II 

Calendar No. 17 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 19 

[Report No. 115–4] 

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 

MARCH 21, 2017 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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 


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1 Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless 

2 Act’’ or the ‘‘MOBILE NOW Act’’. 

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

4 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Making 500 megahertz available. 

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. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON8 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con9 gress’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

11 and Transportation of the Senate; 

12 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com13 merce of the House of Representatives; and 


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

2 House of Representatives with jurisdiction over 

3 a Federal entity affected by the applicable sec4 tion in which the term appears. 

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

6 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

7 (3) FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Federal en8 tity’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

9 113(l) of the National Telecommunications and In10 formation Administration Organization Act (47 

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

12 (4) NTIA.—The term ‘‘NTIA’’ means the Na13 tional Telecommunications and Information Admin14 istration of the Department of Commerce. 

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

16 of Management and Budget. 

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

18 the Secretary of Commerce. 

19 SEC. 3. MAKING 500 MEGAHERTZ AVAILABLE. 

20 (a) REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the Presi22 dential Memorandum of June 28, 2010, entitled 

23 ‘‘Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution’’ 

24 and establishing a goal of making a total of 500 

25 megahertz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum 


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1 available on a licensed or unlicensed basis for wire2 less broadband use by 2020, not later than Decem3 ber 31, 2020, the Secretary, working through the 

4 NTIA, and the Commission shall make available a 

5 total of at least 255 megahertz of Federal and non6 Federal spectrum below the frequency of 6000 

7 megahertz for mobile and fixed wireless broadband 

8 use. 

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

10 spectrum made available under paragraph (1), not 

11 less than— 

12 (A) 100 megahertz shall be made available 

13 on an unlicensed basis; and 

14 (B) 100 megahertz shall be made available 

15 on an exclusive, licensed basis for commercial 

16 mobile use, pursuant to the Commission’s au17 thority to implement such licensing in a flexible 

18 manner, and subject to potential continued use 

19 of such spectrum by incumbent Federal entities 

20 in designated geographic areas indefinitely or 

21 for such length of time as is necessary for those 

22 incumbent entities to be relocated to other spec23 trum. 


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

2 of satisfying the requirement under paragraph (1), 

3 the following spectrum shall not be counted: 

4 (A) The frequencies between 1695 and 

5 1710 megahertz. 

6 (B) The frequencies between 1755 and 

7 1780 megahertz. 

8 (C) The frequencies between 2155 and 

9 2180 megahertz. 

10 (D) The frequencies between 3550 and 

11 3700 megahertz. 

12 (E) Spectrum that the Commission deter13 mines had more than de minimis mobile or 

14 fixed wireless broadband operations within the 

15 band on the day before the date of enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 (4) RELOCATION PRIORITIZED OVER SHAR18 ING.—This section shall be carried out in accordance 

19 with section 113(j) of the National Telecommuni20 cations and Information Administration Organiza21 tion Act (47 U.S.C. 923(j)). 

22 (5) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making spectrum 

23 available under this section, the Secretary and Com24 mission shall consider— 


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1 (A) the need to preserve critical existing 

2 and planned Federal Government capabilities; 

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

4 tribal government capabilities; 

5 (C) the international implications; 

6 (D) the need for appropriate enforcement 

7 mechanisms and authorities; and 

8 (E) the importance of the deployment of 

9 wireless broadband services in rural areas of the 

10 United States. 

11 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec12 tion shall be construed— 

13 (1) to impair or otherwise affect the functions 

14 of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, ad15 ministrative, or legislative proposals; 

16 (2) to require the disclosure of classified infor17 mation, law enforcement sensitive information, or 

18 other information that must be protected in the in19 terest of national security; or 

20 (3) to affect any requirement under section 156 

21 of the National Telecommunications and Informa22 tion Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 

23 921 note), as added by section 1062(a) of the Na24 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 


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1 2000, or any other relevant statutory requirement 

2 applicable to the reallocation of Federal spectrum. 

3 SEC. 4. MILLIMETER WAVE SPECTRUM. 

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

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

6 in consultation with the Commission, shall conduct a feasi7 bility assessment regarding the impact, on Federal entities 

8 and operations in any of the following bands, of author9 izing mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, includ10 ing for advanced mobile service operations, in the fol11 lowing bands: 

12 (1) The band between 31800 and 33400 mega13 hertz. 

14 (2) The band between 71000 and 76000 mega15 hertz. 

16 (3) The band between 81000 and 86000 mega17 hertz. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the feasibility 

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

20 (1) consult directly with Federal entities with 

21 respect to frequencies allocated to Federal use by 

22 such entities in the bands identified in that sub23 section; 

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

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1 cluding advanced mobile services operations, in any 

2 of such frequencies would have on an affected Fed3 eral entity; and 

4 (3) identify any such frequencies in the bands 

5 described in that subsection that the NTIA assess6 ment determines are feasible for authorizing for mo7 bile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, including 

8 any advanced mobile service operations. 

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

10 Not later than 30 days after the date the feasibility assess11 ment under subsection (a) is complete, the NTIA shall 

12 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

13 on the feasibility assessment and provide a copy to the 

14 Commission. 

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

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

17 date it receives the feasibility assessment under subsection 

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

19 with the NTIA, shall publish a notice of proposed rule20 making to consider service rules to authorize mobile or 

21 fixed terrestrial wireless operations, including for ad22 vanced mobile service operations, in the following radio 

23 frequency bands: 

24 (1) The band between 24250 and 24450 mega25 hertz. 


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1 (2) The band between 25050 and 25250 mega2 hertz. 

3 (3) The band between 31800 and 33400 mega4 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca5 tions. 

6 (4) The band between 42000 and 42500 mega7 hertz. 

8 (5) The band between 71000 and 76000 mega9 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca10 tions. 

11 (6) The band between 81000 and 86000 mega12 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca13 tions. 

14 (7) Any frequencies with Federal allocations 

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

16 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting a rulemaking 

17 under subsection (d), the Commission shall— 

18 (1) consult with Federal entities via the NTIA 

19 regarding the frequencies described in subsection 

20 (d)(7); 

21 (2) consider how the bands described in sub22 section (d) may be used to provide commercial wire23 less broadband service, including whether— 


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1 (A) such spectrum may be best used for li2 censed or unlicensed services, or some combina3 tion thereof; and 

4 (B) to permit additional licensed oper5 ations in such bands on a shared basis; and 

6 (3) include technical characteristics under 

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

8 employed for mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless op9 erations, including any appropriate coexistence re10 quirements. 

11 SEC. 5. 3 GIGAHERTZ SPECTRUM. 

12 (a) BETWEEN 3100 MEGAHERTZ AND 3550 MEGA13 HERTZ.—Not later than 18 months after the date of en14 actment of this Act, and in consultation with the Commis15 sion and the head of each affected Federal agency (or a 

16 designee thereof), the Secretary shall submit to the Com17 mission and the appropriate committees of Congress a re18 port evaluating the feasibility of allowing commercial wire19 less services, licensed or unlicensed, to share use of the 

20 frequencies between 3100 megahertz and 3550 megahertz. 

21 (b) BETWEEN 3700 MEGAHERTZ AND 4200 MEGA22 HERTZ.—Not later than 18 months after the date of en23 actment of this Act, after notice and an opportunity for 

24 public comment, and in consultation with the Secretary 

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1 ignee thereof), the Commission shall submit to the Sec2 retary and the appropriate committees of Congress a re3 port evaluating the feasibility of allowing commercial wire4 less services, licensed or unlicensed, to share use of the 

5 frequencies between 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz. 

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

7 or subsection (b) shall include the following: 

8 (1) An assessment of the operations of Federal 

9 entities that operate Federal Government stations 

10 authorized to use the frequencies described in that 

11 subsection. 

12 (2) An assessment of the possible impacts of 

13 such sharing on Federal and non-Federal users al14 ready operating on the frequencies described in that 

15 subsection. 

16 (3) The criteria that may be necessary to en17 sure shared licensed or unlicensed services would not 

18 cause harmful interference to Federal or non-Fed19 eral users already operating in the frequencies de20 scribed in that subsection. 

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

22 of which of the frequencies described in that sub23 section are most suitable for sharing with commer24 cial wireless services through the assignment of new 

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1 licensed operations, or through a combination of li2 censing and unlicensed operations. 

3 (d) COMMISSION ACTION.—The Commission, in con4 sultation with the NTIA, shall seek public comment on 

5 the reports required under subsections (a) and (b), includ6 ing regarding the bands identified in such reports as fea7 sible pursuant to subsection (c)(4). 

8 SEC. 6. DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEMS AND SMALL CELL 

9 INFRASTRUCTURE. 

10 Not later than December 31, 2017, the Commission 

11 shall take action in its Program Alternatives for Small 

12 Wireless Communications Facility Deployments pro13 ceeding (WT Docket 15–180). 

14 SEC. 7. COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES DEPLOYMENT ON 

15 FEDERAL PROPERTY. 

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

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

18 1455) is amended by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d) 

19 and inserting the following: 

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

21 LEASES.— 

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

23 a political subdivision or agency of a State, or a per24 son, firm, or organization applies for the grant of an 

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


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1 building or other property owned by the Federal 

2 Government for the right to install, construct, mod3 ify, or maintain a communications facility installa4 tion, the executive agency having control of the 

5 building or other property may grant to the appli6 cant, on behalf of the Federal Government, subject 

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

8 to perform such installation, construction, modifica9 tion, or maintenance. 

10 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

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

12 General Services shall develop a common form 

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

14 and leases under paragraph (1) for all executive 

15 agencies that, except as provided in subpara16 graph (B), shall be used by all executive agen17 cies and applicants with respect to the buildings 

18 or other property of each such agency. 

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

20 subparagraph (A) for an executive agency to 

21 use the common form developed by the Admin22 istrator of General Services shall not apply to 

23 an executive agency if the head of an executive 

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1 utive agency uses a substantially similar appli2 cation. 

3 ‘‘(3) FEE.— 

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

5 other provision of law, the Administrator of 

6 General Services shall establish a fee for the 

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

8 pursuant to paragraph (1) that is based on di9 rect cost recovery. 

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

11 General Services may establish exceptions to 

12 the fee amount required under subparagraph 

13 (A)— 

14 ‘‘(i) in consideration of the public ben15 efit provided by a grant of an easement, 

16 right-of-way, or lease; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) in the interest of expanding wire18 less and broadband coverage. 

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

20 amounts collected by an executive agency pursuant 

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

22 in appropriations Acts, to such agency to cover the 

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

24 lease. 


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1 ‘‘(5) TIMELY CONSIDERATION OF APPLICA2 TIONS.— 

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

4 days after the date on which an executive agen5 cy receives a duly filed application for an ease6 ment, right-of-way, or lease under this sub7 section, the executive agency shall— 

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

9 Federal Government, the application; and 

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

11 or denial. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXPLANATION OF DENIAL.—If an ex13 ecutive agency denies an application under sub14 paragraph (A), the executive agency shall notify 

15 the applicant in writing, including a clear state16 ment of the reasons for the denial. 

17 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL

18 LAWS.—Nothing in this paragraph shall be con19 strued to relieve an executive agency of the re20 quirements of division A of subtitle III of title 

21 54, United States Code, or the National Envi22 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

23 et seq.). 

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

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1 ecutive agency shall designate one or more ap2 propriate individuals within the executive agen3 cy to act as a point of contact with the appli4 cant. 

5 ‘‘(c) MASTER CONTRACTS FOR COMMUNICATIONS

6 FACILITY INSTALLATION SITINGS.— 

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

8 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public 

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

10 of law, the Administrator of General Services shall— 

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

12 that shall govern the placement of communica13 tions facility installation on buildings and other 

14 property owned by the Federal Government; 

15 and 

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

17 contracts, standardize the treatment of the 

18 placement of communications facility installa19 tion on building rooftops or facades, the place20 ment of communications facility installation on 

21 rooftops or inside buildings, the technology used 

22 in connection with communications facility in23 stallation placed on Federal buildings and other 

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1 trator of General Services considers appro2 priate. 

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

4 contracts developed by the Administrator of General 

5 Services under paragraph (1) shall apply to all pub6 licly accessible buildings and other property owned 

7 by the Federal Government, unless the Adminis8 trator of General Services decides that issues with 

9 respect to the siting of a communications facility in10 stallation on a specific building or other property 

11 warrant nonstandard treatment of such building or 

12 other property. 

13 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

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

15 General Services shall develop a common form 

16 or set of forms for communications facility in17 stallation siting applications that, except as pro18 vided in subparagraph (B), shall be used by all 

19 executive agencies and applicants with respect 

20 to the buildings and other property of each such 

21 agency. 

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

23 subparagraph (A) for an executive agency to 

24 use the common form or set of forms developed 

25 by the Administrator of General Services shall 


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1 not apply to an executive agency if the head of 

2 the executive agency notifies the Administrator 

3 that the executive agency uses a substantially 

4 similar application. 

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

6 ‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY INSTALLA7 TION.—The term ‘communications facility installa8 tion’ includes— 

9 ‘‘(A) any infrastructure, including any 

10 transmitting device, tower, or support structure, 

11 and any equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, 

12 power sources, shelters, or cabinets, associated 

13 with the licensed or permitted unlicensed wire14 less or wireline transmission of writings, signs, 

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

16 all kinds; and 

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

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

19 emitting radio frequency; 

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

21 operating, from a fixed location pursuant 

22 to authorization by the Commission or is 

23 using duly authorized devices that do not 

24 require individual licenses; and 


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

2 other structure. 

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

4 agency’ has the meaning given such term in section 

5 102 of title 40, United States Code.’’. 

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

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

8 under section 6409 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and 

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

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

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

12 (c) STREAMLINING BROADBAND FACILITY APPLICA13 TIONS.— 

14 (1) DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY

15 INSTALLATION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘com16 munications facility installation’’ has the meaning 

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

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

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

20 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

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

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 NTIA, in coordination with the Department of 

24 the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the 

25 Department of Defense, the Department of 


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1 Transportation, the Office of Management and 

2 Budget, and the General Services Administra3 tion, shall develop recommendations to stream4 line the process for considering applications by 

5 those agencies under section 6409(b) of the 

6 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act 

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

8 subsection (a). 

9 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECOMMENDA10 TIONS.—The recommendations developed under 

11 subparagraph (A) shall include— 

12 (i) procedures for the tracking of ap13 plications described in subparagraph (A); 

14 (ii) methods by which to reduce the 

15 amount of time between the receipt of an 

16 application and the issuance of a final de17 cision on an application; and 

18 (iii) policies to expedite renewals of an 

19 easement, license, or other authorization to 

20 locate a communications facility installa21 tion on land managed by the agencies de22 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

23 (C) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

24 than 2 years after the date on which the rec25 ommendations required under subparagraph 


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

2 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans3 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

4 Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep5 resentatives a report that describes— 

6 (i) the status of the implementation of 

7 the recommendations developed under sub8 paragraph (A); and 

9 (ii) any improvements to the process 

10 for considering applications described in 

11 subparagraph (A) that have resulted from 

12 those recommendations, including in par13 ticular the speed at which such applica14 tions are reviewed and a final determina15 tion is issued. 

16 SEC. 8. BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT. 

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

18 United States for the Department of Transportation and 

19 State departments of transportation— 

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

21 policies for Federal-aid highways to effectively ac22 commodate broadband infrastructure; 

23 (2) to ensure the safe and efficient accommoda24 tion of broadband infrastructure in the public right25 of-way; 


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1 (3) to include broadband stakeholders in the 

2 transportation planning process; and 

3 (4) to coordinate highway construction plans 

4 with other statewide telecommunications and 

5 broadband plans. 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘‘appropriate State agency’’ means a State govern9 mental agency that is recognized by the executive 

10 branch of the State as having the experience nec11 essary to evaluate and carry out projects relating to 

12 the proper and effective installation and operation of 

13 broadband infrastructure. 

14 (2) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

15 ‘‘broadband infrastructure’’ means any buried or 

16 aerial facility, and any wireless or wireline connec17 tion, that enables users to send and receive voice, 

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

19 (3) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE ENTITY.— 

20 The term ‘‘broadband infrastructure entity’’ means 

21 any entity that— 

22 (A) installs, owns, or operates broadband 

23 infrastructure; and 

24 (B) provides broadband services to the 

25 public in a manner consistent with the public 


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1 interest, convenience, and necessity, as deter2 mined by the State. 

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

4 (A) a State; 

5 (B) the District of Columbia; and 

6 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

7 (c) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT.— 

8 To facilitate the installation of broadband infrastructure 

9 and achieve the policy described in subsection (a), the Sec10 retary of Transportation shall ensure that each State that 

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

12 Code, meets the following requirements: 

13 (1) BROADBAND COORDINATION.—The State 

14 department of transportation, in coordination with 

15 appropriate State agencies, shall— 

16 (A) identify a broadband utility coordi17 nator, that may have additional responsibilities, 

18 whether in the State department of transpor19 tation or in another State agency, and that is 

20 responsible for coordinating the broadband in21 frastructure right-of-way needs of the State 

22 with Federal-aid highway projects carried out in 

23 the State; 

24 (B) establish a process for the registration 

25 of broadband infrastructure entities that seek 


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1 to be included in those broadband infrastruc2 ture right-of-way coordination efforts within the 

3 State; 

4 (C) coordinate initiatives carried out under 

5 this section with other statewide telecommuni6 cation and broadband plans and State and local 

7 transportation and land use plans; and 

8 (D) develop strategies to minimize re9 peated excavations that involve the installation 

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

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

12 for the installation of broadband infrastructure in 

13 the right-of-way of an applicable Federal-aid high14 way under this subsection in a given case, the State 

15 department of transportation shall carry out any ap16 propriate measures to ensure that any existing 

17 broadband infrastructure entities are not disadvan18 taged, as compared to other broadband infrastruc19 ture entities, with respect to the program under this 

20 subsection. 

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

22 to activities for which obligations or expenditures are ini23 tially approved on or after the date of enactment of this 

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1 date or requirement, that a State install broadband infra2 structure in a highway right-of-way. 

3 SEC. 9. NATIONAL BROADBAND FACILITIES ASSET DATA4 BASE. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY INSTALLA7 TION.—The term ‘‘communications facility installa8 tion’’ includes— 

9 (A) any infrastructure, including any 

10 transmitting device, tower, or support structure, 

11 and any equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, 

12 power sources, shelters, or cabinets, associated 

13 with the licensed or permitted unlicensed wire14 less or wireline transmission of writings, signs, 

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

16 all kinds; and 

17 (B) any antenna or apparatus that— 

18 (i) is designed for the purpose of 

19 emitting radio frequency; 

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

21 operating, from a fixed location pursuant 

22 to authorization by the Federal Commu23 nications Commission or is using duly au24 thorized devices that do not require indi25 vidual licenses; and 


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

2 other structure. 

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

4 property’’— 

5 (A) means any real property capable of 

6 supporting a communications facility installa7 tion; and 

8 (B) includes any interest in real property 

9 described in subparagraph (A). 

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

11 the database established under subsection (b). 

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

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

14 105 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

16 30, 2018, the Director of the Office of Science and Tech17 nology Policy, in consultation with the Chairman of the 

18 Commission, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Com19 munications and Information, Under Secretary of Com20 merce for Standards and Technology, Administrator of 

21 General Services, and Director of OMB, shall— 

22 (1) establish and operate a single database of 

23 any covered property that is owned, leased, or other24 wise managed by an Executive agency; 

25 (2) make the database available to— 


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1 (A) any entity that— 

2 (i) constructs or operates communica3 tions facility installations; or 

4 (ii) provides communications service; 

5 and 

6 (B) any other entity that the Director of 

7 the Office of Science and Technology Policy de8 termines is appropriate; and 

9 (3) establish a process for withholding data 

10 from the database for national security, public safe11 ty, or other national strategic concerns in accord12 ance with existing statutory authority and Executive 

13 order mandates with respect to handling and protec14 tion of such information. 

15 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

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

17 the date of enactment of the MOBILE NOW Act, 

18 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

19 Policy shall seek public comment to inform the es20 tablishment and operation of the database. 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—In seeking public comment 

22 under paragraph (1), the Director shall include a re23 quest for recommendations on— 


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1 (A) criteria that make real property capa2 ble of supporting communications facility instal3 lations; 

4 (B) types of information related to covered 

5 property that should be included in the data6 base; 

7 (C) an interface by which accessibility to 

8 the database for all users will be appropriately 

9 efficient and secure; and 

10 (D) other information the Director deter11 mines necessary to establish and operate the 

12 database. 

13 (d) FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

14 (1) INITIAL PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Not 

15 later than 90 days after the date on which the data16 base is established under subsection (b), the head of 

17 an Executive agency shall provide to the Director of 

18 the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a 

19 manner and format to be determined by the Direc20 tor, such information as the Director determines ap21 propriate with respect to covered property owned, 

22 leased, or otherwise managed by the Executive agen23 cy. 

24 (2) CHANGE TO INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY

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1 tion provided to the Director of the Office of Science 

2 and Technology Policy by the head of an Executive 

3 agency under paragraph (1), the head of the Execu4 tive agency shall provide updated information to the 

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

6 change. 

7 (3) SUBSEQUENTLY ACQUIRED PROPERTY.—If 

8 an Executive agency acquires covered property after 

9 the date on which the database is established under 

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

11 shall provide to the Director of the Office of Science 

12 and Technology Policy the information required 

13 under paragraph (1) with respect to the covered 

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

15 acquisition. 

16 (e) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

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

18 Science and Technology Policy (referred to in this 

19 subsection as the ‘‘Director’’) shall make the data20 base available to State and local governments so 

21 that such governments may provide to the Director 

22 for inclusion in the database similar information to 

23 the information required under subsection (d)(1) re24 garding covered property owned, leased, or otherwise 

25 managed by such governments. 


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1 (2) REPORT ON INCENTIVIZING PARTICIPATION

2 BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

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

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di5 rector, in consultation with the Chairman of the 

6 Commission, the Assistant Secretary of Com7 merce for Communications and Information, 

8 the Under Secretary of Commerce for Stand9 ards and Technology, the Administrator of Gen10 eral Services, and the Director of OMB, shall 

11 submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

12 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

13 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

14 House of Representatives a report on potential 

15 ways to incentivize State and local governments 

16 to provide to the Director for inclusion in the 

17 database similar information to the information 

18 required under subsection (d)(1) regarding cov19 ered property owned, leased, or otherwise man20 aged by such governments pursuant to para21 graph (1) of this subsection or through other 

22 means. 

23 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Director, in 

24 preparing the report under subparagraph (A), 

25 shall— 


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1 (i) consult with State and local gov2 ernments, or their representatives, to iden3 tify for inclusion in the report the most 

4 cost-effective options for State and local 

5 governments to collect and provide the in6 formation described in subparagraph (A), 

7 including utilizing and leveraging State 

8 broadband initiatives and programs; and 

9 (ii) make recommendations on ways 

10 the Federal Government can assist State 

11 and local governments in collecting and 

12 providing the information described in sub13 paragraph (A). 

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

15 years after the date on which the database is 

16 established under this section, the Director 

17 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

19 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

20 House of Representatives an update to the re21 port required under subparagraph (A) that 

22 identifies State and local governments that have 

23 contributed to the database and recommends 

24 ways to further incentivize participation by 

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1 graph (1) of this subsection or through other 

2 means. 

3 (f) DATABASE UPDATES.— 

4 (1) TIMELY INCLUSION.—After the establish5 ment of the database, the Director of the Office of 

6 Science and Technology Policy shall ensure that in7 formation provided under subsection (d) or sub8 section (e) is included in the database not later than 

9 7 days after the date on which the Director receives 

10 the information. 

11 (2) DATE OF ADDITION OR UPDATE.—Informa12 tion in the database relating to covered property 

13 shall include the date on which the information was 

14 added or most recently updated. 

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

16 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Pol17 icy seeks public comment under subsection (c)(1), the Di18 rector shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

19 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com20 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep21 resentatives a report on the progress in establishing the 

22 database under this section. The Director shall update the 

23 report annually until the date that the database is fully 

24 operational. After the database is fully operational and for 

25 the next 5 years thereafter, the Director shall provide anVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S19.RS S19

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1 nual reports regarding the use of the database, rec2 ommendations of how the database may provide additional 

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

4 recommendations are warranted, and how previous rec5 ommendations have been implemented. 

6 SEC. 10. REALLOCATION INCENTIVES. 

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

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con9 sultation with the Commission, the Director of OMB, and 

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

11 thereof), after notice and an opportunity for public com12 ment, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con13 gress a report that includes legislative or regulatory rec14 ommendations to incentivize a Federal entity to relinquish, 

15 or share with Federal or non-Federal users, Federal spec16 trum for the purpose of allowing commercial wireless 

17 broadband services to operate on that Federal spectrum. 

18 (b) POST-AUCTION PAYMENTS.— 

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

20 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

21 (A) consider whether permitting eligible 

22 Federal entities that are implementing a transi23 tion plan submitted under section 113(h) of the 

24 National Telecommunications and Information 

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


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1 923(h)) to accept payments could result in ac2 cess to the eligible frequencies that are being 

3 reallocated for exclusive non-Federal use or 

4 shared use sooner than would otherwise occur 

5 without such payments; and 

6 (B) include the findings under subpara7 graph (A), including the analysis under para8 graph (2) and any recommendations for legisla9 tion, in the report. 

10 (2) ANALYSIS.—In considering payments under 

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

12 analysis of whether and how such payments would 

13 affect— 

14 (A) bidding in auctions conducted under 

15 section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 

16 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) of such eligible fre17 quencies; and 

18 (B) receipts collected from the auctions de19 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

20 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

21 (A) PAYMENT.—The term ‘‘payment’’ 

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

23 auction winner, or any person affiliated with an 

24 auction winner, of eligible frequencies during 

25 the period after eligible frequencies have been 


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1 reallocated by competitive bidding under section 

2 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

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

4 relocation or sharing transition of such eligible 

5 frequencies per transition plans approved by the 

6 Technical Panel. 

7 (B) ELIGIBLE FREQUENCIES.—The term 

8 ‘‘eligible frequencies’’ has the meaning given 

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

10 Telecommunications and Information Adminis11 tration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(g)(2)). 

12 SEC. 11. BIDIRECTIONAL SHARING STUDY. 

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

14 date of enactment of this Act, including an opportunity 

15 for public comment, the Commission, in collaboration with 

16 the NTIA, shall— 

17 (1) conduct a bidirectional sharing study to de18 termine the best means of providing Federal entities 

19 flexible access to non-Federal spectrum on a shared 

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

21 timeframes, including for intermittent purposes like 

22 emergency use; and 

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

24 under paragraph (1), including any recommenda25 tions for legislation or proposed regulations. 


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1 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 

2 under subsection (a), the Commission shall— 

3 (1) consider the regulatory certainty that com4 mercial spectrum users and Federal entities need to 

5 make longer-term investment decisions for shared 

6 access to be viable; and 

7 (2) evaluate any barriers to voluntary commer8 cial arrangements in which non-Federal users could 

9 provide access to Federal entities. 

10 SEC. 12. UNLICENSED SERVICES IN GUARD BANDS. 

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

12 and in consultation with the Secretary and the head of 

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

14 respect to frequencies allocated for Federal use, the Com15 mission shall adopt rules that permit unlicensed services 

16 where feasible to use any frequencies that are designated 

17 as guard bands to protect frequencies allocated after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act by competitive bidding under 

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

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

21 gap between transmit and receive frequencies. 

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

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

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1 eral service operating in the guard band or in an adjacent 

2 band. 

3 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec4 tion shall be construed as limiting the Commission or the 

5 Secretary from otherwise making spectrum available for 

6 licensed or unlicensed use in any frequency band in addi7 tion to guard bands, including under section 3, consistent 

8 with their statutory jurisdictions. 

9 SEC. 13. PRE-AUCTION FUNDING. 

10 Section 118(d)(3)(B)(i)(II) of the National Tele11 communications and Information Administration Organi12 zation Act (47 U.S.C. 928(d)(3)(B)(i)(II)) is amended by 

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

14 SEC. 14. IMMEDIATE TRANSFER OF FUNDS. 

15 Section 118(e)(1) of the National Telecommuni16 cations and Information Administration Organization Act 

17 (47 U.S.C. 928(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

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

20 entity, the Director of OMB may transfer the 

21 amount under subparagraph (A) immediately— 

22 ‘‘(i) after the frequencies are reallo23 cated by competitive bidding under section 

24 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 

25 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an incumbent Fed2 eral entity that is incurring relocation or 

3 sharing costs to accommodate sharing 

4 spectrum frequencies with another Federal 

5 entity, after the frequencies from which the 

6 other eligible Federal entity is relocating 

7 are reallocated by competitive bidding 

8 under section 309(j) of the Communica9 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), with10 out regard to the availability of such sums 

11 in the Fund. 

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

13 the Fund from an auction, the Director of 

14 OMB may borrow from the Treasury the 

15 amount under subparagraph (A) for a transfer 

16 under subparagraph (D). The Treasury shall 

17 immediately be reimbursed, without interest, 

18 from funds deposited into the Fund.’’. 

19 SEC. 15. AMENDMENTS TO THE SPECTRUM PIPELINE ACT 

20 OF 2015. 

21 Section 1008 of the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015 

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

23 matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, after no24 tice and an opportunity for public comment,’’ after ‘‘the 

25 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 21:59 Mar 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S19.RS 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.). 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

12 ‘‘Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and 

13 Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act’’ 

14 or the ‘‘MOBILE NOW Act’’. 

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

16 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Making 500 megahertz available. 

Sec. 4. Millimeter wave spectrum. 

Sec. 5. 3 gigahertz spectrum. 

Sec. 6. Communications facilities deployment on Federal property. 

Sec. 7. Broadband infrastructure deployment. 

Sec. 8. National broadband facilities asset database. 

Sec. 9. Reallocation incentives. 

Sec. 10. Bidirectional sharing study. 

Sec. 11. Unlicensed services in guard bands. 

Sec. 12. Pre-auction funding. 

Sec. 13. Immediate transfer of funds. 

Sec. 14. Amendments to the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015. 

Sec. 15. GAO assessment of unlicensed spectrum and Wi-Fi use in low-income 

neighborhoods. 

Sec. 16. Rulemaking related to partitioning or disaggregating licenses. 

Sec. 17. Unlicensed spectrum policy. 

Sec. 18. National plan for unlicensed spectrum. 

Sec. 19. Spectrum challenge prize. 

Sec. 20. Wireless telecommunications tax and fee collection fairness. 


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Sec. 21. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 22. 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 CONGRESS.— 

4 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

5 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 a 

12 Federal entity affected by the applicable section 

13 in which the term appears. 

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

15 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

16 (3) FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Federal enti17 ty’’ has the meaning given the term in section 113(l) 

18 of the National Telecommunications and Information 

19 Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(l)). 

20 (4) NTIA.—The term ‘‘NTIA’’ means the Na21 tional Telecommunications and Information Admin22 istration of the Department of Commerce. 

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

24 Management and Budget. 


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

2 the Secretary of Commerce. 

3 SEC. 3. MAKING 500 MEGAHERTZ AVAILABLE. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the Presi6 dential Memorandum of June 28, 2010, entitled 

7 ‘‘Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution’’ and 

8 establishing a goal of making a total of 500 megahertz 

9 of Federal and non-Federal spectrum available on a 

10 licensed or unlicensed basis for wireless broadband use 

11 by 2020, not later than December 31, 2020, the Sec12 retary, working through the NTIA, and the Commis13 sion shall make available a total of at least 255 mega14 hertz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum below the 

15 frequency of 6000 megahertz for mobile and fixed 

16 wireless broadband use. 

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

18 spectrum made available under paragraph (1), not 

19 less than— 

20 (A) 100 megahertz shall be made available 

21 on an unlicensed basis; and 

22 (B) 100 megahertz shall be made available 

23 on an exclusive, licensed basis for commercial 

24 mobile use, pursuant to the Commission’s au25 thority to implement such licensing in a flexible 


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1 manner, and subject to potential continued use 

2 of such spectrum by incumbent Federal entities 

3 in designated geographic areas indefinitely or for 

4 such length of time stipulated in transition plans 

5 approved by the Technical Panel under section 

6 113(h) of the National Telecommunications and 

7 Information Administration Organization Act 

8 (47 U.S.C. 923(h)) for those incumbent entities 

9 to be relocated to alternate spectrum. 

10 (3) NON-ELIGIBLE SPECTRUM.—For purposes of 

11 satisfying the requirement under paragraph (1), the 

12 following spectrum shall not be counted: 

13 (A) The frequencies between 1695 and 1710 

14 megahertz. 

15 (B) The frequencies between 1755 and 1780 

16 megahertz. 

17 (C) The frequencies between 2155 and 2180 

18 megahertz. 

19 (D) The frequencies between 3550 and 3700 

20 megahertz. 

21 (E) Spectrum that the Commission deter22 mines had more than de minimis mobile or fixed 

23 wireless broadband operations within the band 

24 on the day before the date of enactment of this 

25 Act. 


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1 (4) RELOCATION PRIORITIZED OVER SHARING.— 

2 This section shall be carried out in accordance with 

3 section 113(j) of the National Telecommunications 

4 and Information Administration Organization Act 

5 (47 U.S.C. 923(j)). 

6 (5) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making spectrum 

7 available under this section, the Secretary and Com8 mission shall consider— 

9 (A) the need to preserve critical existing 

10 and planned Federal Government capabilities; 

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

12 tribal government capabilities; 

13 (C) the international implications; 

14 (D) the need for appropriate enforcement 

15 mechanisms and authorities; and 

16 (E) the importance of the deployment of 

17 wireless broadband services in rural areas of the 

18 United States. 

19 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec20 tion shall be construed— 

21 (1) to impair or otherwise affect the functions of 

22 the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, adminis23 trative, or legislative proposals; 

24 (2) to require the disclosure of classified informa25 tion, law enforcement sensitive information, or other 


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1 information that must be protected in the interest of 

2 national security; or 

3 (3) to affect any requirement under section 156 

4 of the National Telecommunications and Information 

5 Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 921 

6 note), as added by section 1062(a) of the National De7 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, or any 

8 other relevant statutory requirement applicable to the 

9 reallocation of Federal spectrum. 

10 SEC. 4. MILLIMETER WAVE SPECTRUM. 

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

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

13 in consultation with the Commission, shall conduct a feasi14 bility assessment regarding the impact, on Federal entities 

15 and operations in any of the following bands, of authorizing 

16 mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, including for 

17 advanced mobile service operations, in the following bands: 

18 (1) The band between 31800 and 33400 mega19 hertz. 

20 (2) The band between 71000 and 76000 mega21 hertz. 

22 (3) The band between 81000 and 86000 mega23 hertz. 

24 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the feasibility as25 sessment under subsection (a), the NTIA shall— 


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1 (1) consult directly with Federal entities with re2 spect to frequencies allocated to Federal use by such 

3 entities in the bands identified in that subsection; 

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

5 mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, includ6 ing advanced mobile services operations, in any of 

7 such frequencies would have on an affected Federal 

8 entity; and 

9 (3) identify any such frequencies in the bands 

10 described in that subsection that the NTIA assessment 

11 determines are feasible for authorizing for mobile or 

12 fixed terrestrial wireless operations, including any 

13 advanced mobile service operations. 

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

15 Not later than 30 days after the date the feasibility assess16 ment under subsection (a) is complete, the NTIA shall sub17 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on 

18 the feasibility assessment and provide a copy to the Com19 mission. 

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

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

22 it receives the feasibility assessment under subsection (c), 

23 whichever is earlier, the Commission, in consultation with 

24 the NTIA, shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking 

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1 trial wireless operations, including for advanced mobile 

2 service operations, in the following radio frequency bands: 

3 (1) The band between 24250 and 24450 mega4 hertz. 

5 (2) The band between 25050 and 25250 mega6 hertz. 

7 (3) The band between 31800 and 33400 mega8 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca9 tions. 

10 (4) The band between 42000 and 42500 mega11 hertz. 

12 (5) The band between 71000 and 76000 mega13 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca14 tions. 

15 (6) The band between 81000 and 86000 mega16 hertz, except for any frequencies with Federal alloca17 tions. 

18 (7) Any frequencies with Federal allocations 

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

20 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting a rulemaking 

21 under subsection (d), the Commission shall— 

22 (1) consult with Federal entities via the NTIA 

23 regarding the frequencies described in subsection 

24 (d)(7); 


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1 (2) consider how the bands described in sub2 section (d) may be used to provide commercial wire3 less broadband service, including whether— 

4 (A) such spectrum may be best used for li5 censed or unlicensed services, or some combina6 tion thereof; and 

7 (B) to permit additional licensed operations 

8 in such bands on a shared basis; and 

9 (3) include technical characteristics under which 

10 the bands described in subsection (d) may be em11 ployed for mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless oper12 ations, including any appropriate coexistence require13 ments. 

14 SEC. 5. 3 GIGAHERTZ SPECTRUM. 

15 (a) BETWEEN 3100 MEGAHERTZ AND 3550 MEGA16 HERTZ.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enact17 ment of this Act, and in consultation with the Commission 

18 and the head of each affected Federal agency (or a designee 

19 thereof), the Secretary shall submit to the Commission and 

20 the appropriate committees of Congress a report evaluating 

21 the feasibility of allowing commercial wireless services, li22 censed or unlicensed, to share use of the frequencies between 

23 3100 megahertz and 3550 megahertz. 

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1 ment of this Act, after notice and an opportunity for public 

2 comment, and in consultation with the Secretary and the 

3 head of each affected Federal agency (or a designee thereof), 

4 the Commission shall submit to the Secretary and the ap5 propriate committees of Congress a report evaluating the 

6 feasibility of allowing commercial wireless services, licensed 

7 or unlicensed, to share use of the frequencies between 3700 

8 megahertz and 4200 megahertz. 

9 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—A report under subsection (a) or 

10 (b) shall include the following: 

11 (1) An assessment of the operations of Federal 

12 entities that operate Federal Government stations au13 thorized to use the frequencies described in that sub14 section. 

15 (2) An assessment of the possible impacts of such 

16 sharing on Federal and non-Federal users already op17 erating on the frequencies described in that sub18 section. 

19 (3) The criteria that may be necessary to ensure 

20 shared licensed or unlicensed services would not cause 

21 harmful interference to Federal or non-Federal users 

22 already operating in the frequencies described in that 

23 subsection. 

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

25 of which of the frequencies described in that subsection 


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1 are most suitable for sharing with commercial wire2 less services through the assignment of new licenses by 

3 competitive bidding, for sharing with unlicensed oper4 ations, or through a combination of licensing and un5 licensed operations. 

6 (d) COMMISSION ACTION.—The Commission, in con7 sultation with the NTIA, shall seek public comment on the 

8 reports required under subsections (a) and (b), including 

9 regarding the bands identified in such reports as feasible 

10 pursuant to subsection (c)(4). 

11 SEC. 6. COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES DEPLOYMENT ON 

12 FEDERAL PROPERTY. 

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

14 Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455) 

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

16 inserting the following: 

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

18 LEASES.— 

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

20 political subdivision or agency of a State, or a per21 son, firm, or organization applies for the grant of an 

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

23 building or other property owned by the Federal Gov24 ernment for the right to install, construct, modify, or 

25 maintain a communications facility installation, the 


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1 executive agency having control of the building or 

2 other property may grant to the applicant, on behalf 

3 of the Federal Government, subject to paragraph (5), 

4 an easement, right-of-way, or lease to perform such 

5 installation, construction, modification, or mainte6 nance. 

7 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

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

9 General Services shall develop a common form 

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

11 and leases under paragraph (1) for all executive 

12 agencies that, except as provided in subpara13 graph (B), shall be used by all executive agencies 

14 and applicants with respect to the buildings or 

15 other property of each such agency. 

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

17 subparagraph (A) for an executive agency to use 

18 the common form developed by the Administrator 

19 of General Services shall not apply to an execu20 tive agency if the head of an executive agency 

21 notifies the Administrator that the executive 

22 agency uses a substantially similar application. 

23 ‘‘(3) FEE.— 

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

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1 eral Services shall establish a fee for the grant of 

2 an easement, right-of-way, or lease pursuant to 

3 paragraph (1) that is based on direct cost recov4 ery. 

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

6 General Services may establish exceptions to the 

7 fee amount required under subparagraph (A)— 

8 ‘‘(i) in consideration of the public ben9 efit provided by a grant of an easement, 

10 right-of-way, or lease; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) in the interest of expanding wire12 less and broadband coverage. 

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

14 amounts collected by an executive agency pursuant to 

15 paragraph (3) may be made available, as provided in 

16 appropriations Acts, to such agency to cover the costs 

17 of granting the easement, right-of-way, or 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 agency 

22 receives a duly filed application for an easement, 

23 right-of-way, or lease under this subsection, the 

24 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 exec6 utive 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 et 

16 seq.). 

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

18 an application under subparagraph (A), an exec19 utive agency shall designate one or more appro20 priate individuals within the executive agency to 

21 act as a point of contact with the applicant. 

22 ‘‘(c) MASTER CONTRACTS FOR COMMUNICATIONS FA23 CILITY INSTALLATION SITINGS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 704 

25 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 


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1 104–104; 110 Stat. 151) or any other provision of 

2 law, the Administrator of General Services shall— 

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

4 that shall govern the placement of communica5 tions facility installations on buildings and 

6 other property owned by the Federal Govern7 ment; and 

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

9 contracts, standardize the treatment of the place10 ment of communications facility installations on 

11 building rooftops or facades, the placement of 

12 communications facility installations on rooftops 

13 or inside buildings, the technology used in con14 nection with communications facility installa15 tions placed on Federal buildings and other 

16 property, and any other key issues the Adminis17 trator of General Services considers appropriate. 

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

19 contracts developed by the Administrator of General 

20 Services under paragraph (1) shall apply to all pub21 licly accessible buildings and other property owned by 

22 the Federal Government, unless the Administrator of 

23 General Services decides that issues with respect to 

24 the siting of a communications facility installation 

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1 standard treatment of such building or other prop2 erty. 

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 

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

5 General Services shall develop a common form or 

6 set of forms for communications facility installa7 tion siting applications that, except as provided 

8 in subparagraph (B), shall be used by all execu9 tive agencies and applicants with respect to the 

10 buildings and other property of each such agen11 cy. 

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

13 subparagraph (A) for an executive agency to use 

14 the common form or set of forms developed by the 

15 Administrator of General Services shall not 

16 apply to an executive agency if the head of the 

17 executive agency notifies the Administrator that 

18 the executive agency uses a substantially similar 

19 application. 

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

21 ‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY INSTALLA22 TION.—The term ‘communications facility installa23 tion’ includes— 

24 ‘‘(A) any infrastructure, including any 

25 transmitting device, tower, or support structure, 


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1 and any equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, 

2 power sources, shelters, or cabinets, associated 

3 with the licensed or permitted unlicensed wireless 

4 or wireline transmission of writings, signs, sig5 nals, data, images, pictures, and sounds of all 

6 kinds; and 

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

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

9 emitting radio frequency; 

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

11 operating, from a fixed location pursuant to 

12 authorization by the Commission or is 

13 using duly authorized devices that do not 

14 require individual licenses; and 

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

16 other structure. 

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

18 agency’ has the meaning given such term in section 

19 102 of title 40, United States Code.’’. 

20 (b) SAVINGS PROVISION.—An application for an ease21 ment, right-of-way, or lease that was made or granted under 

22 section 6409 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre23 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455) before the date of enact24 ment of this Act shall continue, subject to that section as 

25 in effect on the day before such date of enactment. 


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1 (c) STREAMLINING BROADBAND FACILITY APPLICA2 TIONS.— 

3 (1) DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY

4 INSTALLATION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘commu5 nications facility installation’’ has the meaning given 

6 the term in section 6409(d) of the Middle Class Tax 

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

8 1455(d)), as amended by subsection (a). 

9 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

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

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the NTIA, 

12 in coordination with the Department of the Inte13 rior, the Department of Agriculture, the Depart14 ment of Defense, the Department of Transpor15 tation, OMB, and the General Services Adminis16 tration, shall develop recommendations to 

17 streamline the process for considering applica18 tions by those agencies under section 6409(b) of 

19 the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation 

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

21 subsection (a). 

22 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECOMMENDA23 TIONS.—The recommendations developed under 

24 subparagraph (A) shall include— 


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1 (i) procedures for the tracking of appli2 cations described in subparagraph (A); 

3 (ii) methods by which to reduce the 

4 amount of time between the receipt of an 

5 application and the issuance of a final deci6 sion on an application; 

7 (iii) policies to expedite renewals of an 

8 easement, license, or other authorization to 

9 locate communications facility installations 

10 on land managed by the agencies described 

11 in subparagraph (A); and 

12 (iv) policies that would prioritize or 

13 streamline a permit for construction in a 

14 previously-disturbed right-of-way. 

15 (C) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

16 2 years after the date on which the recommenda17 tions required under subparagraph (A) are devel18 oped, the NTIA shall submit to the Committee on 

19 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

20 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Com21 merce of the House of Representatives a report 

22 that describes— 

23 (i) the status of the implementation of 

24 the recommendations developed under sub25 paragraph (A); and 


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1 (ii) any improvements to the process 

2 for considering applications described in 

3 subparagraph (A) that have resulted from 

4 those recommendations, including in par5 ticular the speed at which such applications 

6 are reviewed and a final determination is 

7 issued. 

8 SEC. 7. BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT. 

9 (a) FINDING REGARDING FEDERAL AND STATE DE10 PARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION.—Congress finds that it 

11 is the policy of the United States for the Department of 

12 Transportation and State departments of transportation— 

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

14 policies for Federal-aid highways to effectively accom15 modate broadband infrastructure; 

16 (2) to allow for the safe and efficient accommo17 dation of broadband infrastructure in the public 

18 right-of-way; and 

19 (3) to the extent applicable, to coordinate with 

20 other statewide telecommunication and broadband 

21 plans when developing a statewide transportation im22 provement program. 

23 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCY.—The term 

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1 mental agency that is recognized by the executive 

2 branch of the State as having the experience necessary 

3 to evaluate and carry out projects relating to the 

4 proper and effective installation and operation of 

5 broadband infrastructure. 

6 (2) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

7 ‘‘broadband infrastructure’’ means any buried, under8 ground, or aerial facility, and any wireless or 

9 wireline connection, that enables users to send and re10 ceive voice, video, data, graphics, or any combination 

11 thereof. 

12 (3) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE ENTITY.—The 

13 term ‘‘broadband infrastructure entity’’ means any 

14 entity that— 

15 (A) installs, owns, or operates broadband 

16 infrastructure; and 

17 (B) provides broadband services in a man18 ner consistent with the public interest, conven19 ience, and necessity, as determined by the State. 

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

21 (A) a State; 

22 (B) the District of Columbia; and 

23 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

24 (c) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT.—To 

25 facilitate the installation of broadband infrastructure and 


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1 achieve the policy described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

2 of Transportation shall ensure that each State that receives 

3 funds under chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, meets 

4 the following requirements: 

5 (1) BROADBAND CONSULTATION.—The State de6 partment of transportation, in consultation with ap7 propriate State agencies, shall— 

8 (A) identify a broadband utility coordi9 nator, that may have additional responsibilities, 

10 whether in the State department of transpor11 tation or in another State agency, that is re12 sponsible for facilitating the broadband infra13 structure right-of-way efforts within the State; 

14 (B) establish a process for the registration 

15 of broadband infrastructure entities that seek to 

16 be included in those broadband infrastructure 

17 right-of-way facilitation efforts within the State; 

18 (C) establish a process to electronically no19 tify broadband infrastructure entities identified 

20 under subparagraph (B) of the State transpor21 tation improvement program on an annual basis 

22 and provide additional notifications as necessary 

23 to achieve the goals of this section; and 

24 (D) coordinate initiatives carried out under 

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1 cation and broadband plans and State and local 

2 transportation and land use plans, including 

3 strategies to minimize repeated excavations that 

4 involve the installation of broadband infrastruc5 ture in a right-of-way. 

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

7 the installation of broadband infrastructure in the 

8 right-of-way of an applicable Federal-aid highway 

9 project under this subsection, the State department of 

10 transportation shall carry out any appropriate meas11 ures to ensure that any existing broadband infra12 structure entities are not disadvantaged, as compared 

13 to other broadband infrastructure entities, with re14 spect to the program under this subsection. 

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

16 to activities for which obligations or expenditures are ini17 tially approved on or after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act. Nothing in this section establishes a mandate or re19 quirement that a State install broadband infrastructure in 

20 a highway right-of-way. 

21 SEC. 8. NATIONAL BROADBAND FACILITIES ASSET DATA22 BASE. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY INSTALLATION.— 

2 The term ‘‘communications facility installation’’ in3 cludes— 

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 wireless 

9 or wireline transmission of writings, signs, sig10 nals, data, images, pictures, and sounds of all 

11 kinds; and 

12 (B) any antenna or apparatus that— 

13 (i) is designed for the purpose of emit14 ting radio frequency; 

15 (ii) is designed to be operated, or is op16 erating, from a fixed location pursuant to 

17 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) COVERED PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘covered 

23 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 the 

7 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 Commu15 nications and Information, Under Secretary of Commerce 

16 for Standards and Technology, Administrator of General 

17 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 the 

4 Office of Science and Technology Policy deter5 mines is appropriate; and 

6 (3) establish a process for withholding data from 

7 the database for national security, public safety, or 

8 other national strategic concerns in accordance with 

9 existing statutory authority and Executive order 

10 mandates with respect to handling and protection of 

11 such information. 

12 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

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

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

15 Office of Science and Technology Policy shall seek 

16 public comment to inform the establishment and oper17 ation 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 capable 

22 of supporting communications facility installa23 tions; 

24 (B) types of information related to covered 

25 property that should be included in the database; 


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1 (C) an interface by which accessibility to 

2 the database for all users will be appropriately 

3 efficient and secure; and 

4 (D) other information the Director deter5 mines necessary to establish and operate the 

6 database. 

7 (d) FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

8 (1) INITIAL PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Not 

9 later than 90 days after the date on which the data10 base is established under subsection (b), the head of 

11 an Executive agency shall provide to the Director of 

12 the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a 

13 manner and format to be determined by the Director, 

14 such information as the Director determines appro15 priate with respect to covered property owned, leased, 

16 or otherwise managed by the Executive agency. 

17 (2) CHANGE TO INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY PRO18 VIDED.—In the case of any change to information 

19 provided to the Director of the Office of Science and 

20 Technology Policy by the head of an Executive agency 

21 under paragraph (1), the head of the Executive agen22 cy shall provide updated information to the Director 

23 not later than 30 days after the date of the change. 

24 (3) SUBSEQUENTLY ACQUIRED PROPERTY.—If 

25 an Executive agency acquires covered property after 


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1 the date on which the database is established under 

2 subsection (b), the head of the Executive agency shall 

3 provide to the Director of the Office of Science and 

4 Technology Policy the information required under 

5 paragraph (1) with respect to the covered property 

6 not later than 30 days after the date of the acquisi7 tion. 

8 (e) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

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

10 Science and Technology Policy (referred to in this 

11 subsection as the ‘‘Director’’) shall make the database 

12 available to State and local governments so that such 

13 governments may provide to the Director for inclu14 sion in the database similar information to the infor15 mation required under subsection (d)(1) regarding 

16 covered property owned, leased, or otherwise managed 

17 by such governments. 

18 (2) REPORT ON INCENTIVIZING PARTICIPATION

19 BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

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

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Direc22 tor, in consultation with the Chairman of the 

23 Commission, the Assistant Secretary of Com24 merce for Communications and Information, the 

25 Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and 


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1 Technology, the Administrator of General Serv2 ices, and the Director of OMB, shall submit to 

3 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

4 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 

5 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep6 resentatives a report on potential ways to 

7 incentivize State and local governments to pro8 vide to the Director for inclusion in the database 

9 similar information to the information required 

10 under subsection (d)(1) regarding covered prop11 erty owned, leased, or otherwise managed by 

12 such governments pursuant to paragraph (1) of 

13 this subsection or through other means. 

14 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Director, in 

15 preparing the report under subparagraph (A), 

16 shall— 

17 (i) consult with State and local govern18 ments, or their representatives, to identify 

19 for inclusion in the report the most cost-ef20 fective options for State and local govern21 ments to collect and provide the information 

22 described in subparagraph (A), including 

23 utilizing and leveraging State broadband 

24 initiatives and programs; and 


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1 (ii) make recommendations on ways 

2 the Federal Government can assist State 

3 and local governments in collecting and 

4 providing the information described in sub5 paragraph (A). 

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

7 years after the date on which the database is es8 tablished under this section, the Director shall 

9 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

12 Representatives an update to the report required 

13 under subparagraph (A) that identifies State 

14 and local governments that have contributed to 

15 the database and recommends ways to further 

16 incentivize participation by State and local gov17 ernments pursuant to paragraph (1) of this sub18 section or through other means. 

19 (f) DATABASE UPDATES.— 

20 (1) TIMELY INCLUSION.—After the establishment 

21 of the database, the Director of the Office of Science 

22 and Technology Policy shall ensure that information 

23 provided under subsection (d) or (e) is included in the 

24 database not later than 7 days after the date on 

25 which the Director receives the information. 


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1 (2) DATE OF ADDITION OR UPDATE.—Informa2 tion in the database relating to covered property shall 

3 include the date on which the information was added 

4 or most recently updated. 

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

6 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

7 seeks public comment under subsection (c)(1), the Director 

8 shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

9 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

10 and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report on 

11 the progress in establishing the database under this section. 

12 The Director shall update the report annually until the date 

13 that the database is fully operational. After the database 

14 is fully operational and for the next 5 years thereafter, the 

15 Director shall provide annual reports regarding the use of 

16 the database, recommendations of how the database may 

17 provide additional utility to the entities described in sub18 section (b)(2), if any recommendations are warranted, and 

19 how previous recommendations have been implemented. 

20 SEC. 9. REALLOCATION INCENTIVES. 

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

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

23 with the Commission, the Director of OMB, and the head 

24 of each affected Federal agency (or a designee thereof), after 

25 notice and an opportunity for public comment, shall submit 


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1 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that in2 cludes legislative or regulatory recommendations to 

3 incentivize a Federal entity to relinquish, or share with 

4 Federal or non-Federal users, Federal spectrum for the pur5 pose of allowing commercial wireless broadband services to 

6 operate on that Federal spectrum. 

7 (b) POST-AUCTION PAYMENTS.— 

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

9 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

10 (A) consider whether permitting eligible 

11 Federal entities that are implementing a transi12 tion plan submitted under section 113(h) of the 

13 National Telecommunications and Information 

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

15 923(h)) to accept payments could result in access 

16 to the eligible frequencies that are being reallo17 cated for exclusive non-Federal use or shared use 

18 sooner than would otherwise occur without such 

19 payments; and 

20 (B) include the findings under subpara21 graph (A), including the analysis under para22 graph (2) and any recommendations for legisla23 tion, in the report. 

24 (2) ANALYSIS.—In considering payments under 

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


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1 analysis of whether and how such payments would af2 fect— 

3 (A) bidding in auctions conducted under 

4 section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 

5 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) of such eligible fre6 quencies; and 

7 (B) receipts collected from the auctions de8 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

9 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 (A) PAYMENT.—The term ‘‘payment’’ means 

11 a payment in cash or in-kind by any auction 

12 winner, or any person affiliated with an auction 

13 winner, of eligible frequencies during the period 

14 after eligible frequencies have been reallocated by 

15 competitive bidding under section 309(j) of the 

16 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) 

17 but prior to the completion of relocation or shar18 ing transition of such eligible frequencies per 

19 transition plans approved by the Technical 

20 Panel. 

21 (B) ELIGIBLE FREQUENCIES.—The term 

22 ‘‘eligible frequencies’’ has the meaning given the 

23 term in section 113(g)(2) of the National Tele24 communications and Information Administra25 tion Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(g)(2)). 


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1 SEC. 10. BIDIRECTIONAL SHARING STUDY. 

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

3 of enactment of this Act, including an opportunity for pub4 lic comment, the Commission, in collaboration with the 

5 NTIA, shall— 

6 (1) conduct a bidirectional sharing study to de7 termine the best means of providing Federal entities 

8 flexible access to non-Federal spectrum on a shared 

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

10 timeframes, including for intermittent purposes like 

11 emergency use; and 

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

13 under paragraph (1), including any recommendations 

14 for legislation or proposed regulations. 

15 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study under 

16 subsection (a), the Commission shall— 

17 (1) consider the regulatory certainty that com18 mercial spectrum users and Federal entities need to 

19 make longer-term investment decisions for shared ac20 cess to be viable; and 

21 (2) evaluate any barriers to voluntary commer22 cial arrangements in which non-Federal users could 

23 provide access to Federal entities. 

24 SEC. 11. UNLICENSED SERVICES IN GUARD BANDS. 

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

26 and in consultation with the Secretary and the head of each 


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1 affected Federal agency (or a designee thereof), with respect 

2 to frequencies allocated for Federal use, the Commission 

3 shall adopt rules that permit unlicensed services where fea4 sible to use any frequencies that are designated as guard 

5 bands to protect frequencies allocated after the date of enact6 ment of this Act by competitive bidding under section 309(j) 

7 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), in8 cluding spectrum that acts as a duplex gap between trans9 mit and receive frequencies. 

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

11 any use of a guard band under this section that would cause 

12 harmful interference to a licensed service or a Federal serv13 ice operating in the guard band or in an adjacent band. 

14 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section 

15 shall be construed as limiting the Commission or the Sec16 retary from otherwise making spectrum available for li17 censed or unlicensed use in any frequency band in addition 

18 to guard bands, including under section 3, consistent with 

19 their statutory jurisdictions. 

20 SEC. 12. PRE-AUCTION FUNDING. 

21 Section 118(d)(3)(B)(i)(II) of the National Tele22 communications and Information Administration Organi23 zation Act (47 U.S.C. 928(d)(3)(B)(i)(II)) is amended by 

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


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1 SEC. 13. IMMEDIATE TRANSFER OF FUNDS. 

2 Section 118(e)(1) of the National Telecommunications 

3 and Information Administration Organization Act (47 

4 U.S.C. 928(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

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

7 entity, the Director of the Office of Management 

8 and Budget (in this subsection referred to as 

9 ‘OMB’) may transfer the amount under subpara10 graph (A) immediately— 

11 ‘‘(i) after the frequencies are reallo12 cated by competitive bidding under section 

13 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 

14 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)); or 

15 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an incumbent Fed16 eral entity that is incurring relocation or 

17 sharing costs to accommodate sharing spec18 trum frequencies with another Federal enti19 ty, after the frequencies from which the 

20 other eligible Federal entity is relocating 

21 are reallocated by competitive bidding 

22 under section 309(j) of the Communications 

23 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), without re24 gard to the availability of such sums in the 

25 Fund. 


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

2 the Fund from an auction, the Director of OMB 

3 may borrow from the Treasury the amount 

4 under subparagraph (A) for a transfer under 

5 subparagraph (D). The Treasury shall imme6 diately be reimbursed, without interest, from 

7 funds deposited into the Fund.’’. 

8 SEC. 14. AMENDMENTS TO THE SPECTRUM PIPELINE ACT 

9 OF 2015. 

10 Section 1008 of the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015 

11 (Public Law 114–74; 129 Stat. 584) is amended in the mat12 ter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, after notice and 

13 an opportunity for public comment,’’ after ‘‘the Commis14 sion’’. 

15 SEC. 15. GAO ASSESSMENT OF UNLICENSED SPECTRUM 

16 AND WI-FI USE IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBOR17 HOODS. 

18 (a) STUDY.— 

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

20 the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate 

21 the availability of broadband Internet access using 

22 unlicensed spectrum and wireless networks in low-in23 come neighborhoods. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the study 

2 under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall 

3 consider and evaluate— 

4 (A) the availability of wireless Internet hot 

5 spots and access to unlicensed spectrum in low6 income neighborhoods, particularly for elemen7 tary and secondary school-aged children in such 

8 neighborhoods; 

9 (B) any barriers preventing or limiting the 

10 deployment and use of wireless networks in low11 income neighborhoods; 

12 (C) how to overcome any barriers described 

13 in subparagraph (B), including through incen14 tives, policies, or requirements that would in15 crease the availability of unlicensed spectrum 

16 and related technologies in low-income neighbor17 hoods; and 

18 (D) how to encourage home broadband 

19 adoption by households with elementary and sec20 ondary school-age children that are in low-in21 come neighborhoods. 

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

23 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 

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1 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

2 Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that— 

3 (1) summarizes the findings of the study con4 ducted under subsection (a); and 

5 (2) makes recommendations with respect to po6 tential incentives, policies, and requirements that 

7 could help achieve the goals described in subpara8 graphs (C) and (D) of subsection (a)(2). 

9 SEC. 16. RULEMAKING RELATED TO PARTITIONING OR 

10 DISAGGREGATING LICENSES. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

12 (1) COVERED SMALL CARRIER.—The term ‘‘cov13 ered small carrier’’ means a carrier (as defined in 

14 section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

15 U.S.C. 153)) that— 

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

17 determined under section 121.106 of title 13, 

18 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

19 thereto); and 

20 (B) offers services using the facilities of the 

21 carrier. 

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

23 any area other than— 


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

2 has a population of more than 20,000 inhab3 itants; or 

4 (B) an urbanized area contiguous and adja5 cent to a city or town that has a population of 

6 more than 50,000 inhabitants. 

7 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

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

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

10 shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to assess 

11 whether to establish a program, or modify existing 

12 programs, under which a licensee that receives a li13 cense for the exclusive use of spectrum in a specific 

14 geographic area under section 301 of the Communica15 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301) may partition or 

16 disaggregate the license by sale or long-term lease— 

17 (A) in order to— 

18 (i) provide services consistent with the 

19 license; and 

20 (ii) make unused spectrum available 

21 to— 

22 (I) an unaffiliated covered small 

23 carrier; or 

24 (II) an unaffiliated carrier to 

25 serve a rural area; and 


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1 (B) if the Commission finds that such a 

2 program would promote— 

3 (i) the availability of advanced tele4 communications services in rural areas; or 

5 (ii) spectrum availability for covered 

6 small carriers. 

7 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the rule8 making proceeding under paragraph (1), the Commis9 sion shall consider, with respect to the program pro10 posed to be established under that paragraph— 

11 (A) whether reduced performance require12 ments with respect to spectrum obtained through 

13 the program would facilitate deployment of ad14 vanced telecommunications services in the areas 

15 covered by the program; 

16 (B) what conditions may be needed on 

17 transfers of spectrum under the program to allow 

18 covered small carriers that obtain spectrum 

19 under the program to build out the spectrum in 

20 a reasonable period of time; 

21 (C) what incentives may be appropriate to 

22 encourage licensees to lease or sell spectrum, in23 cluding— 


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1 (i) extending the term of a license 

2 granted under section 301 of the Commu3 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301); or 

4 (ii) modifying performance require5 ments of the license relating to the leased or 

6 sold spectrum; and 

7 (D) the administrative feasibility of— 

8 (i) the incentives described in subpara9 graph (C); and 

10 (ii) other incentives considered by the 

11 Commission that further the goals of this 

12 section. 

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

14 fails to meet any build out requirements set by the 

15 Commission for any spectrum sold or leased under 

16 this section, the right to the spectrum shall be forfeited 

17 to the Commission unless the Commission finds that 

18 there is good cause for the failure of the party. 

19 (4) REQUIREMENT.—The Commission may offer 

20 a licensee incentives or reduced performance require21 ments under this section only if the Commission finds 

22 that doing so would likely result in increased avail23 ability of advanced telecommunications services in a 

24 rural area. 


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1 SEC. 17. UNLICENSED SPECTRUM POLICY. 

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

3 United States— 

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

5 United States of the spectrum resources of the United 

6 States; 

7 (2) to advance innovation and investment in 

8 wireless broadband services; and 

9 (3) to promote spectrum policy that makes avail10 able on an unlicensed basis radio frequency bands 

11 sufficient to meet consumer demand for unlicensed 

12 wireless broadband operations. 

13 (b) COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Commis14 sion shall ensure that the efforts of the Commission related 

15 to spectrum allocation and assignment make available on 

16 an unlicensed basis radio frequency bands sufficient to meet 

17 demand for unlicensed wireless broadband operations if 

18 doing so is, after taking into account the future needs of 

19 other spectrum users— 

20 (1) reasonable; and 

21 (2) in the public interest. 

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

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

24 take action to implement subsection (b). 

25 SEC. 18. NATIONAL PLAN FOR UNLICENSED SPECTRUM. 

26 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND.—The term 

2 ‘‘Spectrum Relocation Fund’’ means the Fund estab3 lished under section 118 of the National Tele4 communications and Information Administration Or5 ganization Act (47 U.S.C. 928). 

6 (2) UNLICENSED OPERATIONS.—The term ‘‘unli7 censed operations’’ means the use of spectrum on a 

8 non-exclusive basis under— 

9 (A) part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal Reg10 ulations; or 

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

12 47, Code of Federal Regulations. 

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

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission, in consulta15 tion with the NTIA, shall develop a national plan for mak16 ing additional radio frequency bands available for unli17 censed operations. 

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

19 section shall— 

20 (1) identify an approach that ensures that con21 sumers have access to additional spectrum to conduct 

22 unlicensed operations in a range of radio frequencies 

23 to meet consumer demand; 

24 (2) recommend specific actions by the Commis25 sion and the NTIA to permit unlicensed operations in 


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1 additional radio frequency ranges that the Commis2 sion finds— 

3 (A) are consistent with the statement of pol4 icy under section 18(a); 

5 (B) will— 

6 (i) expand opportunities for unlicensed 

7 operations in a spectrum band; or 

8 (ii) otherwise improve spectrum utili9 zation and intensity of use of bands where 

10 unlicensed operations are already per11 mitted; 

12 (C) will not cause harmful interference to 

13 Federal or non-Federal users of such bands; and 

14 (D) will not significantly impact homeland 

15 security or national security communications 

16 systems; and 

17 (3) examine additional ways, with respect to ex18 isting and planned databases or spectrum access sys19 tems designed to promote spectrum sharing and access 

20 to spectrum for unlicensed operations— 

21 (A) to improve accuracy and efficacy; 

22 (B) to reduce burdens on consumers, manu23 facturers, and service providers; and 

24 (C) to protect sensitive Government infor25 mation. 


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1 (d) SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND.—To be included as 

2 part of the plan developed under this section, the NTIA 

3 shall share with the Commission recommendations about 

4 how to reform the Spectrum Relocation Fund— 

5 (1) to address costs incurred by Federal entities 

6 related to sharing radio frequency bands with radio 

7 technologies conducting unlicensed operations; and 

8 (2) to ensure the Spectrum Relocation Fund has 

9 sufficient funds to cover— 

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

11 and 

12 (B) other expenditures allowed of the Spec13 trum Relocation Fund under section 118 of the 

14 National Telecommunications and Information 

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

16 928). 

17 (e) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

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

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

20 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con21 gress a report that describes the plan developed under 

22 this section, including any recommendations for legis23 lative change. 

24 (2) PUBLICATION ON COMMISSION WEBSITE.— 

25 Not later than the date on which the Commission subVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 21, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S19.RS S19

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1 mits the report under paragraph (1), the Commission 

2 shall make the report publicly available on the website 

3 of the Commission. 

4 SEC. 19. SPECTRUM CHALLENGE PRIZE. 

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

6 ‘‘Spectrum Challenge Prize Act’’. 

7 (b) DEFINITION OF PRIZE COMPETITION.—In this sec8 tion, the term ‘‘prize competition’’ means a prize competi9 tion conducted by the Secretary under subsection (c)(1). 

10 (c) SPECTRUM CHALLENGE PRIZE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

12 with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Com13 munications and Information and the Under Sec14 retary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, 

15 shall, subject to the availability of funds for prize 

16 competitions under this section— 

17 (A) conduct prize competitions to dramati18 cally accelerate the development and commer19 cialization of technology that improves spectrum 

20 efficiency and is capable of cost-effective deploy21 ment; and 

22 (B) define a measurable set of performance 

23 goals for participants in the prize competitions 

24 to demonstrate their solutions on a level playing 


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1 field while making a significant advancement 

2 over the current state of the art. 

3 (2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—In carrying 

4 out paragraph (1), the Secretary may— 

5 (A) enter into a grant, contract, cooperative 

6 agreement, or other agreement with a private 

7 sector for-profit or nonprofit entity to administer 

8 the prize competitions; 

9 (B) invite the Defense Advanced Research 

10 Projects Agency, the Commission, the National 

11 Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Na12 tional Science Foundation, or any other Federal 

13 agency to provide advice and assistance in the 

14 design or administration of the prize competi15 tions; and 

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

17 aggregate, to the winner or winners of the prize 

18 competitions. 

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

20 on which funds for prize competitions are made available 

21 pursuant to this section, the Commission shall publish a 

22 technical paper on spectrum efficiency providing criteria 

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


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

2 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

4 SEC. 20. WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS TAX AND FEE 

5 COLLECTION FAIRNESS. 

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

7 ‘‘Wireless Telecommunications Tax and Fee Collection 

8 Fairness Act’’. 

9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) FINANCIAL TRANSACTION.—The term ‘‘finan11 cial transaction’’ means a transaction in which the 

12 purchaser or user of a wireless telecommunications 

13 service upon whom a tax, fee, or surcharge is imposed 

14 gives cash, credit, or any other exchange of monetary 

15 value or consideration to the person who is required 

16 to collect or remit the tax, fee, or surcharge. 

17 (2) LOCAL JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘local ju18 risdiction’’ means a political subdivision of a State. 

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

20 several States, the District of Columbia, and any ter21 ritory or possession of the United States. 

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

23 ‘‘State or local jurisdiction’’ includes any govern24 mental entity or person acting on behalf of a State 


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1 or local jurisdiction that has the authority to assess, 

2 impose, levy, or collect taxes or fees. 

3 (5) WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERV4 ICE.—The term ‘‘wireless telecommunications service’’ 

5 means a commercial mobile radio service, as defined 

6 in section 20.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula7 tions, or any successor thereto. 

8 (c) FINANCIAL TRANSACTION REQUIREMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State, or a local jurisdic10 tion of a State, may not require a person to collect 

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

12 or local tax, fee, or surcharge imposed on a purchaser 

13 or user with respect to the purchase or use of any 

14 wireless telecommunications service within the State 

15 unless the collection or remittance is in connection 

16 with a financial transaction. 

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

18 subsection shall be construed to affect the right of a 

19 State or local jurisdiction to require the collection of 

20 any tax, fee, or surcharge in connection with a finan21 cial transaction. 

22 (d) ENFORCEMENT.— 

23 (1) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person ag24 grieved by a violation of subsection (c) may bring a 

25 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 mandatory 

9 or prohibitive injunctive relief, interim equitable re10 lief, and declaratory judgments as may be necessary 

11 to prevent, restrain, or terminate any acts in viola12 tion of subsection (c). 

13 SEC. 21. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

14 (a) RANGES OF FREQUENCIES.—Each range of fre15 quencies described in this Act shall be construed to be inclu16 sive of the upper and lower frequencies in the range. 

17 (b) ASSESSMENT OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

18 REALLOCATION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 

19 affect any requirement under section 156 of the National 

20 Telecommunications and Information Administration Or21 ganization Act (47 U.S.C. 921 note), as added by section 

22 1062(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fis23 cal Year 2000. 


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1 SEC. 22. RELATIONSHIP TO MIDDLE CLASS TAX RELIEF AND 

2 JOB CREATION ACT OF 2012. 

3 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit, restrict, 

4 or circumvent in any way the implementation of the na5 tionwide public safety broadband network defined in section 

6 6001 of title VI of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 

7 Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401) or any rules imple8 menting that network under title VI of that Act (47 U.S.C. 

9 1401 et seq.). 


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Calendar No. 17 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 19 

[Report No. 115–4] 

A BILL 

To provide opportunities for broadband investment, 

and for other purposes. 

MARCH 21, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS