II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2473 

To provide grants for the construction, improvement, and acquisition of 

middle mile infrastructure. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2021 

Ms. ROSEN (for herself and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide grants for the construction, improvement, and 

acquisition of middle mile infrastructure. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Middle Mile 

5 Broadband Deployment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENABLING MIDDLE MILE BROADBAND INFRA7 STRUCTURE. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ANCHOR INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘anchor 

10 institution’’ means a school, library, medical or 


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1 healthcare provider, community college or other in2 stitution of higher education, or other community 

3 support organization or entity. 

4 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist5 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

6 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

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

8 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

9 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti10 ty’’ means— 

11 (A) a State, political subdivision of a 

12 State, Tribal government, technology company, 

13 electric utility, utility cooperative, public utility 

14 district, telecommunications company, tele15 communications cooperative, nonprofit founda16 tion, nonprofit corporation, nonprofit institu17 tion, nonprofit association, regional planning 

18 counsel, Native entity, or economic development 

19 authority; or 

20 (B) a partnership of 2 or more entities de21 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

22 (5) FCC FIXED BROADBAND MAP.—The term 

23 ‘‘FCC fixed broadband map’’ means the map created 

24 by the Commission under section 802(c)(1)(B) of 


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

2 642(c)(1)(B)). 

3 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

4 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

5 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

6 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

7 (7) INTERCONNECT.—The term ‘‘interconnect’’ 

8 means the physical linking of 2 networks for the mu9 tual exchange of traffic on non-discriminatory terms 

10 and conditions. 

11 (8) INTERNET EXCHANGE FACILITY.—The term 

12 ‘‘internet exchange facility’’ means physical infra13 structure through which internet service providers 

14 and content delivery networks exchange internet 

15 traffic between their networks. 

16 (9) MIDDLE MILE INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 

17 term ‘‘middle mile infrastructure’’— 

18 (A) means any broadband infrastructure 

19 that does not connect directly to an end-user lo20 cation, including an anchor institution; and 

21 (B) includes— 

22 (i) leased dark fiber, interoffice trans23 port, backhaul, internet exchange facilities, 

24 carrier-neutral submarine cable landing 

25 stations, undersea cables, transport 


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1 connectivity to data centers, special access 

2 transport, and other similar services; and 

3 (ii) wired or private wireless 

4 broadband infrastructure, including micro5 wave capacity, radio tower access, and 

6 other services or infrastructure for a pri7 vate wireless broadband network, such as 

8 towers, fiber, and microwave links. 

9 (10) MIDDLE MILE GRANT.—The term ‘‘middle 

10 mile grant’’ means a grant awarded under sub11 section (c). 

12 (11) NATIVE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Native enti13 ty’’ means— 

14 (A) an Indian Tribe; 

15 (B) an Alaska Native Corporation; 

16 (C) a Native Hawaiian organization (as de17 fined in section 6207 of the Elementary and 

18 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 7517)); 

20 (D) the Department of Hawaiian Home 

21 Lands; and 

22 (E) the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 

23 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean24 ing given the term in section 3 of the Communica25 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 


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1 (13) SUBMARINE CABLE LANDING STATION.— 

2 The term ‘‘submarine cable landing station’’ means 

3 a cable landing station, as that term is used in sec4 tion 1.767(a)(5) of title 47, Code of Federal Regula5 tions (or any successor regulation), that can be uti6 lized to land a submarine cable by an entity that has 

7 obtained a license under the first section of the Act 

8 entitled ‘‘An Act relating to the landing and oper9 ation of submarine cables in the United States’’, ap10 proved May 27, 1921 (47 U.S.C. 34) (commonly 

11 known as the ‘‘Cable Landing Licensing Act’’). 

12 (14) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

13 government’’ means the recognized governing body 

14 of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 

15 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com16 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 

17 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 

18 of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to sec19 tion 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

20 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

21 (15) TRUST LAND.—The term ‘‘trust land’’ has 

22 the meaning given the term in section 3765 of title 

23 38, United States Code. 

24 (16) UNDERSERVED.—The term ‘‘under25 served’’, with respect to an area, means an area— 


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1 (A) that is designated as a Tribally under2 served area through the process described in 

3 subsection (g); or 

4 (B) that— 

5 (i) is of a standard size not larger 

6 than a census block, as established by the 

7 Commission; 

8 (ii) is not an unserved area; and 

9 (iii) as determined in accordance with 

10 the FCC fixed broadband map, does not 

11 have access to broadband service with— 

12 (I) except as provided in sub13 clause (II)— 

14 (aa) a download speed of not 

15 less than 100 megabits per sec16 ond; and 

17 (bb) an upload speed of not 

18 less than 20 megabits per second; 

19 or 

20 (II) minimum download and 

21 upload speeds established as bench22 marks by the Commission for pur23 poses of this Act after the date of en24 actment of this Act, if those minimum 


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1 speeds are higher than the minimum 

2 speeds required under subclause (I). 

3 (17) UNSERVED.—The term ‘‘unserved’’, with 

4 respect to an area, means an area— 

5 (A) that is designated as a Tribally under6 served area through the process described in 

7 subsection (g); or 

8 (B) that— 

9 (i) is of a standard size not larger 

10 than a census block, as established by the 

11 Commission; and 

12 (ii) as determined in accordance with 

13 the FCC fixed broadband map, does not 

14 have access to broadband service— 

15 (I) except as provided in sub16 clause (II)— 

17 (aa) a download speed of not 

18 less than 25 megabits per second; 

19 and 

20 (bb) an upload speed of not 

21 less than 3 megabits per second; 

22 or 

23 (II) minimum download and 

24 upload speeds established as bench25 marks by the Commission for purVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jul 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2473.IS S2473

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1 poses of this Act after the date of en2 actment of this Act, if those minimum 

3 speeds are higher than the minimum 

4 speeds required under subclause (I). 

5 (b) PURPOSE; SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 

6 (1) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this section 

7 are— 

8 (A) to encourage the expansion and exten9 sion of middle mile infrastructure to reduce the 

10 cost of connecting unserved and underserved 

11 areas to the backbone of the internet (com12 monly referred to as the ‘‘last mile’’); and 

13 (B) to promote broadband connection resil14 iency through the creation of alternative net15 work connection paths that can be designed to 

16 prevent single points of failure on a broadband 

17 network. 

18 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

19 Congress that— 

20 (A) in awarding middle mile grants, the 

21 Assistant Secretary should give priority to— 

22 (i) projects that leverage existing 

23 rights-of-way, assets, and infrastructure to 

24 minimize financial, regulatory, and permit25 ting challenges; 


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1 (ii) projects in which the eligible enti2 ty designs the route of the middle mile in3 frastructure to enable the connection of 

4 unserved anchor institutions, including 

5 Tribal anchor institutions; and 

6 (iii) projects that— 

7 (I) improve the redundancy and 

8 resiliency of existing middle mile in9 frastructure, including those projects 

10 that facilitate interconnection with ex11 isting infrastructure, including add/ 

12 drop capabilities at existing amplifi13 cation sites and the ability to add 

14 splice cases with adequate fiber slack 

15 to build laterals that support future 

16 carrier-neutral interconnection facili17 ties and connections to anchor institu18 tions; and 

19 (II) reduce regulatory and per20 mitting barriers to promote the con21 struction of new middle mile infra22 structure; and 

23 (B) a regulated utility should use funds re24 ceived from a middle mile grant as a suppleVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jul 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2473.IS S2473

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1 ment to the core utility capital investment plan 

2 of the regulated utility to— 

3 (i) facilitate increased broadband re4 siliency or redundancy of existing middle 

5 mile infrastructure; or 

6 (ii) provide connectivity to unserved 

7 areas and underserved areas within the 

8 service territory of the utility and nearby 

9 communities. 

10 (c) MIDDLE MILE GRANTS.—The Assistant Sec11 retary shall establish a program under which the Assistant 

12 Secretary makes grants on a technology-neutral, competi13 tive basis to eligible entities for the construction, improve14 ment, or acquisition of middle mile infrastructure. 

15 (d) APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

17 shall establish an application process for middle mile 

18 grants in accordance with this subsection. 

19 (2) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS.—In estab20 lishing an application process for middle mile grants 

21 under paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary shall 

22 give priority to an application from an eligible entity 

23 that satisfies 2 or more of the following conditions: 

24 (A) The eligible entity adopts fiscally sus25 tainable middle mile strategies. 


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1 (B) The eligible entity commits to offering 

2 non-discriminatory interconnect to terrestrial 

3 and wireless last mile broadband providers and 

4 any other party making a bona fide request. 

5 (C) The eligible entity identifies specific 

6 terrestrial and wireless last mile broadband pro7 viders that have— 

8 (i) expressed written interest in inter9 connecting with middle mile infrastructure 

10 planned to be deployed by the eligible enti11 ty; and 

12 (ii) demonstrated sustainable business 

13 plans or adequate funding sources with re14 spect to the interconnect described in 

15 clause (i). 

16 (D) The eligible entity has identified sup17 plemental investments or in-kind support (such 

18 as waived franchise or permitting fees) that will 

19 accelerate the completion of the planned 

20 project. 

21 (E) The eligible entity has demonstrated 

22 that the middle mile infrastructure will benefit 

23 national security interests of the United States 

24 and the Department of Defense. 


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1 (3) GRANT APPLICATION COMPETENCE.—The 

2 Assistant Secretary shall include in the application 

3 process established under paragraph (1) a require4 ment that an eligible entity provide evidence that the 

5 eligible entity is capable of carrying out a proposed 

6 project in a competent manner, including by dem7 onstrating that the eligible entity has the financial, 

8 technical, and operational capability to carry out the 

9 proposed project and operate the resulting middle 

10 mile broadband network. 

11 (e) ELIGIBILITY.— 

12 (1) PRIORITIZATION.—To be eligible to obtain a 

13 middle mile grant, an eligible entity shall agree, in 

14 the application submitted through the process estab15 lished under subsection (d), to prioritize— 

16 (A) connecting middle mile infrastructure 

17 to last mile networks that provide or plan to 

18 provide broadband service to households in 

19 unserved areas; 

20 (B) connecting non-contiguous trust lands; 

21 or 

22 (C) the offering of wholesale broadband 

23 service at reasonable rates on a carrier-neutral 

24 basis. 


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1 (2) BUILDOUT TIMELINE.—Subject to para2 graph (5), to be eligible to obtain a middle mile 

3 grant, an eligible entity shall agree, in the applica4 tion submitted through the process established under 

5 subsection (d), to complete buildout of the middle 

6 mile infrastructure described in the application by 

7 not later than 5 years after the date on which 

8 amounts from the grant are made available to the el9 igible entity. 

10 (3) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (A) CAPABILITY TO SUPPORT RETAIL

12 BROADBAND SERVICE.—A project shall be eligi13 ble for a middle mile grant if, at the time of the 

14 application, the Assistant Secretary determines 

15 that the proposed middle mile broadband net16 work— 

17 (i) will be capable of supporting retail 

18 broadband service that meets speed, la19 tency, reliability, consistency in quality of 

20 service, and related criteria, as the Assist21 ant Secretary shall determine; and 

22 (ii) will be able to easily scale speeds 

23 over time to— 


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1 (I) meet the evolving connectivity 

2 needs of households, businesses, and 

3 anchor institutions; and 

4 (II) support the deployment of 

5 5G, successor wireless technologies, 

6 and other advanced services. 

7 (B) MAPPING DATA.— 

8 (i) USE OF MOST RECENT DATA.—In 

9 mapping out gaps in broadband coverage, 

10 an eligible entity that uses a middle mile 

11 grant to build out terrestrial or fixed wire12 less middle mile infrastructure shall use 

13 the most recent broadband mapping data 

14 available from one of the following sources: 

15 (I) The FCC fixed broadband 

16 map. 

17 (II) The State in which the area 

18 that will be served by the middle mile 

19 infrastructure is located, or the Tribal 

20 government with jurisdiction over the 

21 area that will be served by the middle 

22 mile infrastructure (if applicable). 

23 (III) Speed and usage surveys of 

24 existing broadband service that— 


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1 (aa) demonstrate that more 

2 than 25 percent of the respond3 ents display a broadband service 

4 speed that is slower than the 

5 speeds required for an area to 

6 qualify as unserved; and 

7 (bb) are conducted by— 

8 (AA) the eligible entity; 

9 (BB) the State in 

10 which the area that will be 

11 served by the middle mile in12 frastructure is located; or 

13 (CC) the Tribal govern14 ment with jurisdiction over 

15 the area that will be served 

16 by the middle mile infra17 structure (if applicable). 

18 (ii) SHARING FACILITY LOCATIONS.— 

19 (I) DEFINITION.—In this clause, 

20 the term ‘‘covered recipient’’, with re21 spect to an eligible entity, means— 

22 (aa) the Assistant Secretary; 

23 (bb) the Commission; 

24 (cc) the Tribal government 

25 with jurisdiction over the area 


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1 that will be served by the middle 

2 mile infrastructure (if applica3 ble); and 

4 (dd) the State broadband of5 fice for the State in which the 

6 area that will be served by the 

7 middle mile infrastructure is lo8 cated. 

9 (II) PROVISION OF INFORMA10 TION.—Subject to subclauses (III) 

11 and (IV), an eligible entity that con12 structs, improves, or acquires middle 

13 mile infrastructure using a middle 

14 mile grant shall share with each cov15 ered recipient the location of all the 

16 middle mile broadband infrastructure. 

17 (III) FORMAT.—An eligible enti18 ty shall provide the information re19 quired under subclause (II) to each 

20 covered recipient in a uniform format 

21 determined by the Assistant Sec22 retary. 

23 (IV) PROTECTION OF INFORMA24 TION.— 


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1 (aa) IN GENERAL.—The in2 formation provided by an eligible 

3 entity under subclause (II) may 

4 only be used for purposes of car5 rying out the grant program 

6 under subsection (c) and any re7 porting related thereto. 

8 (bb) LEGAL DEFENSES.— 

9 (AA) IN GENERAL.—A 

10 covered recipient may not 

11 receive information under 

12 subclause (II) unless the 

13 covered recipient agrees in 

14 writing to assert all available 

15 legal defenses to the disclo16 sure of the information if a 

17 person or entity seeks disclo18 sure from the covered recipi19 ent under any Federal, 

20 State, or local public disclo21 sure law. 

22 (BB) RULE OF CON23 STRUCTION.—Nothing in 

24 subitem (AA) is intended to 

25 be or shall be construed as a 


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1 waiver of Tribal sovereign 

2 immunity. 

3 (C) CONNECTION TO ANCHOR INSTITU4 TIONS.—To the extent feasible, an eligible enti5 ty that receives a middle mile grant to build 

6 middle mile infrastructure using fiber optic 

7 technology shall— 

8 (i) ensure that the proposed middle 

9 mile broadband network will be capable of 

10 providing broadband to an anchor institu11 tion at a speed of not less than— 

12 (I) 1 gigabit per second for 

13 downloads; and 

14 (II) 1 gigabit per second for 

15 uploads to an anchor institution; and 

16 (ii) include direct interconnect facili17 ties that will facilitate the provision of 

18 broadband service to anchor institutions lo19 cated within 1,000 feet of the middle mile 

20 infrastructure. 

21 (D) INTERCONNECTION AND NON22 DISCRIMINATION.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

24 that receives a middle mile grant to build 

25 a middle mile project using fiber optic 


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1 technology shall offer interconnection in 

2 perpetuity, where technically feasible with3 out exceeding current or reasonably antici4 pated capacity limitations, on reasonable 

5 rates and terms to be negotiated with re6 questing parties. 

7 (ii) NATURE OF INTERCONNECTION.— 

8 The interconnection required to be offered 

9 under clause (i) includes both the ability to 

10 connect to the public internet and physical 

11 interconnection for the exchange of traffic. 

12 (iii) INCLUSION IN APPLICATION.—An 

13 applicant for a middle mile grant shall dis14 close the applicant’s proposed interconnec15 tion, nondiscrimination, and network man16 agement practices in the application sub17 mitted through the process established 

18 under subsection (d). 

19 (4) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Assistant Sec20 retary shall— 

21 (A) establish sufficient transparency, ac22 countability, reporting, and oversight measures 

23 for the grant program established under sub24 section (c) to deter waste, fraud, and abuse of 

25 program funds; and 


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1 (B) establish— 

2 (i) buildout requirements for each eli3 gible entity that receives a middle mile 

4 grant, which shall require the completion 

5 of a certain percentage of project miles by 

6 a certain date; and 

7 (ii) penalties, which may include re8 scission of funds, for grantees that do not 

9 meet requirements described in clause (i) 

10 or the deadline under paragraph (2). 

11 (5) EXTENSIONS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—At the request of an el13 igible entity, the Assistant Secretary may ex14 tend the buildout deadline under paragraph (2) 

15 by not more than 1 year if the eligible entity 

16 certifies that— 

17 (i) the eligible entity has a plan for 

18 use of the middle mile grant; 

19 (ii) the project to build out middle 

20 mile infrastructure is underway; or 

21 (iii) extenuating circumstances require 

22 an extension of time to allow completion of 

23 the project to build out middle mile infra24 structure. 


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1 (B) EFFECT ON INTERIM BUILDOUT RE2 QUIREMENTS.—If the Assistant Secretary 

3 grants an extension under subparagraph (A), 

4 the Assistant Secretary shall modify any build5 out requirements established under paragraph 

6 (4)(B)(i) as necessary. 

7 (f) FEDERAL SHARE.—The amount of a middle mile 

8 grant awarded to an eligible entity may not exceed 70 per9 cent of the total project cost. 

10 (g) SPECIAL RULES FOR TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

11 (1) WAIVERS; ALTERNATIVE REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 The Assistant Secretary, in consultation with Tribal 

13 governments and Native entities, may waive, or 

14 specify alternative requirements for, any provision of 

15 subsections (c) through (f) if the Assistant Secretary 

16 finds that the waiver or alternative requirement is 

17 necessary— 

18 (A) for the effective delivery and adminis19 tration of middle mile grants to Tribal govern20 ments; or 

21 (B) the construction, improvement, or ac22 quisition of middle mile infrastructure on trust 

23 land. 

24 (2) TRIBALLY UNSERVED AREAS; TRIBALLY UN25 DERSERVED AREAS.—The Assistant Secretary, in 


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1 consultation with Tribal governments and Native en2 tities, shall develop a process for designating Trib3 ally unserved areas and Tribally underserved areas 

4 for purposes of this section. 

5 (h) MAINTENANCE OF STANDARDS.—Section 602 of 

6 the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 

7 (42 U.S.C. 3212) shall apply to any entity that receives 

8 assistance, whether directly or indirectly, under any pro9 gram— 

10 (1) that pertains to deploying broadband serv11 ice; and 

12 (2) for which the Assistant Secretary has ad13 ministrative responsibility as provided by law or by 

14 delegation of authority pursuant to law. 

15 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

17 $2,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

Æ 


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