcast network or cable 

11 network that is not satellite broadcast pro12 gramming. 

13 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF INDIVIDUAL VIDEO

14 PROGRAMS.—Nothing in this section shall apply 

15 to a specific individual video program produced 

16 by an MVPD for local distribution by that 

17 MVPD and not made available directly or indi18 rectly to unaffiliated MVPDs, if— 

19 ‘‘(i) all other video programming car20 ried on a programming channel or network 

21 on which the individual video program is 

22 carried, is made available to unaffiliated 

23 MVPDs pursuant to paragraph (2)(D); 

24 and 
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•S 1504 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) such specific individual video 

2 program is not the transmission of a sport3 ing event. 

4 ‘‘(D) MVPD SPORTS PROGRAMMING.—The 

5 prohibition set forth in paragraph (2)(D), and 

6 the rules adopted by the Commission pursuant 

7 to that paragraph, shall apply to any MVPD 

8 programming that includes the transmission of 

9 live sporting events, irrespective of whether an 

10 MVPD has an attributable interest in the 

11 MVPD programming vendor engaged in the 

12 production, creation, or wholesale distribution 

13 of such MVPD programming. 

14 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC INTEREST DETERMINATIONS ON

15 EXCLUSIVE CONTACTS.—In determining whether an 

16 exclusive contract is in the public interest for pur17 poses of paragraph (2)(D), the Commission shall 

18 consider with respect to the effect of such contract 

19 on the distribution of video programming in areas 

20 that are served by an MVPD— 

21 ‘‘(A) the effect of such exclusive contract 

22 on the development of competition in local and 

23 national multichannel video programming dis24 tribution markets; 
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•S 1504 IS

1 ‘‘(B) the effect of such exclusive contract 

2 on competition from multichannel video pro3 gramming distribution technologies other than 

4 cable; 

5 ‘‘(C) the effect of such exclusive contract 

6 on the attraction of capital investment in the 

7 production and distribution of new MVPD pro8 gramming; 

9 ‘‘(D) the effect of such exclusive contract 

10 on diversity of programming in the multi11 channel video programming distribution market; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(E) the duration of the exclusive contract. 

14 ‘‘(5) SUNSET PROVISION.—The prohibition re15 quired by paragraph (2)(D) shall cease to be effec16 tive 10 years after the date of enactment of the 

17 Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act, 

18 unless the Commission finds, in a proceeding con19 ducted during the last year of such 10-year period, 

20 that such prohibition continues to be necessary to 

21 preserve and protect competition and diversity in the 

22 distribution of video programming. 

23 ‘‘(d) ADJUDICATORY PROCEEDING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An MVPD aggrieved by 

25 conduct that it alleges constitutes a violation of sub-
62 

•S 1504 IS

1 section (b), or the regulations of the Commission 

2 under subsection (c), may commence an adjudicatory 

3 proceeding at the Commission. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF AGREE5 MENTS.—In any proceeding initiated under para6 graph (1), the Commission shall request from a 

7 party, and the party shall produce, such agreements 

8 between the party and a third party relating to the 

9 distribution of MVPD programming that the Com10 mission believes to be relevant to its decision regard11 ing the matters at issue in such adjudicatory pro12 ceeding. 

13 ‘‘(3) CONFIDENTIALITY TO BE MAINTAINED.— 

14 The production of any agreement under paragraph 

15 (2) and its use in a Commission decision in the ad16 judicatory proceeding under paragraph (1) shall be 

17 subject to such provisions ensuring confidentiality as 

18 the Commission may by regulation determine. 

19 ‘‘(e) REMEDIES FOR VIOLATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) REMEDIES AUTHORIZED.—Upon comple21 tion of an adjudicatory proceeding under subsection 

22 (d), the Commission shall have the power to order 

23 appropriate remedies, including, if necessary, the 

24 power to establish prices, terms, and conditions of 

25 sale of programming to an aggrieved MVPD. 
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•S 1504 IS

1 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES.—The remedies 

2 provided under paragraph (1) are in addition to any 

3 remedy available to an MVPD under title V or any 

4 other provision of this Act. 

5 ‘‘(f) PROCEDURES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pre7 scribe regulations to implement this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.—The regula9 tions required under paragraph (1) shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) provide for an expedited review of 

11 any complaints made pursuant to this section, 

12 including the issuance of a final order termi13 nating such review not later than 120 days 

14 after the date on which the complaint was filed; 

15 ‘‘(B) establish procedures for the Commis16 sion to collect such data as the Commission re17 quires to carry out this section, including the 

18 right to obtain copies of all contracts and docu19 ments reflecting arrangements and under20 standings alleged to violate this section; and 

21 ‘‘(C) provide for penalties to be assessed 

22 against any person filing a frivolous complaint 

23 pursuant to this section. 

24 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—The Commission shall, beginning 

25 not later than 18 months after promulgation of the regula-
64 

•S 1504 IS

1 tions required by subsection (c), annually report to Con2 gress on the status of competition in the market for the 

3 delivery of video programming. 

4 ‘‘(h) EXEMPTIONS FOR PRIOR CONTRACTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section 

6 shall affect— 

7 ‘‘(A) any contract that grants exclusive 

8 distribution rights to any person with respect to 

9 satellite cable programming and that was en10 tered into on or before June 1, 1990; or 

11 ‘‘(B) any contract that grants exclusive 

12 distribution rights to any person with respect to 

13 MVPD programming that is not satellite cable 

14 programming and that was entered into on or 

15 before July 1, 2003, except that the provisions 

16 of subsection (c)(2)(C) shall apply for distribu17 tion to persons in areas not served by an 

18 MVPD. 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON RENEWALS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) SATELLITE CABLE PROGRAMMING

21 CONTRACTS.—A contract pertaining to satellite 

22 cable programming or satellite broadcast pro23 gramming that was entered into on or before 

24 June 1, 1990, but that is renewed or extended 

25 after the date of enactment of the Broadband 
65 

•S 1504 IS

1 Investment and Consumer Choice Act shall not 

2 be exempt under paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(B) MVPD PROGRAMMING CONTRACTS.— 

4 A contract pertaining to MVPD programming 

5 that is not satellite cable programming that was 

6 entered into on or before July 1, 2003, but that 

7 is renewed or extended after the date of enact8 ment of the Broadband Investment and Con9 sumer Choice Act shall not be exempt under 

10 paragraph (1). 

11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) MVPD.—The term ‘MVPD’ means multi13 channel video programming distributor. 

14 ‘‘(2) MVPD PROGRAMMING.—The term ‘MVPD 

15 programming’ includes the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) DIRECT RECEIPT.—Video program17 ming primarily intended for the direct receipt 

18 by MVPDs for their retransmission to MVPD 

19 subscribers (including any ancillary data trans20 mission). 

21 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Additional types 

23 of programming content that the Commis24 sion determines in a rulemaking pro25 ceeding to be completed not later than 120 
66 

•S 1504 IS

1 days from the date of enactment of the 

2 Broadband Investment and Consumer 

3 Choice Act, as of the time of such rule4 making, of a type that is— 

5 ‘‘(I) primarily intended for the 

6 direct receipt by MVPDs for their re7 transmission to MVPD subscribers, 

8 regardless of whether such program9 ming content is— 

10 ‘‘(aa) digital or analog; 

11 ‘‘(bb) compressed or 

12 uncompressed; 

13 ‘‘(cc) encrypted or 

14 unencrypted; or 

15 ‘‘(dd) provided on a serial, 

16 pay-per-view, or on demand 

17 basis; and 

18 ‘‘(II) without regard to the end 

19 user device used to access such pro20 gramming or the mode of delivery of 

21 such programming content to 

22 MVPDs. 

23 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making 

24 the determination under clause (i), the 

25 Commission shall consider the effect of 
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•S 1504 IS

1 technologies and services that combine dif2 ferent forms of content so that certain con3 tent or programming is not included within 

4 the meaning of MVPD programming solely 

5 because it is integrated with other content 

6 that is of a type that is primarily intended 

7 for the direct receipt by MVPDs for their 

8 retransmission to MVPD subscribers. 

9 ‘‘(iii) MODIFICATION OF PROGRAM10 MING DEFINED AS MVPD PROGRAMMING.— 

11 At any time after 3 years following the 

12 conclusion of the rulemaking proceeding 

13 required under clause (ii), any interested 

14 MVPD or MVPD programming vendor 

15 may petition the Commission to modify the 

16 types of additional programming content 

17 included by the Commission within the def18 inition of MVPD programming in light 

19 of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the purpose of this section; 

21 ‘‘(II) market conditions at the 

22 time of such petition; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the factors to be consid24 ered by the Commission under clause 

25 (ii). 
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•S 1504 IS

1 ‘‘(3) MVPD PROGRAMMING VENDOR.—The 

2 term ‘MVPD programming vendor’— 

3 ‘‘(A) means a person engaged in the pro4 duction, creation, or wholesale distribution for 

5 sale of MVPD programming; and 

6 ‘‘(B) does not include a satellite broadcast 

7 programming vendor. 

8 ‘‘(4) SATELLITE BROADCAST PROGRAMMING.— 

9 The term ‘satellite broadcast programming’ means 

10 broadcast video programming when— 

11 ‘‘(A) such programming is retransmitted 

12 by satellite; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the entity retransmitting such pro14 gramming is not the broadcaster or an entity 

15 performing such retransmission on behalf of 

16 and with the specific consent of the broad17 caster. 

18 ‘‘(5) SATELLITE BROADCAST PROGRAMMING

19 VENDOR.—The term ‘satellite broadcast program20 ming vendor’ means a fixed service satellite carrier 

21 that provides service pursuant to section 119 of title 

22 17, United States Code, with respect to satellite 

23 broadcast programming. 

24 ‘‘(6) SATELLITE CABLE PROGRAMMING.—The 

25 term ‘satellite cable programming’ has the same 
69 

•S 1504 IS

1 meaning as in section 705, except that such term 

2 does not include satellite broadcast programming. 

3 ‘‘(7) SATELLITE CABLE PROGRAMMING VEN4 DOR.—The term ‘satellite cable programming ven5 dor’— 

6 ‘‘(A) means a person engaged in the pro7 duction, creation, or wholesale distribution for 

8 sale of satellite cable programming; and 

9 ‘‘(B) does not include a satellite broadcast 

10 programming vendor. 

11 ‘‘(j) COMMON CARRIERS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any provision that applies 

13 to an MVPD under this section shall apply to a com14 mon carrier or its affiliate that provides video pro15 gramming by any means directly to subscribers. 

16 ‘‘(2) ATTRIBUTABLE INTEREST.—Any provision 

17 that applies to an MVPD programming vendor in 

18 which an MVPD has an attributable interest shall 

19 apply to any MVPD programming vendor in which 

20 such common carrier has an attributable interest. 

21 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—For the purposes of this 

22 subsection, 2 or fewer common officers or directors 

23 shall not by itself establish an attributable interest 

24 by a common carrier in an MVPD programming 

25 vendor (or its parent company).’’. 
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•S 1504 IS

1 (5) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 

2 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Commission shall prescribe such regulations as may 

4 be necessary to implement the amendments made by 

5 this section. 

6 (g) RULEMAKING ON SECTION 629.—Not later than 

7 January 1, 2008, the Commission shall conduct a pro8 ceeding to determine the appropriateness of the require9 ments under subsection (c)(1)(L) taking into account 

10 changes and advancements in technology. 

11 SEC. 14. COPYRIGHT LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS 

12 VIDEO SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

13 Section 111 of title 17, United States Code, shall for 

14 purposes of this Act be deemed to extend to any secondary 

15 transmission, as that term is defined in section 111, made 

16 by a video service provider. 

17 SEC. 15. MUNICIPALLY OWNED NETWORKS. 

18 (a) PROTECTION AGAINST UNDUE GOVERNMENT

19 COMPETITION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR.—Any State or 

20 local government seeking to provide communications serv21 ice shall— 

22 (1) provide conspicuous notice of the proposed 

23 scope of the communications service to be provided, 

24 including— 

25 (A) cost; 
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•S 1504 IS

1 (B) services to be provided; 

2 (C) coverage area; 

3 (D) terms; and 

4 (E) architecture; and 

5 (2) give a detailed accounting of all proposed 

6 accommodations that such government owned com7 munications service would enjoy, including— 

8 (A) any free or below cost rights-of-way; 

9 (B) any beneficial or preferential tax treat10 ment; 

11 (C) bonds, grants, or other source of fund12 ing unavailable to non-governmental entities; 

13 and 

14 (D) land, space in buildings, or other con15 siderations. 

16 (b) OPEN BIDS MUST BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR

17 NON-GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.—Not later than 90 days 

18 after posting of the notice required under subsection 

19 (a)(1), a non-governmental entity shall have the option of 

20 participating in an open bidding process conducted by a 

21 neutral third party to provide such communications serv22 ice on the same terms, conditions, financing, rights-of23 way, land, space, and accommodations as secured by the 

24 State or local government. 
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•S 1504 IS

1 (c) PREFERENCE FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL ENTI2 TIES.—In the event of identical bids under subsection (b), 

3 the neutral third party conducting the bidding process 

4 shall give preference to a non-governmental entity. 

5 (d) OPEN ACCESS TO NON-GOVERNMENTAL ENTI6 TIES.—If a State or local government wins the bid under 

7 subsection (b), a non-governmental entity shall have the 

8 ability to place facilities in the same conduit, trenches, and 

9 locations as the State or local government for concurrent 

10 or future use under the same conditions secured by the 

11 State or local government. 

12 (e) GRANDFATHER CLAUSE.—A State or local gov13 ernment providing communications service as of the date 

14 of enactment of this Act shall be exempt from this section, 

15 unless such State or local government— 

16 (1) substantially enters into new lines of busi17 ness; or 

18 (2) substantially expands it communications 

19 service beyond its current service area, as such serv20 ice area existed upon the date of enactment of this 

21 Act. 

Æ