II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 19 

To provide opportunities for broadband investment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 3, 2017 

Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. NELSON) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide opportunities for broadband investment, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and 

6 Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless 

7 Act’’ or the ‘‘MOBILE NOW Act’’. 

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

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Making 500 megahertz available. 


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Sec. 4. Millimeter wave spectrum. 

Sec. 5. 3 gigahertz spectrum. 

Sec. 6. Distributed antenna systems and small cell infrastructure. 

Sec. 7. Communications facilities deployment on Federal property. 

Sec. 8. Broadband infrastructure deployment. 

Sec. 9. National broadband facilities asset database. 

Sec. 10. Reallocation incentives. 

Sec. 11. Bidirectional sharing study. 

Sec. 12. Unlicensed services in guard bands. 

Sec. 13. Pre-auction funding. 

Sec. 14. Immediate transfer of funds. 

Sec. 15. Amendments to the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015. 

Sec. 16. GAO assessment of unlicensed spectrum and Wi-Fi use in low-income 

neighborhoods. 

Sec. 17. Rulemaking related to partitioning or disaggregating licenses. 

Sec. 18. Unlicensed spectrum policy. 

Sec. 19. National plan for unlicensed spectrum. 

Sec. 20. Spectrum challenge prize. 

Sec. 21. Wireless telecommunications tax and fee collection fairness. 

Sec. 22. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 23. Relationship to Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON4 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con5 gress’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

7 and Transportation of the Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com9 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

10 (C) each committee of the Senate or of the 

11 House of Representatives with jurisdiction over 

12 a Federal entity affected by the applicable sec13 tion in which the term appears. 

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

15 means the Federal Communications Commission. 


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1 (3) FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Federal en2 tity’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

3 113(l) of the National Telecommunications and In4 formation Administration Organization Act (47 

5 U.S.C. 923(l)). 

6 (4) NTIA.—The term ‘‘NTIA’’ means the Na7 tional Telecommunications and Information Admin8 istration of the Department of Commerce. 

9 (5) OMB.—The term ‘‘OMB’’ means the Office 

10 of Management and Budget. 

11 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Commerce. 

13 SEC. 3. MAKING 500 MEGAHERTZ AVAILABLE. 

14 (a) REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the Presi16 dential Memorandum of June 28, 2010, entitled 

17 ‘‘Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution’’ 

18 and establishing a goal of making a total of 500 

19 megahertz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum 

20 available on a licensed or unlicensed basis for wire21 less broadband use by 2020, not later than Decem22 ber 31, 2020, the Secretary, working through the 

23 NTIA, and the Commission shall make available a 

24 total of at least 255 megahertz of Federal and non25 Federal spectrum below the frequency of 6000 


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1 megahertz for mobile and fixed wireless broadband 

2 use. 

3 (2) UNLICENSED AND LICENSED USE.—Of the 

4 spectrum made available under paragraph (1), not 

5 less than— 

6 (A) 100 megahertz shall be made available 

7 on an unlicensed basis; and 

8 (B) 100 megahertz shall be made available 

9 on an exclusive, licensed basis for commercial 

10 mobile use, pursuant to the Commission’s au11 thority to implement such licensing in a flexible 

12 manner, and subject to potential continued use 

13 of such spectrum by incumbent Federal entities 

14 in designated geographic areas indefinitely or 

15 for such length of time as is necessary for those 

16 incumbent entities to be relocated to other spec17 trum. 

18 (3) NON-ELIGIBLE SPECTRUM.—For purposes 

19 of satisfying the requirement under paragraph (1), 

20 the following spectrum shall not be counted: 

21 (A) The frequencies between 1695 and 

22 1710 megahertz. 

23 (B) The frequencies between 1755 and 

24 1780 megahertz. 


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1 (C) The frequencies between 2155 and 

2 2180 megahertz. 

3 (D) The frequencies between 3550 and 

4 3700 megahertz. 

5 (E) Spectrum that the Commission deter6 mines had more than de minimis mobile or 

7 fixed wireless broadband operations within the 

8 band on the day before the date of enactment 

9 of this Act. 

10 (4) RELOCATION PRIORITIZED OVER SHAR11 ING.—This section shall be carried out in accordance 

12 with section 113(j) of the National Telecommuni13 cations and Information Administration Organiza14 tion Act (47 U.S.C. 923(j)). 

15 (5) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making spectrum 

16 available under this section, the Secretary and Com17 mission shall consider— 

18 (A) the need to preserve critical existing 

19 and planned Federal Government capabilities; 

20 (B) the impact on existing State, local, and 

21 tribal government capabilities; 

22 (C) the international implications; 

23 (D) the need for appropriate enforcement 

24 mechanisms and authorities; and 


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1 (E) the importance of the deployment of 

2 wireless broadband services in rural areas of the 

3 United States. 

4 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion shall be construed— 

6 (1) to impair or otherwise affect the functions 

7 of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, ad8 ministrative, or legislative proposals; 

9 (2) to require the disclosure of classified infor10 mation, law enforcement sensitive information, or 

11 other information that must be protected in the in12 terest of national security; or 

13 (3) to affect any requirement under section 156 

14 of the National Telecommunications and Informa15 tion Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 

16 921 note), as added by section 1062(a) of the Na17 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

18 2000, or any other relevant statutory requirement 

19 applicable to the reallocation of Federal spectrum. 

20 SEC. 4. MILLIMETER WAVE SPECTRUM. 

21 (a) FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 18 

22 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the NTIA, 

23 in consultation with the Commission, shall conduct a feasi24 bility assessment regarding the impact, on Federal entities 

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1 izing mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, includ2 ing for advanced mobile service operations, in the fol3 lowing bands: 

4 (1) The band between 31800 and 33400 mega5 hertz. 

6 (2) The band between 71000 and 76000 mega7 hertz. 

8 (3) The band between 81000 and 86000 mega9 hertz. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the feasibility 

11 assessment under subsection (a), the NTIA shall— 

12 (1) consult directly with Federal entities with 

13 respect to frequencies allocated to Federal use by 

14 such entities in the bands identified in that sub15 section; 

16 (2) consider what, if any, impact authorizing 

17 mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, in18 cluding advanced mobile services operations, in any 

19 of such frequencies would have on an affected Fed20 eral entity; and 

21 (3) identify any such frequencies in the bands 

22 described in that subsection that the NTIA assess23 ment determines are feasible for authorizing for mo24 bile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, including 

25 any advanced mobile service operations. 


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1 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS AND THE COMMISSION.— 

2 Not later than 30 days after the date the feasibility assess3 ment under subsection (a) is complete, the NTIA shall 

4 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

5 on the feasibility assessment and provide a copy to the 

6 Commission. 

7 (d) FCC PROCEEDING.—Not later than 2 years after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act or 90 days after the 

9 date it receives the feasibility assessment under subsection 

10 (c), whichever is earlier, the Commission, in consultation 

11 with the NTIA, shall publish a notice of proposed rule12 making to consider service rules to authorize mobile or 

13 fixed terrestrial wireless operations, including for ad14 vanced mobile service operations, in the following radio 

15 frequency bands: 

16 (1) The band between 24250 and 24450 mega17 hertz. 

18 (2) The band between 25050 and 25250 mega19 hertz. 

20 (3) The band between 31800 and 33400 mega21 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca22 tions. 

23 (4) The band between 42000 and 42500 mega24 hertz. 


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1 (5) The band between 71000 and 76000 mega2 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca3 tions. 

4 (6) The band between 81000 and 86000 mega5 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca6 tions. 

7 (7) Any frequencies with Federal allocations 

8 identified as feasible under subsection (b)(3). 

9 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting a rulemaking 

10 under subsection (d), the Commission shall— 

11 (1) consult with Federal entities via the NTIA 

12 regarding the frequencies described in subsection 

13 (d)(7); 

14 (2) consider how the bands described in sub15 section (d) may be used to provide commercial wire16 less broadband service, including whether— 

17 (A) such spectrum may be best used for li18 censed or unlicensed services, or some combina19 tion thereof; and 

20 (B) to permit additional licensed oper21 ations in such bands on a shared basis; and 

22 (3) include technical characteristics under 

23 which the bands described in subsection (d) may be 

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1 erations, including any appropriate coexistence re2 quirements. 

3 SEC. 5. 3 GIGAHERTZ SPECTRUM. 

4 (a) BETWEEN 3100 MEGAHERTZ AND 3550 MEGA5 HERTZ.—Not later than 18 months after the date of en6 actment of this Act, and in consultation with the Commis7 sion and the head of each affected Federal agency (or a 

8 designee thereof), the Secretary shall submit to the Com9 mission and the appropriate committees of Congress a re10 port evaluating the feasibility of allowing commercial wire11 less services, licensed or unlicensed, to share use of the 

12 frequencies between 3100 megahertz and 3550 megahertz. 

13 (b) BETWEEN 3700 MEGAHERTZ AND 4200 MEGA14 HERTZ.—Not later than 18 months after the date of en15 actment of this Act, after notice and an opportunity for 

16 public comment, and in consultation with the Secretary 

17 and the head of each affected Federal agency (or a des18 ignee thereof), the Commission shall submit to the Sec19 retary and the appropriate committees of Congress a re20 port evaluating the feasibility of allowing commercial wire21 less services, licensed or unlicensed, to share use of the 

22 frequencies between 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz. 

23 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—A report under subsection (a) 

24 or subsection (b) shall include the following: 


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1 (1) An assessment of the operations of Federal 

2 entities that operate Federal Government stations 

3 authorized to use the frequencies described in that 

4 subsection. 

5 (2) An assessment of the possible impacts of 

6 such sharing on Federal and non-Federal users al7 ready operating on the frequencies described in that 

8 subsection. 

9 (3) The criteria that may be necessary to en10 sure shared licensed or unlicensed services would not 

11 cause harmful interference to Federal or non-Fed12 eral users already operating in the frequencies de13 scribed in that subsection. 

14 (4) If such sharing is feasible, an identification 

15 of which of the frequencies described in that sub16 section are most suitable for sharing with commer17 cial wireless services through the assignment of new 

18 licenses by competitive bidding, for sharing with un19 licensed operations, or through a combination of li20 censing and unlicensed operations. 

21 (d) COMMISSION ACTION.—The Commission, in con22 sultation with the NTIA, shall seek public comment on 

23 the reports required under subsections (a) and (b), includ24 ing regarding the bands identified in such reports as fea25 sible pursuant to subsection (c)(4). 


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1 SEC. 6. DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEMS AND SMALL CELL 

2 INFRASTRUCTURE. 

3 Not later than December 31, 2017, the Commission 

4 shall take action in its Program Alternatives for Small 

5 Wireless Communications Facility Deployments pro6 ceeding (WT Docket 15–180). 

7 SEC. 7. COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES DEPLOYMENT ON 

8 FEDERAL PROPERTY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6409 of the Middle Class 

10 Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 

11 1455) is amended by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d) 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL EASEMENTS, RIGHTS-OF-WAY, AND

14 LEASES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) GRANT.—If an executive agency, a State, 

16 a political subdivision or agency of a State, or a per17 son, firm, or organization applies for the grant of an 

18 easement, right-of-way, or lease to, in, over, or on a 

19 building or other property owned by the Federal 

20 Government for the right to install, construct, mod21 ify, or maintain a communications facility installa22 tion, the executive agency having control of the 

23 building or other property may grant to the appli24 cant, on behalf of the Federal Government, subject 

25 to paragraph (5), an easement, right-of-way, or lease 


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1 to perform such installation, construction, modifica2 tion, or maintenance. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

5 General Services shall develop a common form 

6 for applications for easements, rights-of-way, 

7 and leases under paragraph (1) for all executive 

8 agencies that, except as provided in subpara9 graph (B), shall be used by all executive agen10 cies and applicants with respect to the buildings 

11 or other property of each such agency. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The requirement under 

13 subparagraph (A) for an executive agency to 

14 use the common form developed by the Admin15 istrator of General Services shall not apply to 

16 an executive agency if the head of an executive 

17 agency notifies the Administrator that the exec18 utive agency uses a substantially similar appli19 cation. 

20 ‘‘(3) FEE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

22 other provision of law, the Administrator of 

23 General Services shall establish a fee for the 

24 grant of an easement, right-of-way, or lease 


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1 pursuant to paragraph (1) that is based on di2 rect cost recovery. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The Administrator of 

4 General Services may establish exceptions to 

5 the fee amount required under subparagraph 

6 (A)— 

7 ‘‘(i) in consideration of the public ben8 efit provided by a grant of an easement, 

9 right-of-way, or lease; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the interest of expanding wire11 less and broadband coverage. 

12 ‘‘(4) USE OF FEES COLLECTED.—Any fee 

13 amounts collected by an executive agency pursuant 

14 to paragraph (3) may be made available, as provided 

15 in appropriations Acts, to such agency to cover the 

16 costs of granting the easement, right-of-way, or 

17 lease. 

18 ‘‘(5) TIMELY CONSIDERATION OF APPLICA19 TIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 

21 days after the date on which an executive agen22 cy receives a duly filed application for an ease23 ment, right-of-way, or lease under this sub24 section, the executive agency shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) grant or deny, on behalf of the 

2 Federal Government, the application; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) notify the applicant of the grant 

4 or denial. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXPLANATION OF DENIAL.—If an ex6 ecutive agency denies an application under sub7 paragraph (A), the executive agency shall notify 

8 the applicant in writing, including a clear state9 ment of the reasons for the denial. 

10 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL

11 LAWS.—Nothing in this paragraph shall be con12 strued to relieve an executive agency of the re13 quirements of division A of subtitle III of title 

14 54, United States Code, or the National Envi15 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

16 et seq.). 

17 ‘‘(D) POINT OF CONTACT.—Upon receiving 

18 an application under subparagraph (A), an ex19 ecutive agency shall designate one or more ap20 propriate individuals within the executive agen21 cy to act as a point of contact with the appli22 cant. 

23 ‘‘(c) MASTER CONTRACTS FOR COMMUNICATIONS

24 FACILITY INSTALLATION SITINGS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

2 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public 

3 Law 104–104; 110 Stat. 151) or any other provision 

4 of law, the Administrator of General Services shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) develop one or more master contracts 

6 that shall govern the placement of communica7 tions facility installation on buildings and other 

8 property owned by the Federal Government; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) in developing the master contract or 

11 contracts, standardize the treatment of the 

12 placement of communications facility installa13 tion on building rooftops or facades, the place14 ment of communications facility installation on 

15 rooftops or inside buildings, the technology used 

16 in connection with communications facility in17 stallation placed on Federal buildings and other 

18 property, and any other key issues the Adminis19 trator of General Services considers appro20 priate. 

21 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—The master contract or 

22 contracts developed by the Administrator of General 

23 Services under paragraph (1) shall apply to all pub24 licly accessible buildings and other property owned 

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1 trator of General Services decides that issues with 

2 respect to the siting of a communications facility in3 stallation on a specific building or other property 

4 warrant nonstandard treatment of such building or 

5 other property. 

6 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of 

8 General Services shall develop a common form 

9 or set of forms for communications facility in10 stallation siting applications that, except as pro11 vided in subparagraph (B), shall be used by all 

12 executive agencies and applicants with respect 

13 to the buildings and other property of each such 

14 agency. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The requirement under 

16 subparagraph (A) for an executive agency to 

17 use the common form or set of forms developed 

18 by the Administrator of General Services shall 

19 not apply to an executive agency if the head of 

20 the executive agency notifies the Administrator 

21 that the executive agency uses a substantially 

22 similar application. 

23 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY INSTALLA2 TION.—The term ‘communications facility installa3 tion’ includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) any infrastructure, including any 

5 transmitting device, tower, or support structure, 

6 and any equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, 

7 power sources, shelters, or cabinets, associated 

8 with the licensed or permitted unlicensed wire9 less or wireline transmission of writings, signs, 

10 signals, data, images, pictures, and sounds of 

11 all kinds; and 

12 ‘‘(B) any antenna or apparatus that— 

13 ‘‘(i) is designed for the purpose of 

14 emitting radio frequency; 

15 ‘‘(ii) is designed to be operated, or is 

16 operating, from a fixed location pursuant 

17 to authorization by the Commission or is 

18 using duly authorized devices that do not 

19 require individual licenses; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) is added to a tower, building, or 

21 other structure. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘executive 

23 agency’ has the meaning given such term in section 

24 102 of title 40, United States Code.’’. 


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1 (b) SAVINGS PROVISION.—An application for an 

2 easement, right-of-way, or lease that was made or granted 

3 under section 6409 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and 

4 Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455) before the 

5 effective date of this Act shall continue, subject to that 

6 section as in effect on the day before such effective date. 

7 (c) STREAMLINING BROADBAND FACILITY APPLICA8 TIONS.— 

9 (1) DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY

10 INSTALLATION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘com11 munications facility installation’’ has the meaning 

12 given the term in section 6409(d) of the Middle 

13 Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 

14 U.S.C. 1455(d)), as amended by subsection (a). 

15 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

18 NTIA, in coordination with the Department of 

19 the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the 

20 Department of Defense, the Department of 

21 Transportation, the Office of Management and 

22 Budget, and the General Services Administra23 tion, shall develop recommendations to stream24 line the process for considering applications by 

25 those agencies under section 6409(b) of the 


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1 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act 

2 of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(b)), as amended by 

3 subsection (a). 

4 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECOMMENDA5 TIONS.—The recommendations developed under 

6 subparagraph (A) shall include— 

7 (i) procedures for the tracking of ap8 plications described in subparagraph (A); 

9 (ii) methods by which to reduce the 

10 amount of time between the receipt of an 

11 application and the issuance of a final de12 cision on an application; and 

13 (iii) policies to expedite renewals of an 

14 easement, license, or other authorization to 

15 locate a communications facility installa16 tion on land managed by the agencies de17 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

18 (C) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

19 than 2 years after the date on which the rec20 ommendations required under subparagraph 

21 (A) are developed, the NTIA shall submit to the 

22 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans23 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

24 Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep25 resentatives a report that describes— 


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1 (i) the status of the implementation of 

2 the recommendations developed under sub3 paragraph (A); and 

4 (ii) any improvements to the process 

5 for considering applications described in 

6 subparagraph (A) that have resulted from 

7 those recommendations, including in par8 ticular the speed at which such applica9 tions are reviewed and a final determina10 tion is issued. 

11 SEC. 8. BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT. 

12 (a) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

13 United States for the Department of Transportation and 

14 State departments of transportation— 

15 (1) to adjust or otherwise develop right-of-way 

16 policies for Federal-aid highways to effectively ac17 commodate broadband infrastructure; 

18 (2) to ensure the safe and efficient accommoda19 tion of broadband infrastructure in the public right20 of-way; 

21 (3) to include broadband stakeholders in the 

22 transportation planning process; and 

23 (4) to coordinate highway construction plans 

24 with other statewide telecommunications and 

25 broadband plans. 


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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCY.—The term 

3 ‘‘appropriate State agency’’ means a State govern4 mental agency that is recognized by the executive 

5 branch of the State as having the experience nec6 essary to evaluate and carry out projects relating to 

7 the proper and effective installation and operation of 

8 broadband infrastructure. 

9 (2) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

10 ‘‘broadband infrastructure’’ means any buried or 

11 aerial facility, and any wireless or wireline connec12 tion, that enables users to send and receive voice, 

13 video, data, graphics, or any combination thereof. 

14 (3) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE ENTITY.— 

15 The term ‘‘broadband infrastructure entity’’ means 

16 any entity that— 

17 (A) installs, owns, or operates broadband 

18 infrastructure; and 

19 (B) provides broadband services to the 

20 public in a manner consistent with the public 

21 interest, convenience, and necessity, as deter22 mined by the State. 

23 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

24 (A) a State; 

25 (B) the District of Columbia; and 


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1 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

2 (c) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT.— 

3 To facilitate the installation of broadband infrastructure 

4 and achieve the policy described in subsection (a), the Sec5 retary of Transportation shall ensure that each State that 

6 receives funds under chapter 1 of title 23, United States 

7 Code, meets the following requirements: 

8 (1) BROADBAND COORDINATION.—The State 

9 department of transportation, in coordination with 

10 appropriate State agencies, shall— 

11 (A) identify a broadband utility coordi12 nator, that may have additional responsibilities, 

13 whether in the State department of transpor14 tation or in another State agency, and that is 

15 responsible for coordinating the broadband in16 frastructure right-of-way needs of the State 

17 with Federal-aid highway projects carried out in 

18 the State; 

19 (B) establish a process for the registration 

20 of broadband infrastructure entities that seek 

21 to be included in those broadband infrastruc22 ture right-of-way coordination efforts within the 

23 State; 

24 (C) coordinate initiatives carried out under 

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1 cation and broadband plans and State and local 

2 transportation and land use plans; and 

3 (D) develop strategies to minimize re4 peated excavations that involve the installation 

5 of broadband infrastructure in a right-of-way. 

6 (2) PRIORITY.—If a State chooses to provide 

7 for the installation of broadband infrastructure in 

8 the right-of-way of an applicable Federal-aid high9 way under this subsection in a given case, the State 

10 department of transportation shall carry out any ap11 propriate measures to ensure that any existing 

12 broadband infrastructure entities are not disadvan13 taged, as compared to other broadband infrastruc14 ture entities, with respect to the program under this 

15 subsection. 

16 (d) EFFECT OF SECTION.—This section applies only 

17 to activities for which obligations or expenditures are ini18 tially approved on or after the date of enactment of this 

19 Act. Nothing in this section establishes a mandate or re20 quirement, or authorizes the Secretary to establish a man21 date or requirement, that a State install broadband infra22 structure in a highway right-of-way. 

23 SEC. 9. NATIONAL BROADBAND FACILITIES ASSET DATA24 BASE. 

25 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY INSTALLA2 TION.—The term ‘‘communications facility installa3 tion’’ includes— 

4 (A) any infrastructure, including any 

5 transmitting device, tower, or support structure, 

6 and any equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, 

7 power sources, shelters, or cabinets, associated 

8 with the licensed or permitted unlicensed wire9 less or wireline transmission of writings, signs, 

10 signals, data, images, pictures, and sounds of 

11 all kinds; and 

12 (B) any antenna or apparatus that— 

13 (i) is designed for the purpose of 

14 emitting radio frequency; 

15 (ii) is designed to be operated, or is 

16 operating, from a fixed location pursuant 

17 to authorization by the Federal Commu18 nications Commission or is using duly au19 thorized devices that do not require indi20 vidual licenses; and 

21 (iii) is added to a tower, building, or 

22 other structure. 

23 (2) COVERED PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘covered 

24 property’’— 


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1 (A) means any real property capable of 

2 supporting a communications facility installa3 tion; and 

4 (B) includes any interest in real property 

5 described in subparagraph (A). 

6 (3) DATABASE.—The term ‘‘database’’ means 

7 the database established under subsection (b). 

8 (4) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 

9 agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

10 105 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 (b) DATABASE ESTABLISHED.—Not later than June 

12 30, 2018, the Director of the Office of Science and Tech13 nology Policy, in consultation with the Chairman of the 

14 Commission, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Com15 munications and Information, Under Secretary of Com16 merce for Standards and Technology, Administrator of 

17 General Services, and Director of OMB, shall— 

18 (1) establish and operate a single database of 

19 any covered property that is owned, leased, or other20 wise managed by an Executive agency; 

21 (2) make the database available to— 

22 (A) any entity that— 

23 (i) constructs or operates communica24 tions facility installations; or 


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1 (ii) provides communications service; 

2 and 

3 (B) any other entity that the Director of 

4 the Office of Science and Technology Policy de5 termines is appropriate; and 

6 (3) establish a process for withholding data 

7 from the database for national security, public safe8 ty, or other national strategic concerns in accord9 ance with existing statutory authority and Executive 

10 order mandates with respect to handling and protec11 tion of such information. 

12 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

14 the date of enactment of the MOBILE NOW Act, 

15 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

16 Policy shall seek public comment to inform the es17 tablishment and operation of the database. 

18 (2) CONTENTS.—In seeking public comment 

19 under paragraph (1), the Director shall include a re20 quest for recommendations on— 

21 (A) criteria that make real property capa22 ble of supporting communications facility instal23 lations; 


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1 (B) types of information related to covered 

2 property that should be included in the data3 base; 

4 (C) an interface by which accessibility to 

5 the database for all users will be appropriately 

6 efficient and secure; and 

7 (D) other information the Director deter8 mines necessary to establish and operate the 

9 database. 

10 (d) FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

11 (1) INITIAL PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Not 

12 later than 90 days after the date on which the data13 base is established under subsection (b), the head of 

14 an Executive agency shall provide to the Director of 

15 the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a 

16 manner and format to be determined by the Direc17 tor, such information as the Director determines ap18 propriate with respect to covered property owned, 

19 leased, or otherwise managed by the Executive agen20 cy. 

21 (2) CHANGE TO INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY

22 PROVIDED.—In the case of any change to informa23 tion provided to the Director of the Office of Science 

24 and Technology Policy by the head of an Executive 

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1 tive agency shall provide updated information to the 

2 Director not later than 30 days after the date of the 

3 change. 

4 (3) SUBSEQUENTLY ACQUIRED PROPERTY.—If 

5 an Executive agency acquires covered property after 

6 the date on which the database is established under 

7 subsection (b), the head of the Executive agency 

8 shall provide to the Director of the Office of Science 

9 and Technology Policy the information required 

10 under paragraph (1) with respect to the covered 

11 property not later than 30 days after the date of the 

12 acquisition. 

13 (e) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

15 Science and Technology Policy (referred to in this 

16 subsection as the ‘‘Director’’) shall make the data17 base available to State and local governments so 

18 that such governments may provide to the Director 

19 for inclusion in the database similar information to 

20 the information required under subsection (d)(1) re21 garding covered property owned, leased, or otherwise 

22 managed by such governments. 

23 (2) REPORT ON INCENTIVIZING PARTICIPATION

24 BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di3 rector, in consultation with the Chairman of the 

4 Commission, the Assistant Secretary of Com5 merce for Communications and Information, 

6 the Under Secretary of Commerce for Stand7 ards and Technology, the Administrator of Gen8 eral Services, and the Director of OMB, shall 

9 submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

11 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

12 House of Representatives a report on potential 

13 ways to incentivize State and local governments 

14 to provide to the Director for inclusion in the 

15 database similar information to the information 

16 required under subsection (d)(1) regarding cov17 ered property owned, leased, or otherwise man18 aged by such governments pursuant to para19 graph (1) of this subsection or through other 

20 means. 

21 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Director, in 

22 preparing the report under subparagraph (A), 

23 shall— 

24 (i) consult with State and local gov25 ernments, or their representatives, to idenVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Jan 04, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S19.IS S19

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1 tify for inclusion in the report the most 

2 cost-effective options for State and local 

3 governments to collect and provide the in4 formation described in subparagraph (A), 

5 including utilizing and leveraging State 

6 broadband initiatives and programs; and 

7 (ii) make recommendations on ways 

8 the Federal Government can assist State 

9 and local governments in collecting and 

10 providing the information described in sub11 paragraph (A). 

12 (C) REPORT UPDATE.—Not later than 2 

13 years after the date on which the database is 

14 established under this section, the Director 

15 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

17 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

18 House of Representatives an update to the re19 port required under subparagraph (A) that 

20 identifies State and local governments that have 

21 contributed to the database and recommends 

22 ways to further incentivize participation by 

23 State and local governments pursuant to para24 graph (1) of this subsection or through other 

25 means. 


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1 (f) DATABASE UPDATES.— 

2 (1) TIMELY INCLUSION.—After the establish3 ment of the database, the Director of the Office of 

4 Science and Technology Policy shall ensure that in5 formation provided under subsection (d) or sub6 section (e) is included in the database not later than 

7 7 days after the date on which the Director receives 

8 the information. 

9 (2) DATE OF ADDITION OR UPDATE.—Informa10 tion in the database relating to covered property 

11 shall include the date on which the information was 

12 added or most recently updated. 

13 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

14 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Pol15 icy seeks public comment under subsection (c)(1), the Di16 rector shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com18 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep19 resentatives a report on the progress in establishing the 

20 database under this section. The Director shall update the 

21 report annually until the date that the database is fully 

22 operational. After the database is fully operational and for 

23 the next 5 years thereafter, the Director shall provide an24 nual reports regarding the use of the database, rec25 ommendations of how the database may provide additional 


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1 utility to the entities described in subsection (b)(2), if any 

2 recommendations are warranted, and how previous rec3 ommendations have been implemented. 

4 SEC. 10. REALLOCATION INCENTIVES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con7 sultation with the Commission, the Director of OMB, and 

8 the head of each affected Federal agency (or a designee 

9 thereof), after notice and an opportunity for public com10 ment, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con11 gress a report that includes legislative or regulatory rec12 ommendations to incentivize a Federal entity to relinquish, 

13 or share with Federal or non-Federal users, Federal spec14 trum for the purpose of allowing commercial wireless 

15 broadband services to operate on that Federal spectrum. 

16 (b) POST-AUCTION PAYMENTS.— 

17 (1) REPORT.—In preparing the report under 

18 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

19 (A) consider whether permitting eligible 

20 Federal entities that are implementing a transi21 tion plan submitted under section 113(h) of the 

22 National Telecommunications and Information 

23 Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 

24 923(h)) to accept payments could result in ac25 cess to the eligible frequencies that are being 


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1 reallocated for exclusive non-Federal use or 

2 shared use sooner than would otherwise occur 

3 without such payments; and 

4 (B) include the findings under subpara5 graph (A), including the analysis under para6 graph (2) and any recommendations for legisla7 tion, in the report. 

8 (2) ANALYSIS.—In considering payments under 

9 paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall conduct an 

10 analysis of whether and how such payments would 

11 affect— 

12 (A) bidding in auctions conducted under 

13 section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 

14 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) of such eligible fre15 quencies; and 

16 (B) receipts collected from the auctions de17 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

18 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

19 (A) PAYMENT.—The term ‘‘payment’’ 

20 means a payment in cash or in-kind by any 

21 auction winner, or any person affiliated with an 

22 auction winner, of eligible frequencies during 

23 the period after eligible frequencies have been 

24 reallocated by competitive bidding under section 

25 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 


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1 U.S.C. 309(j)) but prior to the completion of 

2 relocation or sharing transition of such eligible 

3 frequencies per transition plans approved by the 

4 Technical Panel. 

5 (B) ELIGIBLE FREQUENCIES.—The term 

6 ‘‘eligible frequencies’’ has the meaning given 

7 the term in section 113(g)(2) of the National 

8 Telecommunications and Information Adminis9 tration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(g)(2)). 

10 SEC. 11. BIDIRECTIONAL SHARING STUDY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, including an opportunity 

13 for public comment, the Commission, in collaboration with 

14 the NTIA, shall— 

15 (1) conduct a bidirectional sharing study to de16 termine the best means of providing Federal entities 

17 flexible access to non-Federal spectrum on a shared 

18 basis across a range of short-, mid-, and long-range 

19 timeframes, including for intermittent purposes like 

20 emergency use; and 

21 (2) submit to Congress a report on the study 

22 under paragraph (1), including any recommenda23 tions for legislation or proposed regulations. 

24 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 

25 under subsection (a), the Commission shall— 


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1 (1) consider the regulatory certainty that com2 mercial spectrum users and Federal entities need to 

3 make longer-term investment decisions for shared 

4 access to be viable; and 

5 (2) evaluate any barriers to voluntary commer6 cial arrangements in which non-Federal users could 

7 provide access to Federal entities. 

8 SEC. 12. UNLICENSED SERVICES IN GUARD BANDS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—After public notice and comment, 

10 and in consultation with the Secretary and the head of 

11 each affected Federal agency (or a designee thereof), with 

12 respect to frequencies allocated for Federal use, the Com13 mission shall adopt rules that permit unlicensed services 

14 where feasible to use any frequencies that are designated 

15 as guard bands to protect frequencies allocated after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act by competitive bidding under 

17 section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

18 U.S.C. 309(j)), including spectrum that acts as a duplex 

19 gap between transmit and receive frequencies. 

20 (b) LIMITATION.—The Commission may not permit 

21 any use of a guard band under this section that would 

22 cause harmful interference to a licensed service or a Fed23 eral service operating in the guard band or in an adjacent 

24 band. 


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1 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be construed as limiting the Commission or the 

3 Secretary from otherwise making spectrum available for 

4 licensed or unlicensed use in any frequency band in addi5 tion to guard bands, including under section 3, consistent 

6 with their statutory jurisdictions. 

7 SEC. 13. PRE-AUCTION FUNDING. 

8 Section 118(d)(3)(B)(i)(II) of the National Tele9 communications and Information Administration Organi10 zation Act (47 U.S.C. 928(d)(3)(B)(i)(II)) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘8 years’’. 

12 SEC. 14. IMMEDIATE TRANSFER OF FUNDS. 

13 Section 118(e)(1) of the National Telecommuni14 cations and Information Administration Organization Act 

15 (47 U.S.C. 928(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) At the request of an eligible Federal 

18 entity, the Director of OMB may transfer the 

19 amount under subparagraph (A) immediately— 

20 ‘‘(i) after the frequencies are reallo21 cated by competitive bidding under section 

22 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 

23 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)); or 

24 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an incumbent Fed25 eral entity that is incurring relocation or 


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1 sharing costs to accommodate sharing 

2 spectrum frequencies with another Federal 

3 entity, after the frequencies from which the 

4 other eligible Federal entity is relocating 

5 are reallocated by competitive bidding 

6 under section 309(j) of the Communica7 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), with8 out regard to the availability of such sums 

9 in the Fund. 

10 ‘‘(E) Prior to the deposit of proceeds into 

11 the Fund from an auction, the Director of 

12 OMB may borrow from the Treasury the 

13 amount under subparagraph (A) for a transfer 

14 under subparagraph (D). The Treasury shall 

15 immediately be reimbursed, without interest, 

16 from funds deposited into the Fund.’’. 

17 SEC. 15. AMENDMENTS TO THE SPECTRUM PIPELINE ACT 

18 OF 2015. 

19 Section 1008 of the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015 

20 (Public Law 114–74; 129 Stat. 584) is amended in the 

21 matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, after no22 tice and an opportunity for public comment,’’ after ‘‘the 

23 Commission’’. 


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1 SEC. 16. GAO ASSESSMENT OF UNLICENSED SPECTRUM 

2 AND WI-FI USE IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBOR3 HOODS. 

4 (a) STUDY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

6 the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate 

7 the availability of broadband Internet access using 

8 unlicensed spectrum and wireless networks in low-in9 come neighborhoods. 

10 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the study 

11 under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall 

12 consider and evaluate— 

13 (A) the availability of wireless Internet hot 

14 spots and access to unlicensed spectrum in low15 income neighborhoods, particularly for elemen16 tary and secondary school-aged children in such 

17 neighborhoods; 

18 (B) any barriers preventing or limiting the 

19 deployment and use of wireless networks in low20 income neighborhoods; 

21 (C) how to overcome any barriers described 

22 in subparagraph (B), including through incen23 tives, policies, or requirements that would in24 crease the availability of unlicensed spectrum 

25 and related technologies in low-income neigh26 borhoods; and 


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1 (D) how to encourage home broadband 

2 adoption by households with elementary and 

3 secondary school-age children that are in low4 income neighborhoods. 

5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

7 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

8 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on En9 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a re10 port that— 

11 (1) summarizes the findings of the study con12 ducted under subsection (a); and 

13 (2) makes recommendations with respect to po14 tential incentives, policies, and requirements that 

15 could help achieve the goals described in subpara16 graphs (C) and (D) of subsection (a)(2). 

17 SEC. 17. RULEMAKING RELATED TO PARTITIONING OR 

18 DISAGGREGATING LICENSES. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 (1) COVERED SMALL CARRIER.—The term 

21 ‘‘covered small carrier’’ means a carrier (as defined 

22 in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

23 U.S.C. 153)) that— 

24 (A) has not more than 1,500 employees (as 

25 determined under section 121.106 of title 13, 


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1 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

2 thereto); and 

3 (B) offers services using the facilities of 

4 the carrier. 

5 (2) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ 

6 means any area other than— 

7 (A) a city, town, or incorporated area that 

8 has a population of more than 20,000 inhab9 itants; or 

10 (B) an urbanized area contiguous and ad11 jacent to a city or town that has a population 

12 of more than 50,000 inhabitants. 

13 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

16 shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to assess 

17 whether to establish a program, or modify existing 

18 programs, under which a licensee that receives a li19 cense for the exclusive use of spectrum in a specific 

20 geographic area under section 301 of the Commu21 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301) may partition 

22 or disaggregate the license by sale or long-term 

23 lease— 

24 (A) in order to— 


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1 (i) provide services consistent with the 

2 license; and 

3 (ii) make unused spectrum available 

4 to— 

5 (I) an unaffiliated covered small 

6 carrier; or 

7 (II) an unaffiliated carrier to 

8 serve a rural area; and 

9 (B) if the Commission finds that such a 

10 program would promote— 

11 (i) the availability of advanced tele12 communications services in rural areas; or 

13 (ii) spectrum availability for covered 

14 small carriers. 

15 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the rule16 making proceeding under paragraph (1), the Com17 mission shall consider, with respect to the program 

18 proposed to be established under that paragraph— 

19 (A) whether reduced performance require20 ments with respect to spectrum obtained 

21 through the program would facilitate deploy22 ment of advanced telecommunications services 

23 in the areas covered by the program; 

24 (B) what conditions may be needed on 

25 transfers of spectrum under the program to 


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1 allow covered small carriers that obtain spec2 trum under the program to build out the spec3 trum in a reasonable period of time; 

4 (C) what incentives may be appropriate to 

5 encourage licensees to lease or sell spectrum, in6 cluding— 

7 (i) extending the term of a license 

8 granted under section 301 of the Commu9 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301); or 

10 (ii) modifying performance require11 ments of the license relating to the leased 

12 or sold spectrum; and 

13 (D) the administrative feasibility of— 

14 (i) the incentives described in sub15 paragraph (C); and 

16 (ii) other incentives considered by the 

17 Commission that further the goals of this 

18 section. 

19 (3) FORFEITURE OF SPECTRUM.—If a party 

20 fails to meet any build out requirements set by the 

21 Commission for any spectrum sold or leased under 

22 this section, the right to the spectrum shall be for23 feited to the Commission unless the Commission 

24 finds that there is good cause for the failure of the 

25 party. 


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1 (4) REQUIREMENT.—The Commission may 

2 offer a licensee incentives or reduced performance 

3 requirements under this section only if the Commis4 sion finds that doing so would likely result in in5 creased availability of advanced telecommunications 

6 services in a rural area. 

7 SEC. 18. UNLICENSED SPECTRUM POLICY. 

8 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

9 United States— 

10 (1) to maximize the benefit to the people of the 

11 United States of the spectrum resources of the 

12 United States; 

13 (2) to advance innovation and investment in 

14 wireless broadband services; and 

15 (3) to promote spectrum policy that makes 

16 available on an unlicensed basis radio frequency 

17 bands sufficient to meet consumer demand for unli18 censed wireless broadband operations. 

19 (b) COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Commis20 sion shall ensure that the efforts of the Commission re21 lated to spectrum allocation and assignment make avail22 able on an unlicensed basis radio frequency bands suffi23 cient to meet demand for unlicensed wireless broadband 

24 operations if doing so is, after taking into account the fu25 ture needs of other spectrum users— 


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1 (1) reasonable; and 

2 (2) in the public interest. 

3 (c) COMMISSION ACTION.—Not later than 18 months 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

5 shall take action to implement subsection (b). 

6 SEC. 19. NATIONAL PLAN FOR UNLICENSED SPECTRUM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND.—The term 

9 ‘‘Spectrum Relocation Fund’’ means the Fund es10 tablished under section 118 of the National Tele11 communications and Information Administration Or12 ganization Act (47 U.S.C. 928). 

13 (2) UNLICENSED OPERATIONS.—The term ‘‘un14 licensed operations’’ means the use of spectrum on 

15 a non-exclusive basis under— 

16 (A) part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations; or 

18 (B) licensing by rule under part 96 of title 

19 47, Code of Federal Regulations. 

20 (b) NATIONAL PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission, in con22 sultation with the NTIA, shall develop a national plan for 

23 making additional radio frequency bands available for un24 licensed operations. 


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1 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan developed under this 

2 section shall— 

3 (1) identify an approach that ensures that con4 sumers have access to additional spectrum to con5 duct unlicensed operations in a range of radio fre6 quencies to meet consumer demand; 

7 (2) recommend specific actions by the Commis8 sion and the NTIA to permit unlicensed operations 

9 in additional radio frequency ranges that the Com10 mission finds— 

11 (A) are consistent with the statement of 

12 policy under section 18(a); 

13 (B) will— 

14 (i) expand opportunities for unli15 censed operations in a spectrum band; or 

16 (ii) otherwise improve spectrum utili17 zation and intensity of use of bands where 

18 unlicensed operations are already per19 mitted; 

20 (C) will not cause harmful interference to 

21 Federal or non-Federal users of such bands; 

22 and 

23 (D) will not significantly impact homeland 

24 security or national security communications 

25 systems; and 


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1 (3) examine additional ways, with respect to ex2 isting and planned databases or spectrum access sys3 tems designed to promote spectrum sharing and ac4 cess to spectrum for unlicensed operations— 

5 (A) to improve accuracy and efficacy; 

6 (B) to reduce burdens on consumers, man7 ufacturers, and service providers; and 

8 (C) to protect sensitive Government infor9 mation. 

10 (d) SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND.—To be included 

11 as part of the plan developed under this section, the NTIA 

12 shall share with the Commission recommendations about 

13 how to reform the Spectrum Relocation Fund— 

14 (1) to address costs incurred by Federal entities 

15 related to sharing radio frequency bands with radio 

16 technologies conducting unlicensed operations; and 

17 (2) to ensure the Spectrum Relocation Fund 

18 has sufficient funds to cover— 

19 (A) the costs described in paragraph (1); 

20 and 

21 (B) other expenditures allowed of the 

22 Spectrum Relocation Fund under section 118 of 

23 the National Telecommunications and Informa24 tion Administration Organization Act (47 

25 U.S.C. 928). 


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1 (e) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

4 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con5 gress a report that describes the plan developed 

6 under this section, including any recommendations 

7 for legislative change. 

8 (2) PUBLICATION ON COMMISSION WEBSITE.— 

9 Not later than the date on which the Commission 

10 submits the report under paragraph (1), the Com11 mission shall make the report publicly available on 

12 the website of the Commission. 

13 SEC. 20. SPECTRUM CHALLENGE PRIZE. 

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

15 (1) The future competitiveness and global tech16 nology leadership of the United States depend, in 

17 part, upon the availability and efficient use of spec18 trum. 

19 (2) Dramatic improvement in spectrum effi20 ciency would spur innovation, investment, and eco21 nomic growth. 

22 (3) Radio frequency spectrum is vital for emer23 gency communications, national security, law en24 forcement, aviation, maritime safety, space commu25 nications, and numerous other Federal functions. 


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1 (4) Prize competitions can spur innovation in 

2 the private and public sectors. 

3 (b) DEFINITION OF PRIZE COMPETITION.—In this 

4 section, the term ‘‘prize competition’’ means a prize com5 petition conducted by the Secretary under subsection 

6 (c)(1). 

7 (c) SPECTRUM CHALLENGE PRIZE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta9 tion with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 

10 Communications and Information and the Under 

11 Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Tech12 nology, shall, subject to the availability of funds for 

13 prize competitions under this section— 

14 (A) conduct prize competitions to dramati15 cally accelerate the development and commer16 cialization of technology that improves spectrum 

17 efficiency and is capable of cost-effective deploy18 ment; and 

19 (B) define a measurable set of perform20 ance goals for participants in the prize competi21 tions to demonstrate their solutions on a level 

22 playing field while making a significant ad23 vancement over the current state of the art. 

24 (2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—In carrying 

25 out paragraph (1), the Secretary may— 


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1 (A) enter into a grant, contract, coopera2 tive agreement, or other agreement with a pri3 vate sector for-profit or nonprofit entity to ad4 minister the prize competitions; 

5 (B) invite the Defense Advanced Research 

6 Projects Agency, the Commission, the National 

7 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Na8 tional Science Foundation, or any other Federal 

9 agency to provide advice and assistance in the 

10 design or administration of the prize competi11 tions; and 

12 (C) award not more than $5,000,000, in 

13 the aggregate, to the winner or winners of the 

14 prize competitions. 

15 (d) CRITERIA.—Not later than 180 days after the 

16 date on which funds for prize competitions are made avail17 able pursuant to this section, the Commission shall publish 

18 a technical paper on spectrum efficiency providing criteria 

19 that may be used for the design of the prize competitions. 

20 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

22 necessary to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 21. WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS TAX AND FEE 

2 COLLECTION FAIRNESS. 

3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

4 ‘‘Wireless Telecommunications Tax and Fee Collection 

5 Fairness Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 

8 (1) A State may designate an in-State or out9 of-State person as a collection agent for the State 

10 and impose upon the person a duty to collect certain 

11 taxes and fees for wireless telecommunications serv12 ices from residents of the State. 

13 (2) States have the sovereign right to tax their 

14 citizens, subject to the Constitution of the United 

15 States and Federal law. States do not have the right 

16 to tax interstate commerce or to impose taxes or 

17 other obligations on citizens of other States without 

18 limitation. 

19 (3) A collection agent for a State may feasibly 

20 collect taxes and fees from a customer in connection 

21 with a financial transaction to which the agent and 

22 customer are parties. 

23 (4) Congress can help ensure against unreason24 able burdens on interstate commerce by prohibiting 

25 each State from imposing a duty on any person to 

26 serve as a collection agent for the State unless the 


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1 collection is in connection with a financial trans2 action. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) FINANCIAL TRANSACTION.—The term ‘‘fi5 nancial transaction’’ means a transaction in which 

6 the purchaser or user of a wireless telecommuni7 cations service upon whom a tax, fee, or surcharge 

8 is imposed gives cash, credit, or any other exchange 

9 of monetary value or consideration to the person 

10 who is required to collect or remit the tax, fee, or 

11 surcharge. 

12 (2) LOCAL JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘local ju13 risdiction’’ means a political subdivision of a State. 

14 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

15 the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 

16 territory or possession of the United States. 

17 (4) STATE OR LOCAL JURISDICTION.—The term 

18 ‘‘State or local jurisdiction’’ includes any govern19 mental entity or person acting on behalf of a State 

20 or local jurisdiction that has the authority to assess, 

21 impose, levy, or collect taxes or fees. 

22 (5) WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERV23 ICE.—The term ‘‘wireless telecommunications serv24 ice’’ means a commercial mobile radio service, as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Jan 04, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S19.IS S19

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1 fined in section 20.3 of title 47, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations, or any successor thereto. 

3 (d) FINANCIAL TRANSACTION REQUIREMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State, or a local jurisdic5 tion of a State, may not require a person to collect 

6 from, or remit on behalf of, any other person a State 

7 or local tax, fee, or surcharge imposed on a pur8 chaser or user with respect to the purchase or use 

9 of any wireless telecommunications service within 

10 the State unless the collection or remittance is in 

11 connection with a financial transaction between— 

12 (A) the person that the State or local juris13 diction requires to collect or remit the tax, fee, 

14 or surcharge; and 

15 (B) the purchaser or user of the wireless 

16 telecommunications service. 

17 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

18 subsection shall be construed to affect the right of 

19 a State or local jurisdiction to require the collection 

20 of any tax, fee, or surcharge in connection with a fi21 nancial transaction. 

22 (e) ENFORCEMENT.— 

23 (1) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person 

24 aggrieved by a violation of subsection (d) may bring 

25 a civil action in an appropriate district court of the 


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1 United States for equitable relief in accordance with 

2 paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

3 (2) JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS.—Not4 withstanding section 1341 of title 28, United States 

5 Code, or the constitution or laws of any State, the 

6 district courts of the United States shall have juris7 diction, without regard to the amount in controversy 

8 or citizenship of the parties, to grant such manda9 tory or prohibitive injunctive relief, interim equitable 

10 relief, and declaratory judgments as may be nec11 essary to prevent, restrain, or terminate any acts in 

12 violation of subsection (d). 

13 SEC. 22. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

14 (a) RANGES OF FREQUENCIES.—Each range of fre15 quencies described in this Act shall be construed to be in16 clusive of the upper and lower frequencies in the range. 

17 (b) ASSESSMENT OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

18 REALLOCATION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed 

19 to affect any requirement under section 156 of the Na20 tional Telecommunications and Information Administra21 tion Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 921 note), as added by 

22 section 1062(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act 

23 for Fiscal Year 2000. 


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1 SEC. 23. RELATIONSHIP TO MIDDLE CLASS TAX RELIEF 

2 AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2012. 

3 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit, re4 strict, or circumvent in any way the implementation of the 

5 nationwide public safety broadband network defined in 

6 section 6001 of title VI of the Middle Class Tax Relief 

7 and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401) or any 

8 rules implementing that network under title VI of that Act 

9 (47 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.). 

Æ 


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