IB 

Union Calendar No. 259 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5252 

[Report No. 109–470] 

To promote the deployment of broadband networks and services. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2006 

Mr. BARTON of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

MAY 17, 2006 

Additional sponsors: Mr. BASS, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mrs. BONO, Mr. HALL, Mr. 

WYNN, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. 

WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. BAKER, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. BOYD, Mr. 

LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. CLYBURN, 

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. BONNER, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. 

EVERETT, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. 

FOLEY, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. 

WICKER, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. FEENEY, Mr. ROGERS

of Alabama, Mr. BACA, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. BARROW, Mr. 

HAYES, Mr. MACK, and Mr. BISHOP of Georgia 

MAY 17, 2006 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

A BILL 

To promote the deployment of broadband networks and 

services. 


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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 ‘‘Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhance6 ment Act of 2006’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL CABLE FRANCHISING 

Sec. 101. National cable franchising. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Monitoring and reporting. 

TITLE II—ENFORCEMENT OF BROADBAND POLICY STATEMENT 

Sec. 201. Enforcement of broadband policy statement. 

TITLE III—VOIP/911 

Sec. 301. Emergency services; interconnection. 

TITLE IV—MUNICIPAL PROVISION OF SERVICES 

Sec. 401. Government authority to provide services. 

TITLE V—BROADBAND SERVICE 

Sec. 501. Stand-alone broadband service. 

Sec. 502. Study of interference potential of broadband over power line systems. 

TITLE VI—SEAMLESS MOBILITY 

Sec. 601. Development of seamless mobility. 

8 TITLE I—NATIONAL CABLE 

9 FRANCHISING 

10 SEC. 101. NATIONAL CABLE FRANCHISING. 

11 (a) AMENDMENT.—Part III of title VI of the Com12 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 541 et seq.) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 630. NATIONAL CABLE FRANCHISING. 

2 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL FRANCHISES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ELECTION.—A person or group that is eli4 gible under subsection (d) may elect to obtain a na5 tional franchise under this section as authority to 

6 provide cable service in a franchise area in lieu of 

7 any other authority under Federal, State, or local 

8 law to provide cable service in such franchise area. 

9 A person or group may not provide cable service 

10 under the authority of this section in a franchise 

11 area unless such person or group has a franchise 

12 under this section that is effective with respect to 

13 such franchise area. A franchising authority may not 

14 require any person or group that has a national 

15 franchise under this section in effect with respect to 

16 a franchise area to obtain a franchise under section 

17 621 or any other law to provide cable service in such 

18 franchise area. 

19 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—To obtain a national 

20 franchise under this section as authority to provide 

21 cable service in a franchise area, a person or group 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) file with the Commission a certifi24 cation for a national franchise containing the 

25 information required by paragraph (3) with re26 spect to such franchise area, if such person or 


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1 group has not previously obtained a national 

2 franchise; or 

3 ‘‘(B) file with the Commission a subse4 quent certification for additional franchise areas 

5 containing the information required by para6 graph (3) with respect to such additional fran7 chise areas, if such person or group has pre8 viously obtained a national franchise. 

9 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF CERTIFICATION.—Such cer10 tification shall be in such form as the Commission 

11 shall require by regulation and shall contain— 

12 ‘‘(A) the name under which such person or 

13 group is offering or intends to offer cable serv14 ice; 

15 ‘‘(B) the names and business addresses of 

16 the directors and principal executive officers, or 

17 the persons performing similar functions, of 

18 such person or group; 

19 ‘‘(C) the location of such person or group’s 

20 principal business office; 

21 ‘‘(D) the name, business address, elec22 tronic mail address, and telephone and fax 

23 number of such person or group’s local agent; 

24 ‘‘(E) a declaration by such person or group 

25 that such person or group is eligible under subVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:36 May 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5252.RH H5252

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1 section (d) to obtain a national franchise under 

2 this section; 

3 ‘‘(F) an identification of each franchise 

4 area in which such person or group intends to 

5 offer cable service pursuant to such certifi6 cation, which franchise area shall be— 

7 ‘‘(i) the entirety of a franchise area in 

8 which a cable operator is, on the date of 

9 the filing of such certification, authorized 

10 to provide cable service under section 621 

11 or any other law (including this section); 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(ii) a contiguous geographic area 

14 that covers the entirety of the jurisdiction 

15 of a unit of general local government, ex16 cept that— 

17 ‘‘(I) if the geographic area within 

18 the jurisdiction of such unit of general 

19 local government contains a franchise 

20 area in which a cable operator is, on 

21 such date, authorized to provide cable 

22 service under section 621 or any other 

23 law, the contiguous geographic area 

24 identified in the certification under 

25 this clause as a franchise area shall 


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1 not include the area contained in the 

2 franchise area of such cable operator; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) if such contiguous geo5 graphic area includes areas that are, 

6 respectively, within the jurisdiction of 

7 different franchising authorities, the 

8 certification shall specify each such 

9 area as a separate franchise area; 

10 ‘‘(G) a declaration that such person or 

11 group transmitted, or will transmit on the day 

12 of filing such declaration, a copy of such certifi13 cation to the franchising authority for each 

14 franchise area for which such person or group 

15 is filing a certification to offer cable service 

16 under this section; 

17 ‘‘(H) a declaration by the person or group 

18 that the person or group will comply with the 

19 rights-of-way requirements of the franchising 

20 authority under subsection (f); and 

21 ‘‘(I) a declaration by the person or group 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(i) the person or group will comply 

24 with all Commission consumer protection 

25 and customer service rules under section 


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1 632(b) and subsection (g) of this section; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the person or group agrees that 

4 such standards may be enforced by the 

5 Commission or by the franchising author6 ity in accordance with subsection (g) of 

7 this section. 

8 ‘‘(4) LOCAL NOTIFICATION; PRESERVATION OF

9 OPPORTUNITY TO NEGOTIATE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) COPY TO FRANCHISING AUTHOR11 ITY.—On the day of filing any certification 

12 under paragraph (2)(A) or (B) for a franchise 

13 area, the person or group shall transmit a copy 

14 of such certification to the franchising authority 

15 for such area. 

16 ‘‘(B) NEGOTIATED FRANCHISE AGREE17 MENTS PERMITTED.—Nothing in this section 

18 shall prevent a person or group from negoti19 ating a franchise agreement or any other au20 thority to provide cable service in a franchise 

21 area under section 621 or any other law. Upon 

22 entry into any such negotiated franchise agree23 ment, such negotiated franchise agreement shall 

24 apply in lieu of any national franchise held by 


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1 that person or group under this section for such 

2 franchise area. 

3 ‘‘(5) UPDATING OF CERTIFICATIONS.—A person 

4 or group that files a certification under this section 

5 shall update any information contained in such cer6 tification that is no longer accurate and correct. 

7 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF CERTIFI8 CATIONS.—The Commission shall provide for the 

9 public availability on the Commission’s Internet 

10 website or other electronic facility of all current cer11 tifications filed under this section. 

12 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVENESS; DURATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) EFFECTIVENESS.—A national franchise 

14 under this section shall be effective with respect to 

15 any franchise area 30 days after the date of the fil16 ing of a completed certification under subsection 

17 (a)(2)(A) or (B) that applies to such franchise area. 

18 ‘‘(2) DURATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A franchise under this 

20 section that applies to a franchise area shall be 

21 effective for that franchise area for a term of 

22 10 years. 

23 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—A franchise under this 

24 section for a franchise area shall be renewed 


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1 automatically upon expiration of the 10-year 

2 period described in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC HEARING.—At the request of 

4 a franchising authority in a franchise area, a 

5 cable operator authorized under this section to 

6 provide cable service in such franchise area 

7 shall, within the last year of the 10-year period 

8 applicable under subparagraph (A) to the cable 

9 operator’s franchise for such franchise area, 

10 participate in a public hearing on the cable op11 erator’s performance in the franchise area, in12 cluding the cable operator’s compliance with the 

13 requirements of this title. The hearing shall af14 ford the public the opportunity to participate 

15 for the purpose of identifying cable-related com16 munity needs and interests and assessing the 

17 operator’s performance. The cable operator 

18 shall provide notice to its subscribers of the 

19 hearing at least 30 days prior to the hearing. 

20 ‘‘(D) REVOCATION.—A franchise under 

21 this section for a franchise area may be revoked 

22 by the Commission— 

23 ‘‘(i) for willful or repeated violation of 

24 any Federal or State law, or any CommisVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:36 May 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5252.RH H5252

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1 sion regulation, relating to the provision of 

2 cable service in such franchise area; 

3 ‘‘(ii) for false statements or material 

4 omissions knowingly made in any filing 

5 with the Commission relating to the provi6 sion of cable service in such franchise area; 

7 ‘‘(iii) for willful or repeated violation 

8 of the rights-of-way management laws or 

9 regulations of any franchising authority in 

10 such franchise area relating to the provi11 sion of cable service in such franchise area; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(iv) for willful or repeated violation 

14 of the antidiscrimination requirement of 

15 subsection (h) with respect to such fran16 chise area. 

17 ‘‘(E) NOTICE.—The Commission shall 

18 send a notice of such revocation to each fran19 chising authority with jurisdiction over the 

20 franchise areas for which the cable operator’s 

21 franchise was revoked. 

22 ‘‘(F) REINSTATEMENT.—After a revoca23 tion under subparagraph (D) of a franchise for 

24 a franchise area of any person or group , the 

25 Commission may refuse to accept for filing a 


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1 new certification for authority of such person or 

2 group to provide cable service under this section 

3 in such franchise area until the Commission de4 termines that the basis of such revocation has 

5 been remedied. 

6 ‘‘(G) RETURN TO LOCAL FRANCHISING IF

7 CABLE COMPETITION CEASES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) If only one cable operator is pro9 viding cable service in a franchise area, 

10 and that cable operator obtained a national 

11 franchise for such franchise area under 

12 subsection (d)(2), the franchising authority 

13 for such franchise area may file a petition 

14 with the Commission requesting that the 

15 Commission terminate such national fran16 chise for such franchise area. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The Commission shall provide 

18 public notice and opportunity to comment 

19 on such petition. If it finds that the re20 quirements of clause (i) are satisfied, the 

21 Commission shall issue an order granting 

22 such petition. Such order shall take effect 

23 one year from the date of such grant, if no 

24 other cable operator offers cable service in 

25 such area during that one year. If another 


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1 cable operator does offer cable service in 

2 such franchise area during that one year, 

3 the Commission shall rescind such order 

4 and dismiss such petition. 

5 ‘‘(iii) A cable operator whose national 

6 franchise is terminated for such franchise 

7 area under this subparagraph may obtain 

8 new authority to provide cable service in 

9 such franchise area under this section, sec10 tion 621, or any other law, if and when eli11 gible. 

12 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS OF NATIONAL FRANCHISE.—A 

13 national franchise shall contain the following require14 ments: 

15 ‘‘(1) FRANCHISE FEE.—A cable operator au16 thorized under this section to provide cable service 

17 in a franchise area shall pay to the franchising au18 thority in such franchise area a franchise fee of up 

19 to 5 percent (as determined by the franchising au20 thority) of such cable operator’s gross revenues from 

21 the provision of cable service under this section in 

22 such franchise area. Such payment shall be assessed 

23 and collected in a manner consistent with section 

24 622 and the definition of gross revenues in this sec25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PEG/I-NET REQUIREMENTS.—A cable op2 erator authorized under this section to provide cable 

3 service in a franchise area shall comply with the re4 quirements of subsection (e). 

5 ‘‘(3) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—A cable operator au6 thorized under this section to provide cable service 

7 in a franchise area shall comply with the rights-of8 way requirements of the franchising authority under 

9 subsection (f). 

10 ‘‘(4) CONSUMER PROTECTION AND CUSTOMER

11 SERVICE STANDARDS.—A cable operator authorized 

12 under this section to provide cable service in a fran13 chise area shall comply with the consumer protection 

14 and customer service standards established by the 

15 Commission under section 632(b). 

16 ‘‘(5) CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.—A cable operator 

17 authorized under this section to provide cable service 

18 in a franchise area shall comply with the regulations 

19 on child pornography promulgated pursuant to sub20 section (i). 

21 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY FOR NATIONAL FRANCHISES.— 

22 The following persons or groups are eligible to obtain a 

23 national franchise under this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT OF SERVICE AFTER EN25 ACTMENT.—A person or group that is not providing 


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1 cable service in a franchise area on the date of en2 actment of this section under section 621 or any 

3 other law may obtain a national franchise under this 

4 section to provide cable service in such franchise 

5 area. 

6 ‘‘(2) EXISTING PROVIDERS OF CABLE SERV7 ICE.—A person or group that is providing cable 

8 service in a franchise area on the date of enactment 

9 of this section under section 621 or any other law 

10 may obtain a franchise under this section to provide 

11 cable service in such franchise area if, on the date 

12 that the national franchise becomes effective, an13 other person or group is providing cable service 

14 under this section, section 621, or any other law in 

15 such franchise area. 

16 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND GOVERNMENTAL

17 USE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 

19 cable operator with a national franchise for a fran20 chise area under this section shall provide channel 

21 capacity for public, educational, and governmental 

22 use that is not less than the channel capacity re23 quired of the cable operator with the most sub24 scribers in such franchise area on the effective date 

25 of such national franchise. If there is no other cable 


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1 operator in such franchise area on the effective date 

2 of such national franchise, or there is no other cable 

3 operator in such franchise area on such date that is 

4 required to provide channel capacity for public, edu5 cational, and governmental use, the cable operator 

6 shall provide the amount of channel capacity for 

7 such use as determined by Commission rule. 

8 ‘‘(2) PEG AND I–NET FINANCIAL SUPPORT.—A 

9 cable operator with a national franchise under this 

10 section for a franchise area shall pay an amount 

11 equal to 1 percent of the cable operator’s gross reve12 nues (as such term is defined in this section) in the 

13 franchise area to the franchising authority for the 

14 support of public, educational, and governmental use 

15 and institutional networks (as such term is defined 

16 in section 611(f)). Such payment shall be assessed 

17 and collected in a manner consistent with section 

18 622, including the authority of the cable operator to 

19 designate that portion of a subscriber’s bill attrib20 utable to such payment. A cable operator that pro21 vided cable service in a franchise area on the date 

22 of enactment of this section and that obtains a na23 tional franchise under this section shall continue to 

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1 tion 621 or any other law. Notwithstanding section 

2 621(b)(3)(D), a franchising authority may not re3 quire a cable operator franchised under this section 

4 to construct a new institutional network. 

5 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT.—Every 10 years after the 

6 commencement of a franchise under this section for 

7 a franchise area, a franchising authority may require 

8 a cable operator authorized under such franchise to 

9 increase the channel capacity designated for public, 

10 educational, or governmental use, and the channel 

11 capacity designated for such use on any institutional 

12 networks required under paragraph (2). Such in13 crease shall not exceed the higher of— 

14 ‘‘(A) one channel; or 

15 ‘‘(B) 10 percent of the public, educational, 

16 or governmental channel capacity required of 

17 that operator prior to the increase. 

18 ‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION AND PRODUCTION OF PRO19 GRAMMING.— 

20 ‘‘(A) A cable operator franchised under 

21 this section shall ensure that all subscribers re22 ceive any public, educational, or governmental 

23 programming carried by the cable operator 

24 within the subscriber’s franchise area. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The production of any programming 

2 provided under this subsection shall be the re3 sponsibility of the franchising authority. 

4 ‘‘(C) A cable operator franchised under 

5 this section shall be responsible for the trans6 mission from the signal origination point (or 

7 points) of the programming, or from the point 

8 of interconnection with another cable operator 

9 under subparagraph (D), to the cable operator’s 

10 subscribers, of any public, educational, or gov11 ernmental programming produced by or for the 

12 franchising authority and carried by the cable 

13 operator pursuant to this section. 

14 ‘‘(D) Unless two cable operators otherwise 

15 agree to the terms for interconnection and cost 

16 sharing, such cable operators shall comply with 

17 regulations prescribed by the Commission pro18 viding for— 

19 ‘‘(i) the interconnection between two 

20 cable operators in a franchise area for 

21 transmission of public, educational, or gov22 ernmental programming, without material 

23 deterioration in signal quality or 

24 functionality; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the reasonable allocation of the 

2 costs of such interconnection between such 

3 cable operators. 

4 ‘‘(E) A cable operator shall display the 

5 program information for public, educational, or 

6 governmental programming carried under this 

7 subsection in any print or electronic program 

8 guide in the same manner in which it displays 

9 program information for other video program10 ming in the franchise area. The cable operator 

11 shall not omit such public, educational, or gov12 ernmental programming from any navigational 

13 device, guide, or menu containing other video 

14 programming that is available to subscribers in 

15 the franchise area. 

16 ‘‘(f) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO USE.—Any franchise under 

18 this section for a franchise area shall be construed 

19 to authorize the construction of a cable system over 

20 public rights-of-way, and through easements, which 

21 is within the area to be served by the cable system 

22 and which have been dedicated for compatible uses, 

23 except that in using such easements the cable oper24 ator shall ensure that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the safety, functioning, and appear2 ance of the property and the convenience and 

3 the safety of other persons not be adversely af4 fected by the installation or construction of fa5 cilities necessary for a cable system; 

6 ‘‘(B) the cost of the installation, construc7 tion, operation, or removal of such facilities be 

8 borne by the cable operator or subscriber, or a 

9 combination of both; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the owner of the property be justly 

11 compensated by the cable operator for any dam12 ages caused by the installation, construction, 

13 operation, or removal of such facilities by the 

14 cable operator. 

15 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF16 WAY.—Nothing in this Act affects the authority of 

17 a State or local government (including a franchising 

18 authority) over a person or group in their capacity 

19 as a cable operator with a franchise under this sec20 tion to manage, on a reasonable, competitively neu21 tral, and non-discriminatory basis, the public rights22 of-way, and easements that have been dedicated for 

23 compatible uses. A State or local government (in24 cluding a franchising authority) may, on a reasonVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:36 May 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5252.RH H5252

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1 able, competitively neutral, and non-discriminatory 

2 basis— 

3 ‘‘(A) impose charges for such management; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) require compliance with such man6 agement, such charges, and paragraphs (1)(A), 

7 (B), and (C). 

8 ‘‘(g) CONSUMER PROTECTION AND CUSTOMER SERV9 ICE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—Notwithstanding 

11 section 632(d), no State or local law (including any 

12 regulation) shall impose on a cable operator fran13 chised under this section any consumer protection or 

14 customer service requirements other than consumer 

15 protection or customer service requirements of gen16 eral applicability. 

17 ‘‘(2) PROCEEDING.—Within 120 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this section, the Commission 

19 shall issue a report and order that updates for cable 

20 operators franchised under this section the national 

21 consumer protection and customer service rules 

22 under section 632(b), taking into consideration the 

23 national nature of a franchise under this section and 

24 the role of State and local governments in enforcing, 

25 but not creating, consumer protection and customer 


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1 service standards for cable operators franchised 

2 under this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS OF NEW RULES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) Such rules shall, in addition to the 

5 requirements of section 632(b), address, with 

6 specificity, no less than the following consumer 

7 protection and customer service issues: 

8 ‘‘(i) Billing, billing disputes, and dis9 continuation of service, including when and 

10 how any late fees may be assessed (but not 

11 the amount of such fees). 

12 ‘‘(ii) Loss of service or service quality. 

13 ‘‘(iii) Changes in channel lineups or 

14 other cable services and features. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Availability of parental control 

16 options. 

17 ‘‘(B) Such rules shall require forfeiture 

18 penalties or customer rebates, or both, as deter19 mined by the Commission, that may be imposed 

20 for violations of such Commission rules in a 

21 franchise area, and shall provide for increased 

22 forfeiture penalties or customer rebates, or 

23 both, for repeated violations of the standards in 

24 such rules. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The Commission’s rules shall also es2 tablish procedures by which any forfeiture pen3 alty assessed by the Commission under this 

4 subsection shall be paid by the cable operator 

5 directly to the franchising authority. 

6 ‘‘(D) The Commission shall report to the 

7 Congress no less than once a year— 

8 ‘‘(i) on complaints filed, and penalties 

9 imposed, under this subsection; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) on any new consumer protection 

11 or customer service issues arising under 

12 this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(E) The Commission’s rules established 

14 under this subsection shall be revised as needed. 

15 ‘‘(4) COMPLAINTS.—Any person may file a 

16 complaint with respect to a violation of the regula17 tions prescribed under section 632(b) in a franchise 

18 area by a cable operator franchised under this sec19 tion— 

20 ‘‘(A) with the franchising authority in such 

21 area; or 

22 ‘‘(B) with the Commission. 

23 ‘‘(5) LOCAL FRANCHISING ORDERS REQUIRING

24 COMPLIANCE.—In a proceeding commenced with a 

25 franchising authority on such a complaint, a franVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:36 May 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5252.RH H5252

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1 chising authority may issue an order requiring com2 pliance with any of such regulations prescribed by 

3 the Commission, but a franchising authority may 

4 not create any new standard or regulation, or ex5 pand upon or modify the Commission’s standards or 

6 regulations. 

7 ‘‘(6) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—In such a pro8 ceeding, the franchising authority may issue an 

9 order requiring the filing of any contract, agree10 ment, or arrangement between the subscriber and 

11 the provider, or any other data, documents, or 

12 records, directly related to the alleged violation. 

13 ‘‘(7) COMMISSION REMEDIES; APPEALS.—Un14 less appealed to the Commission, an order of a fran15 chising authority under this subsection shall be en16 forced by the Commission. Any such appeal shall be 

17 resolved by the Commission within 30 days after re18 ceipt of the appeal by the Commission. 

19 ‘‘(8) COST OF FRANCHISING AUTHORITY OR20 DERS.—A franchising authority may charge a pro21 vider of cable service under this section a nominal 

22 fee to cover the costs of issuing such orders. 

23 ‘‘(h) ANTIDISCRIMINATION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A cable operator with a 

25 national franchise under this section to provide cable 


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1 service in a franchise area shall not deny access to 

2 its cable service to any group of potential residential 

3 cable service subscribers in such franchise area be4 cause of the income of that group. 

5 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) COMPLAINT.—If a franchising au7 thority in a franchise area has reasonable cause 

8 to believe that a cable operator is in violation 

9 of this subsection with respect to such franchise 

10 area, the franchising authority may, after com11 plying with subparagraph (B), file a complaint 

12 with the Commission alleging such violation. 

13 ‘‘(B) NOTICE BY FRANCHISING AUTHOR14 ITY.—Before filing a complaint with the Com15 mission under subparagraph (A), a franchising 

16 authority— 

17 ‘‘(i) shall give notice of each alleged 

18 violation to the cable operator; 

19 ‘‘(ii) shall provide a period of not less 

20 than 30 days for the cable operator to re21 spond to such allegations; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) during such period, may require 

23 the cable operator to submit a written re24 sponse stating the reasons why the oper25 ator has not violated this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(C) BIANNUAL REPORT.—A cable oper2 ator with a national franchise under this section 

3 for a franchise area, not later than 180 days 

4 after the effective date of such national fran5 chise, and biannually thereafter, shall submit a 

6 report to the Commission and the franchising 

7 authority in the franchise area— 

8 ‘‘(i) identifying the geographic areas 

9 in the franchise area where the cable oper10 ator offers cable service; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) describing the cable operator’s 

12 progress in extending cable service to other 

13 areas in the franchise area. 

14 ‘‘(D) NOTICE BY COMMISSION.—Upon re15 ceipt of a complaint under this paragraph alleg16 ing a violation of this subsection by a cable op17 erator, the Commission shall give notice of the 

18 complaint to the cable operator. 

19 ‘‘(E) INVESTIGATION.—In investigating a 

20 complaint under this paragraph, the Commis21 sion may require a cable operator to disclose to 

22 the Commission such information and docu23 ments as the Commission deems necessary to 

24 determine whether the cable operator is in com25 pliance with this subsection. The Commission 


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1 shall maintain the confidentiality of any infor2 mation or document collected under this sub3 paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(F) DEADLINE FOR RESOLUTION OF

5 COMPLAINTS.—Not more than 60 days after 

6 the Commission receives a complaint under this 

7 paragraph, the Commission shall issue a deter8 mination with respect to each violation alleged 

9 in the complaint. 

10 ‘‘(G) DETERMINATION.—If the Commis11 sion determines (in response to a complaint 

12 under this paragraph or on its own initiative) 

13 that a cable operator with a franchise under 

14 this section to provide cable service in a fran15 chise area has denied access to its cable service 

16 to a group of potential residential cable service 

17 subscribers in such franchise area because of 

18 the income of that group, the Commission shall 

19 ensure that the cable operator extends access to 

20 that group within a reasonable period of time. 

21 ‘‘(H) REMEDIES.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—This subsection 

23 shall be enforced by the Commission under 

24 titles IV and V. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM FORFEITURE PEN2 ALTY.—For purposes of section 503, the 

3 maximum forfeiture penalty applicable to a 

4 violation of this subsection shall be 

5 $500,000 for each day of the violation. 

6 ‘‘(iii) PAYMENT OF PENALTIES TO

7 FRANCHISING AUTHORITY.—The Commis8 sion shall order any cable operator subject 

9 to a forfeiture penalty under this sub10 section to pay the penalty directly to the 

11 franchising authority involved. 

12 ‘‘(i) CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.—Not later than 180 

13 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Com14 mission shall promulgate regulations to require a cable op15 erator with a national franchise under this section to pre16 vent the distribution of child pornography (as such term 

17 is defined in section 254(h)(7)(F)) over its network. 

18 ‘‘(j) LEASED ACCESS.—The provisions of section 

19 612(i) regarding the carriage of programming from a 

20 qualified minority programming source or from any quali21 fied educational programming source shall apply to a cable 

22 operator franchised under this section to provide cable 

23 service in a franchise area. 

24 ‘‘(k) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS.—The 

25 following sections shall not apply in a franchise area to 


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1 a person or group franchised under this section in such 

2 franchise area, or confer any authority to regulate or im3 pose obligations on such person or group: Sections 611(a), 

4 611(b), 611(c), 613(a), 617, 621 (other than subsections 

5 (b)(3)(A), (b)(3)(B), (b)(3)(C), and (c)), 624(b), 624(c), 

6 624(h), 625, 626, 627, and 632(a). 

7 ‘‘(l) EMERGENCY ALERTS.—Nothing in this Act shall 

8 be construed to prohibit a State or local government from 

9 accessing the emergency alert system of a cable operator 

10 with a franchise under this section in the area served by 

11 the State or local government to transmit local or regional 

12 emergency alerts. 

13 ‘‘(m) REPORTING, RECORDS, AND AUDITS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) REPORTING.—A cable operator with a 

15 franchise under this section to provide cable service 

16 in a franchise area shall make such periodic reports 

17 to the Commission and the franchising authority for 

18 such franchise area as the Commission may require 

19 to verify compliance with the fee obligations of sub20 sections (c)(1) and (e)(2). 

21 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS AND RECORDS.— 

22 Upon request under paragraph (3) by a franchising 

23 authority for a franchise area, and upon request by 

24 the Commission, a cable operator with a national 

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1 able its books and records to periodic audit by such 

2 franchising authority or the Commission, respec3 tively. 

4 ‘‘(3) FRANCHISING AUTHORITY AUDIT PROCE5 DURE.—A franchising authority may, upon reason6 able written request, but no more than once in any 

7 12-month period, review the business records of such 

8 cable operator to the extent reasonably necessary to 

9 ensure payment of the fees required by subsections 

10 (c)(1) and (e)(2). Such review may include the meth11 odology used by such cable operator to assign por12 tions of the revenue from cable service that may be 

13 bundled or functionally integrated with other serv14 ices, capabilities, or applications. Such review shall 

15 be conducted in accordance with procedures estab16 lished by the Commission. 

17 ‘‘(4) COST RECOVERY.— 

18 ‘‘(A) To the extent that the review under 

19 paragraph (3) identifies an underpayment of an 

20 amount meeting the minimum percentage speci21 fied in subparagraph (B) of the fee required 

22 under subsections (c)(1) and (e)(2) for the pe23 riod of review, the cable operator shall reim24 burse the franchising authority the reasonable 

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1 pendent third party, as determined by the Com2 mission, with respect to such fee. The costs of 

3 any contingency fee arrangement between the 

4 franchising authority and the independent re5 viewer shall not be subject to reimbursement. 

6 ‘‘(B) The Commission shall determine by 

7 rule the minimum percentage underpayment 

8 that requires cost reimbursement under sub9 paragraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—Any fee that is not reviewed 

11 by a franchising authority within 3 years after it is 

12 paid or remitted shall not be subject to later review 

13 by the franchising authority under this subsection 

14 and shall be deemed accepted in full payment by the 

15 franchising authority. 

16 ‘‘(n) ACCESS TO PROGRAMMING FOR SHARED FA17 CILITIES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A cable programming ven19 dor in which a cable operator has an attributable in20 terest shall not deny a cable operator with a national 

21 franchise under this section access to video program22 ming solely because such cable operator uses a 

23 headend for its cable system that is also used, under 

24 a shared ownership or leasing agreement, as the 

25 headend for another cable system. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—The term ‘cable program2 ming vendor’ means a person engaged in the produc3 tion, creation, or wholesale distribution for sale of 

4 video programming which is primarily intended for 

5 the direct receipt by cable operators for their re6 transmission to cable subscribers. 

7 ‘‘(o) GROSS REVENUES.—As used in this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

9 and (3), the term ‘gross revenues’ means all consid10 eration of any kind or nature, including cash, cred11 its, property, and in-kind contributions (services or 

12 goods) received by the cable operator from the provi13 sion of cable service within the franchise area. 

14 ‘‘(2) INCLUDED ITEMS.—Subject to paragraph 

15 (3), the term ‘gross revenues’ shall include the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(A) all charges and fees paid by sub18 scribers for the provision of cable service, in19 cluding fees attributable to cable service when 

20 sold individually or as part of a package or bun21 dle, or functionally integrated, with services 

22 other than cable service; 

23 ‘‘(B) any franchise fee imposed on the 

24 cable operator that is passed on to subscribers; 


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1 ‘‘(C) compensation received by the cable 

2 operator for promotion or exhibition of any 

3 products or services over the cable service, such 

4 as on ‘home shopping’ or similar programming; 

5 ‘‘(D) revenue received by the cable oper6 ator as compensation for carriage of video pro7 gramming or other programming service on 

8 that operator’s cable service; 

9 ‘‘(E) all revenue derived from the cable op10 erator’s cable service pursuant to compensation 

11 arrangements for advertising; and 

12 ‘‘(F) any advertising commissions paid to 

13 an affiliated third party for cable services ad14 vertising. 

15 ‘‘(3) EXCLUDED ITEMS.—The term ‘gross reve16 nues’ shall not include the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) any revenue not actually received, 

18 even if billed, such as bad debt net of any re19 coveries of bad debt; 

20 ‘‘(B) refunds, rebates, credits, or discounts 

21 to subscribers or a municipality to the extent 

22 not already offset by subparagraph (A) and to 

23 the extent such refund, rebate, credit, or dis24 count is attributable to the cable service; 


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1 ‘‘(C) subject to paragraph (4), any reve2 nues received by the cable operator or its affili3 ates from the provision of services or capabili4 ties other than cable service, including tele5 communications services, Internet access serv6 ices, and services, capabilities, and applications 

7 that may be sold as part of a package or bun8 dle, or functionally integrated, with cable serv9 ice; 

10 ‘‘(D) any revenues received by the cable 

11 operator or its affiliates for the provision of di12 rectory or Internet advertising, including yellow 

13 pages, white pages, banner advertisement, and 

14 electronic publishing; 

15 ‘‘(E) any amounts attributable to the pro16 vision of cable service to customers at no 

17 charge, including the provision of such service 

18 to public institutions without charge; 

19 ‘‘(F) any tax, fee, or assessment of general 

20 applicability imposed on the customer or the 

21 transaction by a Federal, State, or local govern22 ment or any other governmental entity, col23 lected by the provider, and required to be remit24 ted to the taxing entity, including sales and use 

25 taxes and utility user taxes; 


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1 ‘‘(G) any forgone revenue from the provi2 sion of cable service at no charge to any person, 

3 except that any forgone revenue exchanged for 

4 trades, barters, services, or other items of value 

5 shall be included in gross revenue; 

6 ‘‘(H) sales of capital assets or surplus 

7 equipment; 

8 ‘‘(I) reimbursement by programmers of 

9 marketing costs actually incurred by the cable 

10 operator for the introduction of new program11 ming; and 

12 ‘‘(J) the sale of cable services for resale to 

13 the extent the purchaser certifies in writing 

14 that it will resell the service and pay a franchise 

15 fee with respect thereto. 

16 ‘‘(4) FUNCTIONALLY INTEGRATED SERVICES.— 

17 In the case of a cable service that is bundled or inte18 grated functionally with other services, capabilities, 

19 or applications, the portion of the cable operator’s 

20 revenue attributable to such other services, capabili21 ties, or applications shall be included in gross rev22 enue unless the cable operator can reasonably iden23 tify the division or exclusion of such revenue from 

24 its books and records that are kept in the regular 

25 course of business. 


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1 ‘‘(5) AFFILIATE REVENUE.—Revenue of an af2 filiate shall be included in the calculation of gross 

3 revenues to the extent the treatment of such revenue 

4 as revenue of the affiliate has the effect (whether in5 tentional or unintentional) of evading the payment 

6 of franchise fees which would otherwise be paid for 

7 cable service. 

8 ‘‘(6) AFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this 

9 section is intended to limit a franchising authority’s 

10 rights pursuant to section 622(h). 

11 ‘‘(p) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

12 this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) CABLE OPERATOR.—The term ‘cable oper14 ator’ has the meaning provided in section 602(5) ex15 cept that such term also includes a person or group 

16 with a national franchise under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) FRANCHISE FEE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) The term ‘franchise fee’ includes any 

19 fee or assessment of any kind imposed by a 

20 franchising authority or other governmental en21 tity on a person or group providing cable serv22 ice in a franchise area under this section, or on 

23 a subscriber of such person or group, or both, 

24 solely because of their status as such. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The term ‘franchise fee’ does not in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(i) any tax, fee, or assessment of 

4 general applicability (including any such 

5 tax, fee, or assessment imposed on both 

6 utilities and a person or group providing 

7 cable service in a franchise area under this 

8 section (or the services of such person or 

9 group) but not including a fee or assess10 ment which is unduly discriminatory 

11 against such person or group or the sub12 scribers of such person or group); 

13 ‘‘(ii) any fee assessed under sub14 section (e)(2) for support of public, edu15 cational, and governmental use and institu16 tional networks (as such term is defined in 

17 section 611(f)); 

18 ‘‘(iii) requirements or charges under 

19 subsection (f)(2) for the management of 

20 public rights-of-way, including payments 

21 for bonds, security funds, letters of credit, 

22 insurance, indemnification, penalties, or 

23 liquidated damages; or 

24 ‘‘(iv) any fee imposed under title 17, 

25 United States Code. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.—The term 

2 ‘Internet access service’ means a service that enables 

3 users to access content, information, electronic mail, 

4 or other services offered over the Internet. 

5 ‘‘(4) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN6 MENT.—The term ‘unit of general local government’ 

7 means— 

8 ‘‘(A) a county, township, city, or political 

9 subdivision of a county, township, or city; 

10 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; or 

11 ‘‘(C) the recognized governing body of an 

12 Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village that car13 ries out substantial governmental duties and 

14 powers.’’. 

15 (b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—The Federal 

16 Communications Commission shall prescribe regulations 

17 to implement the amendment made by subsection (a) with18 in 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

20 Section 602 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

21 U.S.C. 522) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (4), by inserting before the 

23 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, or its equiva24 lent as determined by the Commission’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (5)(A), by inserting ‘‘(regard2 less of whether such person or group provides such 

3 service separately or combined with a telecommuni4 cations service or information service)’’ after ‘‘over 

5 a cable system’’; and 

6 (3) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(6) the term ‘cable service’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A)(i) the one-way transmission to sub10 scribers of (I) video programming, or (II) other 

11 programming service; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) subscriber interaction, if any, which is 

13 required for the selection or use of such video 

14 programming or other programming service; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the transmission to subscribers of 

16 video programming or other programming serv17 ice provided through wireline facilities located 

18 at least in part in the public rights-of-way, 

19 without regard to delivery technology, including 

20 Internet protocol technology, except to the ex21 tent that such video programming or other pro22 gramming service is provided as part of— 

23 ‘‘(i) a commercial mobile service (as 

24 such term is defined in section 332(d)); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an Internet access service (as 

2 such term is defined in section 630(p)).’’. 

3 SEC. 103. MONITORING AND REPORTING. 

4 (a) REPORT ON CABLE SERVICE DEPLOYMENT.— 

5 The Federal Communications Commission shall, com6 mencing not later than one year after the date of enact7 ment of this Act, issue a report annually on the deploy8 ment of cable service. In its report, the Commission shall 

9 describe in detail— 

10 (1) with respect to deployment by new cable op11 erators— 

12 (A) the progress of deployment of such 

13 service within the telephone service area of 

14 cable operators, if the operator is also an in15 cumbent local exchange carrier, including a 

16 comparison with the progress of deployment of 

17 broadband services not defined as cable services 

18 within such telephone service area; 

19 (B) the number of franchise areas in which 

20 such service is being deployed and offered; 

21 (C) where such service is not being de22 ployed and offered; and 

23 (D) the number and locations of franchise 

24 areas in which the cable operator is serving only 


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1 a portion of the franchise area, and the extent 

2 of such service within the franchise area; 

3 (2) the number and locations of franchise areas 

4 in which a cable operator with a franchise under sec5 tion 621 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

6 U.S.C. 541) on the date of enactment of this Act 

7 withdraws service from any portion of the franchise 

8 area for which it previously offered service, and the 

9 extent of such withdrawal of service within the fran10 chise area; 

11 (3) the rates generally charged for cable service; 

12 (4) the rates charged by overlapping, competing 

13 multichannel video programming distributors and by 

14 competing cable operators for comparable service or 

15 cable service; 

16 (5) the average household income of those fran17 chise areas or portions of franchise areas where 

18 cable services is being offered, and the average 

19 household income of those franchise areas, or por20 tions of franchise areas, where cable service is not 

21 being offered; 

22 (6) the proportion of rural households to urban 

23 households, as defined by the Bureau of the Census, 

24 in those franchise areas or portions of franchise 

25 areas where cable service is being offered, and the 


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1 proportion of rural households to urban households 

2 in those franchise areas or portions of franchise 

3 areas where cable service is not being offered, in4 cluding a State-by-State breakdown of such data 

5 and a comparison with the overall ratio of rural and 

6 urban households in each State; and 

7 (7) a comparison of the services and rates in 

8 areas served by national franchisees under section 

9 630 of the Communications Act of 1934 (as added 

10 by section 101 of this Act) and the services and 

11 rates in other areas. 

12 (b) CABLE OPERATOR REPORTS.—The Federal Com13 munications Commission is authorized— 

14 (1) to require cable operators to report to the 

15 Commission all of the information that the Commis16 sion needs to compile the report required by this sec17 tion; and 

18 (2) to require cable operators to file the same 

19 information with the relevant franchising authorities 

20 and State commissions. 


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1 TITLE II—ENFORCEMENT OF 

2 BROADBAND POLICY STATE3 MENT 

4 SEC. 201. ENFORCEMENT OF BROADBAND POLICY STATE5 MENT. 

6 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

7 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 715. ENFORCEMENT OF BROADBAND POLICY STATE10 MENT. 

11 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Commission shall have the 

12 authority to enforce the Commission’s broadband policy 

13 statement and the principles incorporated therein. 

14 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall be en16 forced by the Commission under titles IV and V. A 

17 violation of the Commission’s broadband policy 

18 statement or the principles incorporated therein 

19 shall be treated as a violation of this Act. 

20 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM FORFEITURE PENALTY.—For 

21 purposes of section 503, the maximum forfeiture 

22 penalty applicable to a violation described in para23 graph (1) of this subsection shall be $500,000 for 

24 each violation. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADJUDICATORY AUTHORITY.—The Com2 mission shall have exclusive authority to adjudicate 

3 any complaint alleging a violation of the broadband 

4 policy statement and the principles incorporated 

5 therein. The Commission shall complete an adjudica6 tory proceeding under this subsection not later than 

7 90 days after receipt of the complaint. If, upon com8 pletion of an adjudicatory proceeding pursuant to 

9 this section, the Commission determines that such a 

10 violation has occurred, the Commission shall have 

11 authority to adopt an order to require the entity 

12 subject to the complaint to comply with the 

13 broadband policy statement and the principles incor14 porated therein. Such authority shall be in addition 

15 to the authority specified in paragraph (1) to en16 force this section under titles IV and V. In addition, 

17 the Commission shall have authority to adopt proce18 dures for the adjudication of complaints alleging a 

19 violation of the broadband policy statement or prin20 ciples incorporated therein. 

21 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

22 (1), the Commission’s authority to enforce the 

23 broadband policy statement and the principles incor24 porated therein does not include authorization for 

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1 ulations regarding enforcement of the broadband 

2 policy statement and the principles incorporated 

3 therein, with the sole exception of the authority to 

4 adopt procedures for the adjudication of complaints, 

5 as provided in paragraph (3). 

6 ‘‘(c) STUDY.—Within 180 days after the date of en7 actment of this section, the Commission shall conduct, and 

8 submit to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce 

9 and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

10 Transportation, a study regarding whether the objectives 

11 of the broadband policy statement and the principles in12 corporated therein are being achieved. 

13 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

14 term ‘Commission’s broadband policy statement’ means 

15 the policy statement adopted on August 5, 2005, and 

16 issued on September 23, 2005, In the Matters of Appro17 priate Framework for Broadband Access to the Internet 

18 over Wireline Facilities, and other Matters (FCC 05–151; 

19 CC Docket No. 02–33; CC Docket No. 01–337; CC Dock20 et Nos. 95–20, 98–10; GN Docket No. 00–185; CS Dock21 et No. 02–52).’’. 

22 TITLE III—VOIP/911 

23 SEC. 301. EMERGENCY SERVICES; INTERCONNECTION. 

24 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

25 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is further amended by adding after 


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1 section 715 (as added by section 201 of this Act) the fol2 lowing new sections: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 716. EMERGENCY SERVICES. 

4 ‘‘(a) 911 AND E–911 SERVICES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each VOIP service pro6 vider has a duty to ensure that 911 and E–911 serv7 ices are provided to subscribers of VOIP services. 

8 ‘‘(2) USE OF EXISTING REGULATIONS.—A 

9 VOIP service provider that complies with the Com10 mission’s regulations requiring providers of VOIP 

11 service to supply 911 and E911 capabilities to their 

12 customers (Report and Order in WC Docket Nos. 

13 04–36 and 05–196) and that are in effect on the 

14 date of enactment of this section shall be considered 

15 to be in compliance with the requirements of this 

16 section, other than subsection (c), until such regula17 tions are modified or superseded by subsequent reg18 ulations. 

19 ‘‘(b) NON-DISCRIMINATORY ACCESS TO CAPABILI20 TIES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ACCESS.—Each incumbent local exchange 

22 carrier (as such term is defined in section 251(h)) 

23 or government entity with ownership or control of 

24 the necessary E–911 infrastructure shall provide any 

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1 inatory access to such infrastructure. Such carrier 

2 or entity shall provide access to the infrastructure at 

3 just and reasonable, nondiscriminatory rates, terms, 

4 and conditions. Such access shall be consistent with 

5 industry standards established by the National 

6 Emergency Number Association or other applicable 

7 industry standards organizations. 

8 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—The Commission or a 

9 State commission may enforce the requirements of 

10 this subsection and the Commission’s regulations 

11 thereunder. A VOIP service provider may obtain ac12 cess to such infrastructure pursuant to section 717 

13 by asserting the rights described in such section. 

14 ‘‘(c) NEW CUSTOMERS.—A VOIP service provider 

15 shall make 911 service available to new customers within 

16 a reasonable time in accordance with the following require17 ments: 

18 ‘‘(1) CONNECTION TO SELECTIVE ROUTER.— 

19 For all new customers not within the geographic 

20 areas where a VOIP service provider can imme21 diately provide 911 service to the geographically ap22 propriate PSAP, a VOIP service provider, or its 

23 third party vendor, shall have no more than 30 days 

24 from the date the VOIP provider has acquired a cus25 tomer to order service providing connectivity to the 


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1 selective router so that 911 service, or E911 service 

2 where the PSAP is capable of receiving and proc3 essing such information, can be provided through 

4 the selective router. 

5 ‘‘(2) INTERIM SERVICE.—For all new customers 

6 not within the geographic areas where the VOIP 

7 service provider can immediately provide 911 service 

8 to the geographically appropriate PSAP, a VOIP 

9 service provider shall provide 911 service through— 

10 ‘‘(A) an arrangement mutually agreed to 

11 by the VOIP service provider and the PSAP or 

12 PSAP governing authority; or 

13 ‘‘(B) an emergency response center with 

14 national call routing capabilities. 

15 Such service shall be provided 24 hours a day from 

16 the date a VOIP service provider has acquired a cus17 tomer until the VOIP service provider can provide 

18 911 service to the geographically appropriate PSAP. 

19 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—Before providing service to any 

20 new customer not within the geographic areas where 

21 the VOIP service provider can immediately provide 

22 911 service to the geographically appropriate PSAP, 

23 a VOIP service provider shall provide such customer 

24 with clear notice that 911 service will be available 

25 only as described in paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(4) RESTRICTION ON ACQUISITION OF NEW

2 CUSTOMERS.—A VOIP service provider may not ac3 quire new customers within a geographic area served 

4 by a selective router if, within 180 days of first ac5 quiring a new customer in the area served by the se6 lective router, the VOIP service provider does not 

7 provide 911 service, or E911 service where the 

8 PSAP is capable of receiving and processing such in9 formation, to the geographically appropriate PSAP 

10 for all existing customers served by the selective 

11 router. 

12 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT: NO FIRST WARNINGS.— 

13 Paragraph (5) of section 503(b) shall not apply to 

14 the assessment of forfeiture penalties for violations 

15 of this subsection or the regulations thereunder. 

16 ‘‘(d) STATE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act or any 

17 Commission regulation or order shall prevent the imposi18 tion on or collection from a VOIP service provider, of any 

19 fee or charge specifically designated or presented as dedi20 cated by a State, political subdivision thereof, or Indian 

21 tribe on an equitable, and non-discriminatory basis for the 

22 support of 911 and E–911 services if no portion of the 

23 revenue derived from such fee or charge is obligated or 

24 expended for any purpose other than support of 911 and 

25 E–911 services or enhancements of such services. 


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1 ‘‘(e) FEASIBILITY.—In establishing requirements or 

2 obligations under subsections (a) and (b), the Commission 

3 shall ensure that such standards impose requirements or 

4 obligations on VOIP service providers and entities with 

5 ownership or control of necessary E–911 infrastructure 

6 that the Commission determines are technologically and 

7 operationally feasible. In determining the requirements 

8 and obligations that are technologically and operationally 

9 feasible, the Commission shall take into consideration 

10 available industry technological and operational standards. 

11 ‘‘(f) PROGRESS REPORTS.—To the extent that the 

12 Commission concludes that it is not technologically or 

13 operationally feasible for VOIP service providers to comply 

14 with E–911 requirements or obligations, then the Com15 mission shall submit reports to the Committee on Energy 

16 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

18 the Senate on the progress in attaining and deploying E– 

19 911 service. Such reports shall be submitted semiannually 

20 until the Commission concludes that it is technologically 

21 and operationally feasible for all VOIP service providers 

22 to comply with E–911 requirements and obligations. Such 

23 reports may include any recommendations the Commission 

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1 gency services to TCP/IP protocol or other advanced serv2 ices. 

3 ‘‘(g) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Commission 

4 shall have the authority to compile a list of PSAP contact 

5 information, testing procedures, and classes and types of 

6 services supported by PSAPs, or other information con7 cerning the necessary E–911 infrastructure, for the pur8 pose of assisting providers in complying with the require9 ments of this section. 

10 ‘‘(h) EMERGENCY ROUTING NUMBER ADMINIS11 TRATOR.—Within 30 days after the date of enactment of 

12 this section, the Federal Communications Commission 

13 shall establish an emergency routing number adminis14 trator to enable VOIP service providers to acquire non15 dialable pseudo-automatic number identification numbers 

16 for 9–1-1 routing purposes on a national scale. The Com17 mission may adopt such rules and practices as are nec18 essary to guide such administrator in the fair and expedi19 tious assignment of these numbers. 

20 ‘‘(i) EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) NOTICE PRIOR TO INSTALLATION OR NUM22 BER ACTIVATION OF VOIP SERVICE.—Prior to instal23 lation or number activation of VOIP service for a 

24 customer, a VOIP service provider shall provide 

25 clear and conspicuous notice to the customer that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) such customer should arrange with 

2 his or her emergency response system provider, 

3 if any, to test such system after installation; 

4 ‘‘(B) such customer should notify his or 

5 her emergency response system provider after 

6 VOIP service is installed; and 

7 ‘‘(C) a battery backup is required for cus8 tomer premises equipment installed in connec9 tion with the VOIP service in order for the sig10 naling of such system to function in the event 

11 of a power outage. 

12 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection: 

13 ‘‘(A) The term ‘emergency response sys14 tem’ means an alarm or security system, or per15 sonal security or medical monitoring system, 

16 that is connected to an emergency response cen17 ter by means of a telecommunications carrier or 

18 VOIP service provider. 

19 ‘‘(B) The term ‘emergency response center’ 

20 means an entity that monitors transmissions 

21 from an emergency response system. 

22 ‘‘(j) MIGRATION TO IP-ENABLED EMERGENCY NET23 WORK.— 

24 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL REPORT.—No more than 18 

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1 tion, the National 911 Implementation and Coordi2 nation Office shall develop a report to Congress on 

3 migrating to a national IP-enabled emergency net4 work capable of receiving and responding to all cit5 izen activated emergency communications. 

6 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report re7 quired by paragraph (1) shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) outline the potential benefits of such 

9 a migration; 

10 ‘‘(B) identify barriers that must be over11 come and funding mechanisms to address those 

12 barriers; 

13 ‘‘(C) include a proposed timetable, an out14 line of costs and potential savings; 

15 ‘‘(D) provide recommendations on specific 

16 legislative language, 

17 ‘‘(E) provide recommendations on any leg18 islative changes, including updating definitions, 

19 to facilitate a national IP-enabled emergency 

20 network; and 

21 ‘‘(F) assess, collect, and analyze the expe22 riences of the PSAPs and related public safety 

23 authorities who are conducting trial deploy24 ments of IP-enabled emergency networks as of 

25 the date of enactment of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the report 

2 required by paragraph (1), the Office shall consult 

3 with representatives of the public safety community, 

4 technology and telecommunications providers, and 

5 others it deems appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(k) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall pre8 scribe regulations to implement this section within 

9 120 days after the date of enactment of this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section 

11 shall be construed to permit the Commission to issue 

12 regulations that require or impose a specific tech13 nology or technological standard. 

14 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) VOIP SERVICE.—The term ‘VOIP service’ 

16 means a service that— 

17 ‘‘(A) provides real-time 2-way voice com18 munications transmitted through customer 

19 premises equipment using TCP/IP protocol, or 

20 a successor protocol (including when the voice 

21 communication is converted to or from TCP/IP 

22 protocol by the VOIP service provider and 

23 transmitted to the subscriber without use of cir24 cuit switching), for a fee; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is offered to the public, or such class2 es of users as to be effectively available to the 

3 public (whether part of a bundle of services or 

4 separately); and 

5 ‘‘(C) has the capability so that the service 

6 can originate traffic to, and terminate traffic 

7 from, the public switched telephone network. 

8 ‘‘(2) VOIP SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

9 ‘VOIP service provider’ means any person who pro10 vides or offers to provide a VOIP service. 

11 ‘‘(3) NECESSARY E–911 INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

12 The term ‘necessary E–911 infrastructure’ means 

13 the selective routers, selective router databases, 

14 automatic location information databases, master 

15 street address guides, trunk lines between selective 

16 routers and PSAPs, trunk lines between automatic 

17 location information databases and PSAPs, and 

18 other 911 and E–911 equipment, facilities, data19 bases, interfaces, and related capabilities specified 

20 by the Commission. 

21 ‘‘(4) NON-DIALABLE PSEUDO-AUTOMATIC NUM22 BER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—The term ‘non23 dialable pseudo-automatic number identification 

24 number’ means a number, consisting of the same 

25 number of digits as numbers used for automatic 


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1 number identification, that is not a North American 

2 Numbering Plan telephone directory number and 

3 that may be used in place of an automatic number 

4 identification number to convey special meaning. 

5 The special meaning assigned to the non-dialable 

6 pseudo-automatic number identification number is 

7 determined by nationally standard agreements, or by 

8 individual agreements, as necessary, between the 

9 system originating the call, intermediate systems 

10 handling and routing the call, and the destination 

11 system. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 717. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF VOIP SERVICE 

13 PROVIDERS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FACILITIES-BASED VOIP SERVICE PRO16 VIDERS.—A facilities-based VOIP service provider 

17 shall have the same rights, duties, and obligations as 

18 a requesting telecommunications carrier under sec19 tions 251 and 252, if the provider elects to assert 

20 such rights. 

21 ‘‘(2) VOIP SERVICE PROVIDERS.—A VOIP serv22 ice provider that is not a facilities-based VOIP serv23 ice provider shall have only the same rights, duties, 

24 and obligations as a requesting telecommunications 


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1 carrier under sections 251(b), 251(e), and 252, if 

2 the provider elects to assert such rights. 

3 ‘‘(3) CLARIFYING TREATMENT OF VOIP SERV4 ICE.—A telecommunications carrier may use inter5 connection, services, and network elements obtained 

6 pursuant to sections 251 and 252 from an incum7 bent local exchange carrier (as such term is defined 

8 in section 251(h)) to exchange VOIP service traffic 

9 with such incumbent local exchange carrier regard10 less of the provider originating such VOIP service 

11 traffic, including an affiliate of such telecommuni12 cations carrier. 

13 ‘‘(b) DISABLED ACCESS.—A VOIP service provider 

14 or a manufacturer of VOIP service equipment shall have 

15 the same rights, duties, and obligations as a telecommuni16 cations carrier or telecommunications equipment manufac17 turer, respectively, under sections 225, 255, and 710 of 

18 the Act. Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

19 Act, the Commission, in consultation with the Architec20 tural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 

21 shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to imple22 ment this section. In implementing this subsection, the 

23 Commission shall consider whether a VOIP service pro24 vider or manufacturer of VOIP service equipment pri25 marily markets such service or equipment as a substitute 


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1 for telecommunications service, telecommunications equip2 ment, customer premises equipment, or telecommuni3 cations relay services. 

4 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

5 ‘‘(1) FACILITIES-BASED VOIP SERVICE PRO6 VIDER.—The term ‘facilities-based VOIP service 

7 provider’ means an entity that provides VOIP serv8 ice over a physical facility that terminates at the end 

9 user’s location and which such entity or an affiliate 

10 owns or over which such entity or affiliate has exclu11 sive use. An entity or affiliate shall be considered a 

12 facilities-based VOIP service provider only in those 

13 geographic areas where such terminating physical 

14 facilities are located. 

15 ‘‘(2) VOIP SERVICE PROVIDER; VOIP SERVICE.— 

16 The terms ‘VOIP service provider’ and ‘VOIP serv17 ice’ have the meanings given such terms by section 

18 716(j).’’. 

19 TITLE IV—MUNICIPAL 

20 PROVISION OF SERVICES 

21 SEC. 401. GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE SERV22 ICES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Communications Act 

24 of 1934 nor any State statute, regulation, or other State 

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1 hibiting any public provider of telecommunications service, 

2 information service, or cable service (as such terms are 

3 defined in sections 3 and 602 of such Act) from providing 

4 such services to any person or entity. 

5 (b) COMPETITION NEUTRALITY.—Any State or polit6 ical subdivision thereof, or any agency, authority, or in7 strumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, 

8 that is, owns, controls, or is otherwise affiliated with a 

9 public provider of telecommunications service, information 

10 service, or cable service shall not grant any preference or 

11 advantage to any such provider. Such entity shall apply 

12 its ordinances, rules, and policies, including those relating 

13 to the use of public rights-of-way, permitting, performance 

14 bonding, and reporting without discrimination in favor of 

15 any such provider as compared to other providers of such 

16 services. 

17 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS NOT AF18 FECTED.—Nothing in this section shall exempt a public 

19 provider from any law or regulation that applies to pro20 viders of telecommunications service, information service, 

21 or cable service. 

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

23 of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 

24 Commission shall submit to the Congress a report on the 

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1 formation service, and cable service by States and political 

2 subdivisions thereof. 

3 (e) DEFINITION OF PUBLIC PROVIDER.—For pur4 poses of this section, the term ‘‘public provider’’ means 

5 a State or political subdivision thereof, or any agency, au6 thority, or instrumentality of a State or political subdivi7 sion thereof, that provides telecommunications service, in8 formation service, or cable service, or any entity that is 

9 owned, controlled, or is otherwise affiliated with such 

10 State or political subdivision thereof, or agency, authority, 

11 or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision there12 of. 

13 TITLE V—BROADBAND SERVICE 

14 SEC. 501. STAND-ALONE BROADBAND SERVICE. 

15 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

16 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is further amended by adding after 

17 section 717 (as added by section 301 of this Act) the fol18 lowing new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 718. STAND-ALONE BROADBAND SERVICE. 

20 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—A broadband service provider 

21 shall not require a subscriber, as a condition on the pur22 chase of any broadband service the provider offers, to pur23 chase any cable service, telecommunications service, or 

24 VOIP service offered by the provider. 

25 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘broadband service’ means a two2 way transmission service that connects to the Inter3 net and transmits information at an average rate of 

4 at least 200 kilobits per second in at least one direc5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘broadband service provider’ 

7 means a person or entity that controls, operates, or 

8 resells and controls any facility used to provide 

9 broadband service to the public, by whatever tech10 nology and whether provided for a fee, in exchange 

11 for an explicit benefit, or for free. 

12 ‘‘(3) The term ‘VOIP service’ has the meaning 

13 given such term by section 716(j). ’’. 

14 SEC. 502. STUDY OF INTERFERENCE POTENTIAL OF 

15 BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE SYSTEMS. 

16 Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

17 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall con18 duct, and submit to the Committee on Energy and Com19 merce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

20 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 

21 a study of the interference potential of broadband over 

22 power line systems. 

23 TITLE VI—SEAMLESS MOBILITY 

24 SEC. 601. DEVELOPMENT OF SEAMLESS MOBILITY. 

25 (a) STREAMLINED REVIEW.— 


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1 (1) The Commission shall further the develop2 ment of seamless mobility. 

3 (2) Within 120 days after the date of enact4 ment of this Act, the Commission shall implement a 

5 process for streamlined review and authorization of 

6 multi-mode devices that permit communication 

7 across multiple Internet protocol-enabled broadband 

8 platforms, facilities, and networks. 

9 (b) STUDY.—The Commission shall undertake an in10 quiry to identify barriers to the achievement of seamless 

11 mobility. Within 180 days after the date of enactment of 

12 this Act, the Commission shall report to the Congress on 

13 its findings and its recommendations for steps to eliminate 

14 those barriers. 

15 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

16 term ‘‘seamless mobility’’ means the ability of a commu17 nications device to select between and utilize multiple 

18 Internet protocol-enabled technology platforms, facilities, 

19 and networks in a real-time manner to provide a unified 

20 service. 


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Union Calendar No. 259 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5252 

[Report No. 109

–470] 

A BILL 

To promote the deployment of broadband networks 

M

and services. 

AY 17, 2006 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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