I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7160 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to promote broadband deployment 

by increasing participation in broadband support programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 11, 2020 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to promote 

broadband deployment by increasing participation in 

broadband support programs. 

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 ‘‘Expanding Opportunities 

5 for Broadband Deployment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXPAND PARTICIPATION IN BROADBAND SUPPORT 

7 PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) SPECIAL SERVICES.—Section 254(c)(3) of the 

9 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(c)(3)) is 

10 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL SERVICES.—In addition to the 

2 services included in the definition of universal serv3 ice under paragraph (1), the Commission— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall designate broadband service (in 

5 this subparagraph meaning evolving, high6 speed, mass-market retail service by wire or 

7 radio that provides the capability to transmit 

8 data to and receive data from all or substan9 tially all Internet endpoints) as supported by 

10 the Federal universal service support mecha11 nisms; and 

12 ‘‘(B) may designate additional services for 

13 such support mechanisms for schools, libraries, 

14 and health care providers for the purposes of 

15 subsection (h).’’. 

16 (b) FEDERAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE SUPPORT.—Sec17 tion 254(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

18 U.S.C. 254(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(e) UNIVERSAL SERVICE SUPPORT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), after 

21 the date on which Commission regulations imple22 menting this section take effect, only an eligible tele23 communications carrier designated under section 

24 214(e) shall be eligible to receive specific Federal 

25 universal service support. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A provider of broadband service, and any 

2 affiliate thereof, that has not been designated as an 

3 eligible telecommunications carrier under section 

4 214(e) of this title shall be eligible to receive specific 

5 Federal universal service support for the provision of 

6 broadband service, if such provider or affiliate meets 

7 the applicable Commission legal, financial, and tech8 nical requirements for receiving such support. 

9 ‘‘(3) In assessing a broadband service provider’s 

10 financial qualifications under paragraph (2), the 

11 Commission shall allow such provider to choose to 

12 demonstrate its financial viability and security 

13 through either— 

14 ‘‘(A) a letter of credit issued by a bank ac15 ceptable to the Commission; 

16 ‘‘(B) a performance bond; 

17 ‘‘(C) credit rating issued by national rat18 ings agencies; 

19 ‘‘(D) its Form 10–K most recently filed 

20 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commis21 sion, provided that such Form 10–K shows the 

22 ability of a publicly traded applicant to meet fi23 nancial eligibility requirements, such as by ref24 erence to an applicant’s debt/EBITDA ratio, 

25 cash flow, or other criteria; or 


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1 ‘‘(E) financial records audited by an unaf2 filiated, qualified firm covering the preceding 

3 two fiscal years showing the ability to meet fi4 nancial eligibility requirements. 

5 ‘‘(4) A recipient of support pursuant to para6 graphs (1) and (2) shall use that support only for 

7 the provision, maintenance, and upgrading of facili8 ties and services for which the support is intended. 

9 Any such support should be explicit and sufficient to 

10 achieve the purposes of this section. 

11 ‘‘(5) A provider of broadband service, and any 

12 affiliate thereof, that receives specific Federal uni13 versal service support pursuant to this subsection 

14 shall be subject to any deployment, public interest, 

15 or reporting requirement established under part 54 

16 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, for eligible 

17 communications carriers that receive such support.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATIONS. 

19 Providers will comply with all applicable Commission 

20 requirements as set forth in part 54 of title 47, Code of 

21 Federal Regulations. 

Æ 


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