I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1695 

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

highway construction projects, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 3, 2011 

Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. MATSUI, and Ms. 

WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transportation to require that broadband conduit 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’’. 


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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) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

9 States to install broadband conduit in accordance with this 

10 section as part of any covered highway construction 

11 project. 

12 ‘‘(b) INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying 

13 out subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure with respect 

14 to a covered highway construction project that— 

15 ‘‘(1) an appropriate number of broadband con16 duits, as determined by the Secretary, are installed 

17 along such highway to accommodate multiple 

18 broadband providers, with consideration given to the 

19 availability of existing conduits; 

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

21 with industry best practices and is sufficient to ac22 commodate potential demand, as determined by the 

23 Secretary; and 

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

25 and pulling with respect to each such conduit are 


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1 placed at intervals consistent with industry best 

2 practices, as determined by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(c) STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall establish 

4 standards to carry out subsection (b) that consider popu5 lation density in the area of a covered highway construc6 tion project, the type of highway involved in such project, 

7 and existing broadband access in the area of such project. 

8 ‘‘(d) PULL TAPE.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

9 each broadband conduit installed pursuant to this section 

10 includes a pull tape and is capable of supporting fiber 

11 optic cable placement techniques consistent with industry 

12 best practices, as determined by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(e) DEPTH OF INSTALLATION.—The Secretary shall 

14 ensure that each broadband conduit installed pursuant to 

15 this section is placed at a depth consistent with industry 

16 best practices, as determined by the Secretary, and that, 

17 in determining the depth of placement, consideration is 

18 given to the location of existing utilities and the cable sep19 aration requirements of State and local electrical codes. 

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

21 requesting broadband provider has access to each 

22 broadband conduit installed pursuant to this section, on 

23 a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, for 

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


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1 ‘‘(g) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

2 waive the application of this section or any provision there3 in if the Secretary determines such waiver appropriate 

4 with respect to a covered highway construction project. 

5 ‘‘(h) COORDINATION WITH FCC.—In carrying out 

6 this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the Fed7 eral Communications Commission as the Secretary deter8 mines appropriate, including in making determinations 

9 with respect to potential demand under subsection (b)(2) 

10 and existing broadband access under subsection (c). 

11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

12 definitions apply: 

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

14 means an Internet Protocol-based transmission serv15 ice that enables users to send and receive voice, 

16 video, data, graphics, or a combination thereof. 

17 ‘‘(2) BROADBAND CONDUIT.—The term 

18 ‘broadband conduit’ means a conduit for fiber optic 

19 cables that support broadband or, where appro20 priate, wireless facilities for broadband service. 

21 ‘‘(3) COVERED HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

22 PROJECT.—The term ‘covered highway construction 

23 project’ means a project to construct a new highway 

24 or to construct an additional lane or shoulder for an 

25 existing highway that is commenced after the date 


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1 of enactment of this section and that receives fund2 ing under this title.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. CLERICAL AMENDMENT. 

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

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

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

Æ 


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