I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5252 

To promote the deployment of broadband networks and services. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2006 

Mr. BARTON of Texas (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. UPTON, Mr. PICKERING, 

Mr. STEARNS, Mr. BUYER, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. 

NORWOOD, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mrs. MYRICK, and Mr. BURGESS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To promote the deployment of broadband networks and 

services. 

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 


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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. 

1 TITLE I—NATIONAL CABLE 

2 FRANCHISING 

3 SEC. 101. NATIONAL CABLE FRANCHISING. 

4 (a) AMENDMENT.—Part III of title VI of the Com5 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 541 et seq.) is 

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

7 ‘‘SEC. 630. NATIONAL CABLE FRANCHISING. 

8 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL FRANCHISES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ELECTION.—A person or group that is eli10 gible under subsection (d) may elect to obtain a na11 tional franchise under this section as authority to 

12 provide cable service in a franchise area in lieu of 

13 any other authority under Federal, State, or local 

14 law to provide cable service in such franchise area. 

15 A person or group may not provide cable service 


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1 under the authority of this section in a franchise 

2 area unless such person or group has a franchise 

3 under this section that is effective with respect to 

4 such franchise area. A franchising authority may not 

5 require any person or group that has a national 

6 franchise under this section in effect with respect to 

7 a franchise area to obtain a franchise under section 

8 621 or any other law to provide cable service in such 

9 franchise area. 

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

11 franchise under this section as authority to provide 

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

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) file with the Commission a certifi15 cation for a national franchise containing the 

16 information required by paragraph (3) with re17 spect to such franchise area, if such person or 

18 group has not previously obtained a national 

19 franchise; or 

20 ‘‘(B) file with the Commission a subse21 quent certification for additional franchise areas 

22 containing the information required by para23 graph (3) with respect to such additional fran24 chise areas, if such person or group has pre25 viously obtained a national franchise. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF CERTIFICATION.—Such cer2 tification shall be in such form as the Commission 

3 shall require by regulation and shall contain— 

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

5 group is offering or intends to offer cable serv6 ice; 

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

8 the directors and principal executive officers, or 

9 the persons performing similar functions, of 

10 such person or group; 

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

12 principal business office; 

13 ‘‘(D) the name, business address, elec14 tronic mail address, and telephone and fax 

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

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

17 that such person or group is eligible under sub18 section (d) to obtain a national franchise under 

19 this section; 

20 ‘‘(F) an identification of each franchise 

21 area in which such person or group intends to 

22 offer cable service pursuant to such certifi23 cation, which franchise area shall be— 

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

25 which a cable operator is, on the date of 


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1 the filing of such certification, authorized 

2 to provide cable service under section 621 

3 or any other law (including this section); 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(ii) a contiguous geographic area 

6 that covers the entirety of the jurisdiction 

7 of a unit of general local government, ex8 cept that— 

9 ‘‘(I) if the geographic area within 

10 the jurisdiction of such unit of general 

11 local government contains a franchise 

12 area in which a cable operator is, on 

13 such date, authorized to provide cable 

14 service under section 621 or any other 

15 law, the contiguous geographic area 

16 identified in the certification under 

17 this clause as a franchise area shall 

18 not include the area contained in the 

19 franchise area of such cable operator; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) if such contiguous geo22 graphic area includes areas that are, 

23 respectively, within the jurisdiction of 

24 different franchising authorities, the 


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1 certification shall specify each such 

2 area as a separate franchise area; 

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

4 group transmitted, or will transmit on the day 

5 of filing such declaration, a copy of such certifi6 cation to the franchising authority for each 

7 franchise area for which such person or group 

8 is filing a certification to offer cable service 

9 under this section; 

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

11 that the person or group will comply with the 

12 rights-of-way requirements of the franchising 

13 authority under subsection (f); and 

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

15 that— 

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

17 with all Commission consumer protection 

18 and customer service rules under section 

19 632(b) and subsection (g) of this section; 

20 and 

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

22 such standards may be enforced by the 

23 Commission or by the franchising author24 ity in accordance with subsection (g) of 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LOCAL NOTIFICATION; PRESERVATION OF

2 OPPORTUNITY TO NEGOTIATE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) COPY TO FRANCHISING AUTHOR4 ITY.—On the day of filing any certification 

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

6 area, the person or group shall transmit a copy 

7 of such certification to the franchising authority 

8 for such area. 

9 ‘‘(B) NEGOTIATED FRANCHISE AGREE10 MENTS PERMITTED.—Nothing in this section 

11 shall prevent a person or group from negoti12 ating a franchise agreement or any other au13 thority to provide cable service in a franchise 

14 area under section 621 or any other law. Upon 

15 entry into any such negotiated franchise agree16 ment, such negotiated franchise agreement shall 

17 apply in lieu of any national franchise held by 

18 that person or group under this section for such 

19 franchise area. 

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

21 or group that files a certification under this section 

22 shall update any information contained in such cer23 tification that is no longer accurate and correct. 

24 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF CERTIFI25 CATIONS.—The Commission shall provide for the 


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1 public availability on the Commission’s Internet 

2 website or other electronic facility of all current cer3 tifications filed under this section. 

4 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVENESS; DURATION.— 

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

6 under this section shall be effective with respect to 

7 any franchise area 30 days after the date of the fil8 ing of a completed certification under subsection 

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

10 ‘‘(2) DURATION.— 

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

12 section that applies to a franchise area shall be 

13 effective for that franchise area for a term of 

14 10 years. 

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

16 section for a franchise area shall be renewed 

17 automatically upon expiration of the 10-year 

18 period described in subparagraph (A). 

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

20 a franchising authority in a franchise area, a 

21 cable operator authorized under this section to 

22 provide cable service in such franchise area 

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

24 applicable under subparagraph (A) to the cable 

25 operator’s franchise for such franchise area, 


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1 participate in a public hearing on the cable op2 erator’s performance in the franchise area, in3 cluding the cable operator’s compliance with the 

4 requirements of this title. The hearing shall af5 ford the public the opportunity to participate 

6 for the purpose of identifying cable-related com7 munity needs and interests and assessing the 

8 operator’s performance. The cable operator 

9 shall provide notice to its subscribers of the 

10 hearing at least 30 days prior to the hearing. 

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

12 this section for a franchise area may be revoked 

13 by the Commission— 

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

15 any Federal or State law, or any Commis16 sion regulation, relating to the provision of 

17 cable service in such franchise area; 

18 ‘‘(ii) for false statements or material 

19 omissions knowingly made in any filing 

20 with the Commission relating to the provi21 sion of cable service in such franchise area; 

22 ‘‘(iii) for willful or repeated violation 

23 of the rights-of-way management laws or 

24 regulations of any franchising authority in 

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1 sion of cable service in such franchise area; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(iv) for willful or repeated violation 

4 of the antidiscrimination requirement of 

5 subsection (h) with respect to such fran6 chise area. 

7 ‘‘(E) NOTICE.—The Commission shall 

8 send a notice of such revocation to each fran9 chising authority with jurisdiction over the 

10 franchise areas for which the cable operator’s 

11 franchise was revoked. 

12 ‘‘(F) REINSTATEMENT.—After a revoca13 tion under subparagraph (D) of a franchise for 

14 a franchise area of any person or group , the 

15 Commission may refuse to accept for filing a 

16 new certification for authority of such person or 

17 group to provide cable service under this section 

18 in such franchise area until the Commission de19 termines that the basis of such revocation has 

20 been remedied. 

21 ‘‘(G) RETURN TO LOCAL FRANCHISING IF

22 CABLE COMPETITION CEASES.— 

23 ‘‘(i) If only one cable operator is pro24 viding cable service in a franchise area, 

25 and that cable operator obtained a national 


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1 franchise for such franchise area under 

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

3 for such franchise area may file a petition 

4 with the Commission requesting that the 

5 Commission terminate such national fran6 chise for such franchise area. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The Commission shall provide 

8 public notice and opportunity to comment 

9 on such petition. If it finds that the re10 quirements of clause (i) are satisfied, the 

11 Commission shall issue an order granting 

12 such petition. Such order shall take effect 

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

14 other cable operator offers cable service in 

15 such area during that one year. If another 

16 cable operator does offer cable service in 

17 such franchise area during that one year, 

18 the Commission shall rescind such order 

19 and dismiss such petition. 

20 ‘‘(iii) A cable operator whose national 

21 franchise is terminated for such franchise 

22 area under this subparagraph may obtain 

23 new authority to provide cable service in 

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1 tion 621, or any other law, if and when eli2 gible. 

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

4 national franchise shall contain the following require5 ments: 

6 ‘‘(1) FRANCHISE FEE.—A cable operator au7 thorized under this section to provide cable service 

8 in a franchise area shall pay to the franchising au9 thority in such franchise area a franchise fee of up 

10 to 5 percent (as determined by the franchising au11 thority) of such cable operator’s gross revenues from 

12 the provision of cable service under this section in 

13 such franchise area. Such payment shall be assessed 

14 and collected in a manner consistent with section 

15 622 and the definition of gross revenues in this sec16 tion. 

17 ‘‘(2) PEG/I-NET REQUIREMENTS.—A cable op18 erator authorized under this section to provide cable 

19 service in a franchise area shall comply with the re20 quirements of subsection (e). 

21 ‘‘(3) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—A cable operator au22 thorized under this section to provide cable service 

23 in a franchise area shall comply with the rights-of24 way requirements of the franchising authority under 

25 subsection (f). 


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1 ‘‘(4) CONSUMER PROTECTION AND CUSTOMER

2 SERVICE STANDARDS.—A cable operator authorized 

3 under this section to provide cable service in a fran4 chise area shall comply with the consumer protection 

5 and customer service standards established by the 

6 Commission under section 632(b). 

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

8 authorized under this section to provide cable service 

9 in a franchise area shall comply with the regulations 

10 on child pornography promulgated pursuant to sub11 section (i). 

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

13 The following persons or groups are eligible to obtain a 

14 national franchise under this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT OF SERVICE AFTER EN16 ACTMENT.—A person or group that is not providing 

17 cable service in a franchise area on the date of en18 actment of this section under section 621 or any 

19 other law may obtain a national franchise under this 

20 section to provide cable service in such franchise 

21 area. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXISTING PROVIDERS OF CABLE SERV23 ICE.—A person or group that is providing cable 

24 service in a franchise area on the date of enactment 

25 of this section under section 621 or any other law 


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1 may obtain a franchise under this section to provide 

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

3 that the national franchise becomes effective, an4 other person or group is providing cable service 

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

6 such franchise area. 

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

8 USE.— 

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

10 cable operator with a national franchise for a fran11 chise area under this section shall provide channel 

12 capacity for public, educational, and governmental 

13 use that is not less than the channel capacity re14 quired of the cable operator with the most sub15 scribers in such franchise area on the effective date 

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

17 operator in such franchise area on the effective date 

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

19 operator in such franchise area on such date that is 

20 required to provide channel capacity for public, edu21 cational, and governmental use, the cable operator 

22 shall provide the amount of channel capacity for 

23 such use as determined by Commission rule. 

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

25 cable operator with a national franchise under this 


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1 section for a franchise area shall pay an amount 

2 equal to 1 percent of the cable operator’s gross reve3 nues (as such term is defined in this section) in the 

4 franchise area to the franchising authority for the 

5 support of public, educational, and governmental use 

6 and institutional networks (as such term is defined 

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

8 and collected in a manner consistent with section 

9 622, including the authority of the cable operator to 

10 designate that portion of a subscriber’s bill attrib11 utable to such payment. A cable operator that pro12 vided cable service in a franchise area on the date 

13 of enactment of this section and that obtains a na14 tional franchise under this section shall continue to 

15 provide any institutional network that it was re16 quired to provide in such franchise area under sec17 tion 621 or any other law. Notwithstanding section 

18 621(b)(3)(D), a franchising authority may not re19 quire a cable operator franchised under this section 

20 to construct a new institutional network. 

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

22 commencement of a franchise under this section for 

23 a franchise area, a franchising authority may require 

24 a cable operator authorized under such franchise to 

25 increase the channel capacity designated for public, 


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1 educational, or governmental use, and the channel 

2 capacity designated for such use on any institutional 

3 networks required under paragraph (2). Such in4 crease shall not exceed the higher of— 

5 ‘‘(A) one channel; or 

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

7 or governmental channel capacity required of 

8 that operator prior to the increase. 

9 ‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION AND PRODUCTION OF PRO10 GRAMMING.— 

11 ‘‘(A) A cable operator franchised under 

12 this section shall ensure that all subscribers re13 ceive any public, educational, or governmental 

14 programming carried by the cable operator 

15 within the subscriber’s franchise area. 

16 ‘‘(B) The production of any programming 

17 provided under this subsection shall be the re18 sponsibility of the franchising authority. 

19 ‘‘(C) A cable operator franchised under 

20 this section shall be responsible for the trans21 mission from the signal origination point (or 

22 points) of the programming, or from the point 

23 of interconnection with another cable operator 

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

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1 ernmental programming produced by or for the 

2 franchising authority and carried by the cable 

3 operator pursuant to this section. 

4 ‘‘(D) Unless two cable operators otherwise 

5 agree to the terms for interconnection and cost 

6 sharing, such cable operators shall comply with 

7 regulations prescribed by the Commission pro8 viding for— 

9 ‘‘(i) the interconnection between two 

10 cable operators in a franchise area for 

11 transmission of public, educational, or gov12 ernmental programming, without material 

13 deterioration in signal quality or 

14 functionality; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the reasonable allocation of the 

16 costs of such interconnection between such 

17 cable operators. 

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

19 program information for public, educational, or 

20 governmental programming carried under this 

21 subsection in any print or electronic program 

22 guide in the same manner in which it displays 

23 program information for other video program24 ming in the franchise area. The cable operator 

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1 ernmental programming from any navigational 

2 device, guide, or menu containing other video 

3 programming that is available to subscribers in 

4 the franchise area. 

5 ‘‘(f) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.— 

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

7 this section for a franchise area shall be construed 

8 to authorize the construction of a cable system over 

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

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

11 and which have been dedicated for compatible uses, 

12 except that in using such easements the cable oper13 ator shall ensure that— 

14 ‘‘(A) the safety, functioning, and appear15 ance of the property and the convenience and 

16 the safety of other persons not be adversely af17 fected by the installation or construction of fa18 cilities necessary for a cable system; 

19 ‘‘(B) the cost of the installation, construc20 tion, operation, or removal of such facilities be 

21 borne by the cable operator or subscriber, or a 

22 combination of both; and 

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

24 compensated by the cable operator for any dam25 ages caused by the installation, construction, 


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1 operation, or removal of such facilities by the 

2 cable operator. 

3 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF4 WAY.—Nothing in this Act affects the authority of 

5 a State or local government (including a franchising 

6 authority) over a person or group in their capacity 

7 as a cable operator with a franchise under this sec8 tion to manage, on a reasonable, competitively neu9 tral, and non-discriminatory basis, the public rights10 of-way, and easements that have been dedicated for 

11 compatible uses. A State or local government (in12 cluding a franchising authority) may, on a reason13 able, competitively neutral, and non-discriminatory 

14 basis— 

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

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) require compliance with such man18 agement, such charges, and paragraphs (1)(A), 

19 (B), and (C). 

20 ‘‘(g) CONSUMER PROTECTION AND CUSTOMER SERV21 ICE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—Notwithstanding 

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

24 regulation) shall impose on a cable operator fran25 chised under this section any consumer protection or 


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1 customer service requirements other than consumer 

2 protection or customer service requirements of gen3 eral applicability. 

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

5 date of enactment of this section, the Commission 

6 shall issue a report and order that updates for cable 

7 operators franchised under this section the national 

8 consumer protection and customer service rules 

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

10 national nature of a franchise under this section and 

11 the role of State and local governments in enforcing, 

12 but not creating, consumer protection and customer 

13 service standards for cable operators franchised 

14 under this section. 

15 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS OF NEW RULES.— 

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

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

18 specificity, no less than the following consumer 

19 protection and customer service issues: 

20 ‘‘(i) Billing, billing disputes, and dis21 continuation of service, including when and 

22 how any late fees may be assessed (but not 

23 the amount of such fees). 

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


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1 ‘‘(iii) Changes in channel lineups or 

2 other cable services and features. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Availability of parental control 

4 options. 

5 ‘‘(B) Such rules shall require forfeiture 

6 penalties or customer rebates, or both, as deter7 mined by the Commission, that may be imposed 

8 for violations of such Commission rules in a 

9 franchise area, and shall provide for increased 

10 forfeiture penalties or customer rebates, or 

11 both, for repeated violations of the standards in 

12 such rules. 

13 ‘‘(C) The Commission’s rules shall also es14 tablish procedures by which any forfeiture pen15 alty assessed by the Commission under this 

16 subsection shall be paid by the cable operator 

17 directly to the franchising authority. 

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

19 Congress no less than once a year— 

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

21 imposed, under this subsection; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) on any new consumer protection 

23 or customer service issues arising under 

24 this subsection. 


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

2 under this subsection shall be revised as needed. 

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

4 complaint with respect to a violation of the regula5 tions prescribed under section 632(b) in a franchise 

6 area by a cable operator franchised under this sec7 tion— 

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

9 area; or 

10 ‘‘(B) with the Commission. 

11 ‘‘(5) LOCAL FRANCHISING ORDERS REQUIRING

12 COMPLIANCE.—In a proceeding commenced with a 

13 franchising authority on such a complaint, a fran14 chising authority may issue an order requiring com15 pliance with any of such regulations prescribed by 

16 the Commission, but a franchising authority may 

17 not create any new standard or regulation, or ex18 pand upon or modify the Commission’s standards or 

19 regulations. 

20 ‘‘(6) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—In such a pro21 ceeding, the franchising authority may issue an 

22 order requiring the filing of any contract, agree23 ment, or arrangement between the subscriber and 

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

25 records, directly related to the alleged violation. 


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1 ‘‘(7) COMMISSION REMEDIES; APPEALS.—Un2 less appealed to the Commission, an order of a fran3 chising authority under this subsection shall be en4 forced by the Commission. Any such appeal shall be 

5 resolved by the Commission within 30 days after re6 ceipt of the appeal by the Commission. 

7 ‘‘(8) COST OF FRANCHISING AUTHORITY OR8 DERS.—A franchising authority may charge a pro9 vider of cable service under this section a nominal 

10 fee to cover the costs of issuing such orders. 

11 ‘‘(h) ANTIDISCRIMINATION.— 

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

13 national franchise under this section to provide cable 

14 service in a franchise area shall not deny access to 

15 its cable service to any group of potential residential 

16 cable service subscribers in such franchise area be17 cause of the income of that group. 

18 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) COMPLAINT.—If a franchising au20 thority in a franchise area has reasonable cause 

21 to believe that a cable operator is in violation 

22 of this subsection with respect to such franchise 

23 area, the franchising authority may, after com24 plying with subparagraph (B), file a complaint 

25 with the Commission alleging such violation. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NOTICE BY FRANCHISING AUTHOR2 ITY.—Before filing a complaint with the Com3 mission under subparagraph (A), a franchising 

4 authority— 

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

6 violation to the cable operator; 

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

8 than 30 days for the cable operator to re9 spond to such allegations; and 

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

11 the cable operator to submit a written re12 sponse stating the reasons why the oper13 ator has not violated this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(C) BIANNUAL REPORT.—A cable oper15 ator with a national franchise under this section 

16 for a franchise area, not later than 180 days 

17 after the effective date of such national fran18 chise, and biannually thereafter, shall submit a 

19 report to the Commission and the franchising 

20 authority in the franchise area— 

21 ‘‘(i) identifying the geographic areas 

22 in the franchise area where the cable oper23 ator offers cable service; and 


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

2 progress in extending cable service to other 

3 areas in the franchise area. 

4 ‘‘(D) NOTICE BY COMMISSION.—Upon re5 ceipt of a complaint under this paragraph alleg6 ing a violation of this subsection by a cable op7 erator, the Commission shall give notice of the 

8 complaint to the cable operator. 

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

10 complaint under this paragraph, the Commis11 sion may require a cable operator to disclose to 

12 the Commission such information and docu13 ments as the Commission deems necessary to 

14 determine whether the cable operator is in com15 pliance with this subsection. The Commission 

16 shall maintain the confidentiality of any infor17 mation or document collected under this sub18 paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(F) DEADLINE FOR RESOLUTION OF

20 COMPLAINTS.—Not more than 60 days after 

21 the Commission receives a complaint under this 

22 paragraph, the Commission shall issue a deter23 mination with respect to each violation alleged 

24 in the complaint. 


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1 ‘‘(G) DETERMINATION.—If the Commis2 sion determines (in response to a complaint 

3 under this paragraph or on its own initiative) 

4 that a cable operator with a franchise under 

5 this section to provide cable service in a fran6 chise area has denied access to its cable service 

7 to a group of potential residential cable service 

8 subscribers in such franchise area because of 

9 the income of that group, the Commission shall 

10 ensure that the cable operator extends access to 

11 that group within a reasonable period of time. 

12 ‘‘(H) REMEDIES.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—This subsection 

14 shall be enforced by the Commission under 

15 titles IV and V. 

16 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM FORFEITURE PEN17 ALTY.—For purposes of section 503, the 

18 maximum forfeiture penalty applicable to a 

19 violation of this subsection shall be 

20 $500,000 for each day of the violation. 

21 ‘‘(iii) PAYMENT OF PENALTIES TO

22 FRANCHISING AUTHORITY.—The Commis23 sion shall order any cable operator subject 

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1 section to pay the penalty directly to the 

2 franchising authority involved. 

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

4 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Com5 mission shall promulgate regulations to require a cable op6 erator with a national franchise under this section to pre7 vent the distribution of child pornography (as such term 

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

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

10 612(i) regarding the carriage of programming from a 

11 qualified minority programming source or from any quali12 fied educational programming source shall apply to a cable 

13 operator franchised under this section to provide cable 

14 service in a franchise area. 

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

16 following sections shall not apply in a franchise area to 

17 a person or group franchised under this section in such 

18 franchise area, or confer any authority to regulate or im19 pose obligations on such person or group: Sections 611(a), 

20 611(b), 611(c), 613(a), 617, 621 (other than subsections 

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

22 624(h), 625, 626, 627, and 632(a). 

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

24 be construed to prohibit a State or local government from 

25 accessing the emergency alert system of a cable operator 


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

2 the State or local government to transmit local or regional 

3 emergency alerts. 

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

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

6 franchise under this section to provide cable service 

7 in a franchise area shall make such periodic reports 

8 to the Commission and the franchising authority for 

9 such franchise area as the Commission may require 

10 to verify compliance with the fee obligations of sub11 sections (c)(1) and (e)(2). 

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

13 Upon request under paragraph (3) by a franchising 

14 authority for a franchise area, and upon request by 

15 the Commission, a cable operator with a national 

16 franchise for such franchise area shall make avail17 able its books and records to periodic audit by such 

18 franchising authority or the Commission, respec19 tively. 

20 ‘‘(3) FRANCHISING AUTHORITY AUDIT PROCE21 DURE.—A franchising authority may, upon reason22 able written request, but no more than once in any 

23 12-month period, review the business records of such 

24 cable operator to the extent reasonably necessary to 

25 ensure payment of the fees required by subsections 


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1 (c)(1) and (e)(2). Such review may include the meth2 odology used by such cable operator to assign por3 tions of the revenue from cable service that may be 

4 bundled or functionally integrated with other serv5 ices, capabilities, or applications. Such review shall 

6 be conducted in accordance with procedures estab7 lished by the Commission. 

8 ‘‘(4) COST RECOVERY.— 

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

10 paragraph (3) identifies an underpayment of an 

11 amount meeting the minimum percentage speci12 fied in subparagraph (B) of the fee required 

13 under subsections (c)(1) and (e)(2) for the pe14 riod of review, the cable operator shall reim15 burse the franchising authority the reasonable 

16 costs of any such review conducted by an inde17 pendent third party, as determined by the Com18 mission, with respect to such fee. The costs of 

19 any contingency fee arrangement between the 

20 franchising authority and the independent re21 viewer shall not be subject to reimbursement. 

22 ‘‘(B) The Commission shall determine by 

23 rule the minimum percentage underpayment 

24 that requires cost reimbursement under sub25 paragraph (A). 


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

2 by a franchising authority within 3 years after it is 

3 paid or remitted shall not be subject to later review 

4 by the franchising authority under this subsection 

5 and shall be deemed accepted in full payment by the 

6 franchising authority. 

7 ‘‘(n) ACCESS TO PROGRAMMING FOR SHARED FA8 CILITIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A cable programming ven10 dor in which a cable operator has an attributable in11 terest shall not deny a cable operator with a national 

12 franchise under this section access to video program13 ming solely because such cable operator uses a 

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

15 a shared ownership or leasing agreement, as the 

16 headend for another cable system. 

17 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—The term ‘cable program18 ming vendor’ means a person engaged in the produc19 tion, creation, or wholesale distribution for sale of 

20 video programming which is primarily intended for 

21 the direct receipt by cable operators for their re22 transmission to cable subscribers. 

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

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

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1 eration of any kind or nature, including cash, cred2 its, property, and in-kind contributions (services or 

3 goods) received by the cable operator from the provi4 sion of cable service within the franchise area. 

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

6 (3), the term ‘gross revenues’ shall include the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(A) all charges and fees paid by sub9 scribers for the provision of cable service, in10 cluding fees attributable to cable service when 

11 sold individually or as part of a package or bun12 dle, or functionally integrated, with services 

13 other than cable service; 

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

15 cable operator that is passed on to subscribers; 

16 ‘‘(C) compensation received by the cable 

17 operator for promotion or exhibition of any 

18 products or services over the cable service, such 

19 as on ‘home shopping’ or similar programming; 

20 ‘‘(D) revenue received by the cable oper21 ator as compensation for carriage of video pro22 gramming or other programming service on 

23 that operator’s cable service; 


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1 ‘‘(E) all revenue derived from the cable op2 erator’s cable service pursuant to compensation 

3 arrangements for advertising; and 

4 ‘‘(F) any advertising commissions paid to 

5 an affiliated third party for cable services ad6 vertising. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXCLUDED ITEMS.—The term ‘gross reve8 nues’ shall not include the following: 

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

10 even if billed, such as bad debt net of any re11 coveries of bad debt; 

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

13 to subscribers or a municipality to the extent 

14 not already offset by subparagraph (A) and to 

15 the extent such refund, rebate, credit, or dis16 count is attributable to the cable service; 

17 ‘‘(C) subject to paragraph (4), any reve18 nues received by the cable operator or its affili19 ates from the provision of services or capabili20 ties other than cable service, including tele21 communications services, Internet access serv22 ices, and services, capabilities, and applications 

23 that may be sold as part of a package or bun24 dle, or functionally integrated, with cable serv25 ice; 


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

2 operator or its affiliates for the provision of di3 rectory or Internet advertising, including yellow 

4 pages, white pages, banner advertisement, and 

5 electronic publishing; 

6 ‘‘(E) any amounts attributable to the pro7 vision of cable service to customers at no 

8 charge, including the provision of such service 

9 to public institutions without charge; 

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

11 applicability imposed on the customer or the 

12 transaction by a Federal, State, or local govern13 ment or any other governmental entity, col14 lected by the provider, and required to be remit15 ted to the taxing entity, including sales and use 

16 taxes and utility user taxes; 

17 ‘‘(G) any forgone revenue from the provi18 sion of cable service at no charge to any person, 

19 except that any forgone revenue exchanged for 

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

21 shall be included in gross revenue; 

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

23 equipment; 

24 ‘‘(I) reimbursement by programmers of 

25 marketing costs actually incurred by the cable 


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1 operator for the introduction of new program2 ming; and 

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

4 the extent the purchaser certifies in writing 

5 that it will resell the service and pay a franchise 

6 fee with respect thereto. 

7 ‘‘(4) FUNCTIONALLY INTEGRATED SERVICES.— 

8 In the case of a cable service that is bundled or inte9 grated functionally with other services, capabilities, 

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

11 revenue attributable to such other services, capabili12 ties, or applications shall be included in gross rev13 enue unless the cable operator can reasonably iden14 tify the division or exclusion of such revenue from 

15 its books and records that are kept in the regular 

16 course of business. 

17 ‘‘(5) AFFILIATE REVENUE.—Revenue of an af18 filiate shall be included in the calculation of gross 

19 revenues to the extent the treatment of such revenue 

20 as revenue of the affiliate has the effect (whether in21 tentional or unintentional) of evading the payment 

22 of franchise fees which would otherwise be paid for 

23 cable service. 


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

2 section is intended to limit a franchising authority’s 

3 rights pursuant to section 622(h). 

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

5 this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) CABLE OPERATOR.—The term ‘cable oper7 ator’ has the meaning provided in section 602(5) ex8 cept that such term also includes a person or group 

9 with a national franchise under this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) FRANCHISE FEE.— 

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

12 fee or assessment of any kind imposed by a 

13 franchising authority or other governmental en14 tity on a person or group providing cable serv15 ice in a franchise area under this section, or on 

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

17 solely because of their status as such. 

18 ‘‘(B) The term ‘franchise fee’ does not in19 clude— 

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

21 general applicability (including any such 

22 tax, fee, or assessment imposed on both 

23 utilities and a person or group providing 

24 cable service in a franchise area under this 

25 section (or the services of such person or 


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1 group) but not including a fee or assess2 ment which is unduly discriminatory 

3 against such person or group or the sub4 scribers of such person or group); 

5 ‘‘(ii) any fee assessed under sub6 section (e)(2) for support of public, edu7 cational, and governmental use and institu8 tional networks (as such term is defined in 

9 section 611(f)); 

10 ‘‘(iii) requirements or charges under 

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

12 public rights-of-way, including payments 

13 for bonds, security funds, letters of credit, 

14 insurance, indemnification, penalties, or 

15 liquidated damages; or 

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

17 United States Code. 

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

19 ‘Internet access service’ means a service that enables 

20 users to access content, information, electronic mail, 

21 or other services offered over the Internet. 

22 ‘‘(4) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN23 MENT.—The term ‘unit of general local government’ 

24 means— 


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

2 subdivision of a county, township, or city; 

3 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; or 

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

5 Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village that car6 ries out substantial governmental duties and 

7 powers.’’. 

8 (b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—The Federal 

9 Communications Commission shall prescribe regulations 

10 to implement the amendment made by subsection (a) with11 in 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

13 Section 602 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

14 U.S.C. 522) is amended— 

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

16 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, or its equiva17 lent as determined by the Commission’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (5)(A), by inserting ‘‘(regard19 less of whether such person or group provides such 

20 service separately or combined with a telecommuni21 cations service or information service)’’ after ‘‘over 

22 a cable system’’; and 

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

24 following: 

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


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1 ‘‘(A)(i) the one-way transmission to sub2 scribers of (I) video programming, or (II) other 

3 programming service; and 

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

5 required for the selection or use of such video 

6 programming or other programming service; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the transmission to subscribers of 

8 video programming or other programming serv9 ice provided through wireline facilities located 

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

11 without regard to delivery technology, including 

12 Internet protocol technology, except to the ex13 tent that such video programming or other pro14 gramming service is provided as part of— 

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

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

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

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

19 SEC. 103. MONITORING AND REPORTING. 

20 (a) REPORT ON CABLE SERVICE DEPLOYMENT.— 

21 The Federal Communications Commission shall, com22 mencing not later than one year after the date of enact23 ment of this Act, issue a report annually on the deploy24 ment of cable service. In its report, the Commission shall 

25 describe in detail— 


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1 (1) with respect to deployment by new cable op2 erators— 

3 (A) the progress of deployment of such 

4 service within the telephone service area of 

5 cable operators, if the operator is also an in6 cumbent local exchange carrier, including a 

7 comparison with the progress of deployment of 

8 broadband services not defined as cable services 

9 within such telephone service area; 

10 (B) the number of franchise areas in which 

11 such service is being deployed and offered; 

12 (C) where such service is not being de13 ployed and offered; and 

14 (D) the number and locations of franchise 

15 areas in which the cable operator is serving only 

16 a portion of the franchise area, and the extent 

17 of such service within the franchise area; 

18 (2) the number and locations of franchise areas 

19 in which a cable operator with a franchise under sec20 tion 621 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

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

22 withdraws service from any portion of the franchise 

23 area for which it previously offered service, and the 

24 extent of such withdrawal of service within the fran25 chise area; 


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

2 (4) the rates charged by overlapping, competing 

3 multichannel video programming distributors and by 

4 competing cable operators for comparable service or 

5 cable service; 

6 (5) the average household income of those fran7 chise areas or portions of franchise areas where 

8 cable services is being offered, and the average 

9 household income of those franchise areas, or por10 tions of franchise areas, where cable service is not 

11 being offered; 

12 (6) the proportion of rural households to urban 

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

14 in those franchise areas or portions of franchise 

15 areas where cable service is being offered, and the 

16 proportion of rural households to urban households 

17 in those franchise areas or portions of franchise 

18 areas where cable service is not being offered, in19 cluding a State-by-State breakdown of such data 

20 and a comparison with the overall ratio of rural and 

21 urban households in each State; and 

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

23 areas served by national franchisees under section 

24 630 of the Communications Act of 1934 (as added 


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

2 rates in other areas. 

3 (b) CABLE OPERATOR REPORTS.—The Federal Com4 munications Commission is authorized— 

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

6 Commission all of the information that the Commis7 sion needs to compile the report required by this sec8 tion; and 

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

10 information with the relevant franchising authorities 

11 and State commissions. 

12 TITLE II—ENFORCEMENT OF 

13 BROADBAND POLICY STATE14 MENT 

15 SEC. 201. ENFORCEMENT OF BROADBAND POLICY STATE16 MENT. 

17 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

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

19 following new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 715. ENFORCEMENT OF BROADBAND POLICY STATE21 MENT. 

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

23 authority to enforce the Commission’s broadband policy 

24 statement and the principles incorporated therein. 

25 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall be en2 forced by the Commission under titles IV and V. A 

3 violation of the Commission’s broadband policy 

4 statement or the principles incorporated therein 

5 shall be treated as a violation of this Act. 

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

7 purposes of section 503, the maximum forfeiture 

8 penalty applicable to a violation described in para9 graph (1) of this subsection shall be $500,000 for 

10 each violation. 

11 ‘‘(3) ADJUDICATORY AUTHORITY.—The Com12 mission shall have exclusive authority to adjudicate 

13 any complaint alleging a violation of the broadband 

14 policy statement and the principles incorporated 

15 therein. The Commission shall complete an adjudica16 tory proceeding under this subsection not later than 

17 90 days after receipt of the complaint. If, upon com18 pletion of an adjudicatory proceeding pursuant to 

19 this section, the Commission determines that such a 

20 violation has occurred, the Commission shall have 

21 authority to adopt an order to require the entity 

22 subject to the complaint to comply with the 

23 broadband policy statement and the principles incor24 porated therein. Such authority shall be in addition 

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1 force this section under titles IV and V. In addition, 

2 the Commission shall have authority to adopt proce3 dures for the adjudication of complaints alleging a 

4 violation of the broadband policy statement or prin5 ciples incorporated therein. 

6 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

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

8 broadband policy statement and the principles incor9 porated therein does not include authorization for 

10 the Commission to adopt or implement rules or reg11 ulations regarding enforcement of the broadband 

12 policy statement and the principles incorporated 

13 therein, with the sole exception of the authority to 

14 adopt procedures for the adjudication of complaints, 

15 as provided in paragraph (3). 

16 ‘‘(c) STUDY.—Within 180 days after the date of en17 actment of this section, the Commission shall conduct, and 

18 submit to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce 

19 and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

20 Transportation, a study regarding whether the objectives 

21 of the broadband policy statement and the principles in22 corporated therein are being achieved. 

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

24 term ‘Commission’s broadband policy statement’ means 

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


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1 issued on September 23, 2005, In the Matters of Appro2 priate Framework for Broadband Access to the Internet 

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

4 CC Docket No. 02–33; CC Docket No. 01–337; CC Dock5 et Nos. 95–20, 98–10; GN Docket No. 00–185; CS Dock6 et No. 02–52).’’. 

7 TITLE III—VOIP/911 

8 SEC. 301. EMERGENCY SERVICES; INTERCONNECTION. 

9 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

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

11 section 715 (as added by section 201 of this Act) the fol12 lowing new sections: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 716. EMERGENCY SERVICES. 

14 ‘‘(a) 911 AND E–911 SERVICES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each VOIP service pro16 vider has a duty to ensure that 911 and E–911 serv17 ices are provided to subscribers of VOIP services. 

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

19 VOIP service provider that complies with the Com20 mission’s regulations requiring providers of VOIP 

21 service to supply 911 and E911 capabilities to their 

22 customers (Report and Order in WC Docket Nos. 

23 04–36 and 05–196) and that are in effect on the 

24 date of enactment of this section shall be considered 

25 to be in compliance with the requirements of this 


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1 section, other than subsection (c), until such regula2 tions are modified or superseded by subsequent reg3 ulations. 

4 ‘‘(b) NON-DISCRIMINATORY ACCESS TO CAPABILI5 TIES.— 

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

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

8 or government entity with ownership or control of 

9 the necessary E–911 infrastructure shall provide any 

10 requesting VOIP service provider with nondiscrim11 inatory access to such infrastructure. Such carrier 

12 or entity shall provide access to the infrastructure at 

13 just and reasonable, nondiscriminatory rates, terms, 

14 and conditions. Such access shall be consistent with 

15 industry standards established by the National 

16 Emergency Number Association or other applicable 

17 industry standards organizations. 

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

19 State commission may enforce the requirements of 

20 this subsection and the Commission’s regulations 

21 thereunder. A VOIP service provider may obtain ac22 cess to such infrastructure pursuant to section 717 

23 by asserting the rights described in such section. 

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

25 shall make 911 service available to new customers within 


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1 a reasonable time in accordance with the following require2 ments: 

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

4 For all new customers not within the geographic 

5 areas where a VOIP service provider can imme6 diately provide 911 service to the geographically ap7 propriate PSAP, a VOIP service provider, or its 

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

9 from the date the VOIP provider has acquired a cus10 tomer to order service providing connectivity to the 

11 selective router so that 911 service, or E911 service 

12 where the PSAP is capable of receiving and proc13 essing such information, can be provided through 

14 the selective router. 

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

16 not within the geographic areas where the VOIP 

17 service provider can immediately provide 911 service 

18 to the geographically appropriate PSAP, a VOIP 

19 service provider shall provide 911 service through— 

20 ‘‘(A) an arrangement mutually agreed to 

21 by the VOIP service provider and the PSAP or 

22 PSAP governing authority; or 

23 ‘‘(B) an emergency response center with 

24 national call routing capabilities. 


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1 Such service shall be provided 24 hours a day from 

2 the date a VOIP service provider has acquired a cus3 tomer until the VOIP service provider can provide 

4 911 service to the geographically appropriate PSAP. 

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

6 new customer not within the geographic areas where 

7 the VOIP service provider can immediately provide 

8 911 service to the geographically appropriate PSAP, 

9 a VOIP service provider shall provide such customer 

10 with clear notice that 911 service will be available 

11 only as described in paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(4) RESTRICTION ON ACQUISITION OF NEW

13 CUSTOMERS.—A VOIP service provider may not ac14 quire new customers within a geographic area served 

15 by a selective router if, within 180 days of first ac16 quiring a new customer in the area served by the se17 lective router, the VOIP service provider does not 

18 provide 911 service, or E911 service where the 

19 PSAP is capable of receiving and processing such in20 formation, to the geographically appropriate PSAP 

21 for all existing customers served by the selective 

22 router. 

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

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


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1 the assessment of forfeiture penalties for violations 

2 of this subsection or the regulations thereunder. 

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

4 Commission regulation or order shall prevent the imposi5 tion on or collection from a VOIP service provider, of any 

6 fee or charge specifically designated or presented as dedi7 cated by a State, political subdivision thereof, or Indian 

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

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

10 revenue derived from such fee or charge is obligated or 

11 expended for any purpose other than support of 911 and 

12 E–911 services or enhancements of such services. 

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

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

15 shall ensure that such standards impose requirements or 

16 obligations on VOIP service providers and entities with 

17 ownership or control of necessary E–911 infrastructure 

18 that the Commission determines are technologically and 

19 operationally feasible. In determining the requirements 

20 and obligations that are technologically and operationally 

21 feasible, the Commission shall take into consideration 

22 available industry technological and operational standards. 

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

24 Commission concludes that it is not technologically or 

25 operationally feasible for VOIP service providers to comply 


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1 with E–911 requirements or obligations, then the Com2 mission shall submit reports to the Committee on Energy 

3 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 

4 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

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

6 911 service. Such reports shall be submitted semiannually 

7 until the Commission concludes that it is technologically 

8 and operationally feasible for all VOIP service providers 

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

10 reports may include any recommendations the Commission 

11 considers appropriate to encourage the migration of emer12 gency services to TCP/IP protocol or other advanced serv13 ices. 

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

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

16 information, testing procedures, and classes and types of 

17 services supported by PSAPs, or other information con18 cerning the necessary E–911 infrastructure, for the pur19 pose of assisting providers in complying with the require20 ments of this section. 

21 ‘‘(h) EMERGENCY ROUTING NUMBER ADMINIS22 TRATOR.—Within 30 days after the date of enactment of 

23 this section, the Federal Communications Commission 

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1 dialable pseudo-automatic number identification numbers 

2 for 9–1-1 routing purposes on a national scale. The Com3 mission may adopt such rules and practices as are nec4 essary to guide such administrator in the fair and expedi5 tious assignment of these numbers. 

6 ‘‘(i) EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) NOTICE PRIOR TO INSTALLATION OR NUM8 BER ACTIVATION OF VOIP SERVICE.—Prior to instal9 lation or number activation of VOIP service for a 

10 customer, a VOIP service provider shall provide 

11 clear and conspicuous notice to the customer that— 

12 ‘‘(A) such customer should arrange with 

13 his or her emergency response system provider, 

14 if any, to test such system after installation; 

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

16 her emergency response system provider after 

17 VOIP service is installed; and 

18 ‘‘(C) a battery backup is required for cus19 tomer premises equipment installed in connec20 tion with the VOIP service in order for the sig21 naling of such system to function in the event 

22 of a power outage. 

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

24 ‘‘(A) The term ‘emergency response sys25 tem’ means an alarm or security system, or perVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:29 May 04, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5252.IH H5252

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1 sonal security or medical monitoring system, 

2 that is connected to an emergency response cen3 ter by means of a telecommunications carrier or 

4 VOIP service provider. 

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

6 means an entity that monitors transmissions 

7 from an emergency response system. 

8 ‘‘(j) MIGRATION TO IP-ENABLED EMERGENCY NET9 WORK.— 

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

11 months after the date of the enactment of this sec12 tion, the National 911 Implementation and Coordi13 nation Office shall develop a report to Congress on 

14 migrating to a national IP-enabled emergency net15 work capable of receiving and responding to all cit16 izen activated emergency communications. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report re18 quired by paragraph (1) shall— 

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

20 a migration; 

21 ‘‘(B) identify barriers that must be over22 come and funding mechanisms to address those 

23 barriers; 

24 ‘‘(C) include a proposed timetable, an out25 line of costs and potential savings; 


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1 ‘‘(D) provide recommendations on specific 

2 legislative language; 

3 ‘‘(E) provide recommendations on any leg4 islative changes, including updating definitions, 

5 to facilitate a national IP-enabled emergency 

6 network; and 

7 ‘‘(F) assess, collect, and analyze the expe8 riences of the PSAPs and related public safety 

9 authorities who are conducting trial deploy10 ments of IP-enabled emergency networks as of 

11 the date of enactment of this section. 

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

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

14 with representatives of the public safety community, 

15 technology and telecommunications providers, and 

16 others it deems appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(k) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall pre19 scribe regulations to implement this section within 

20 120 days after the date of enactment of this section. 

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

22 shall be construed to permit the Commission to issue 

23 regulations that require or impose a specific tech24 nology or technological standard. 

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


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

2 means a service that— 

3 ‘‘(A) provides real-time 2-way voice com4 munications transmitted through customer 

5 premises equipment using TCP/IP protocol, or 

6 a successor protocol (including when the voice 

7 communication is converted to or from TCP/IP 

8 protocol by the VOIP service provider and 

9 transmitted to the subscriber without use of cir10 cuit switching), for a fee; 

11 ‘‘(B) is offered to the public, or such class12 es of users as to be effectively available to the 

13 public (whether part of a bundle of services or 

14 separately); and 

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

16 can originate traffic to, and terminate traffic 

17 from, the public switched telephone network. 

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

19 ‘VOIP service provider’ means any person who pro20 vides or offers to provide a VOIP service. 

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

22 The term ‘necessary E–911 infrastructure’ means 

23 the selective routers, selective router databases, 

24 automatic location information databases, master 

25 street address guides, trunk lines between selective 


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1 routers and PSAPs, trunk lines between automatic 

2 location information databases and PSAPs, and 

3 other 911 and E–911 equipment, facilities, data4 bases, interfaces, and related capabilities specified 

5 by the Commission. 

6 ‘‘(4) NON-DIALABLE PSEUDO-AUTOMATIC NUM7 BER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—The term ‘non8 dialable pseudo-automatic number identification 

9 number’ means a number, consisting of the same 

10 number of digits as numbers used for automatic 

11 number identification, that is not a North American 

12 Numbering Plan telephone directory number and 

13 that may be used in place of an automatic number 

14 identification number to convey special meaning. 

15 The special meaning assigned to the non-dialable 

16 pseudo-automatic number identification number is 

17 determined by nationally standard agreements, or by 

18 individual agreements, as necessary, between the 

19 system originating the call, intermediate systems 

20 handling and routing the call, and the destination 

21 system. 

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

23 PROVIDERS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) FACILITIES-BASED VOIP SERVICE PRO2 VIDERS.—A facilities-based VOIP service provider 

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

4 a requesting telecommunications carrier under sec5 tions 251 and 252, if the provider elects to assert 

6 such rights. 

7 ‘‘(2) VOIP SERVICE PROVIDERS.—A VOIP serv8 ice provider that is not a facilities-based VOIP serv9 ice provider shall have only the same rights, duties, 

10 and obligations as a requesting telecommunications 

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

12 the provider elects to assert such rights. 

13 ‘‘(3) CLARIFYING TREATMENT OF VOIP SERV14 ICE.—A telecommunications carrier may use inter15 connection, services, and network elements obtained 

16 pursuant to sections 251 and 252 from an incum17 bent local exchange carrier (as such term is defined 

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

19 with such incumbent local exchange carrier regard20 less of the provider originating such VOIP service 

21 traffic, including an affiliate of such telecommuni22 cations carrier. 

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

24 or a manufacturer of VOIP service equipment shall have 

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1 cations carrier or telecommunications equipment manufac2 turer, respectively, under sections 225, 255, and 710 of 

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

4 Act, the Commission, in consultation with the Architec5 tural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 

6 shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to imple7 ment this section. In implementing this subsection, the 

8 Commission shall consider whether a VOIP service pro9 vider or manufacturer of VOIP service equipment pri10 marily markets such service or equipment as a substitute 

11 for telecommunications service, telecommunications equip12 ment, customer premises equipment, or telecommuni13 cations relay services. 

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

15 ‘‘(1) FACILITIES-BASED VOIP SERVICE PRO16 VIDER.—The term ‘facilities-based VOIP service 

17 provider’ means an entity that provides VOIP serv18 ice over a physical facility that terminates at the end 

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

20 owns or over which such entity or affiliate has exclu21 sive use. An entity or affiliate shall be considered a 

22 facilities-based VOIP service provider only in those 

23 geographic areas where such terminating physical 

24 facilities are located. 


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

2 The terms ‘VOIP service provider’ and ‘VOIP serv3 ice’ have the meanings given such terms by section 

4 716(j).’’. 

5 TITLE IV—MUNICIPAL 

6 PROVISION OF SERVICES 

7 SEC. 401. GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE SERV8 ICES. 

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

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

11 legal requirement may prohibit or have the effect of pro12 hibiting any public provider of telecommunications service, 

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

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

15 such services to any person or entity. 

16 (b) COMPETITION NEUTRALITY.—Any State or polit17 ical subdivision thereof, or any agency, authority, or in18 strumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, 

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

20 public provider of telecommunications service, information 

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

22 advantage to any such provider. Such entity shall apply 

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

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

25 bonding, and reporting without discrimination in favor of 


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1 any such provider as compared to other providers of such 

2 services. 

3 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS NOT AF4 FECTED.—Nothing in this section shall exempt a public 

5 provider from any law or regulation that applies to pro6 viders of telecommunications service, information service, 

7 or cable service. 

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

9 of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 

10 Commission shall submit to the Congress a report on the 

11 status of the provision of telecommunications service, in12 formation service, and cable service by States and political 

13 subdivisions thereof. 

14 (e) DEFINITION OF PUBLIC PROVIDER.—For pur15 poses of this section, the term ‘‘public provider’’ means 

16 a State or political subdivision thereof, or any agency, au17 thority, or instrumentality of a State or political subdivi18 sion thereof, that provides telecommunications service, in19 formation service, or cable service, or any entity that is 

20 owned, controlled, or is otherwise affiliated with such 

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

22 or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision there23 of. 


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1 TITLE V—BROADBAND SERVICE 

2 SEC. 501. STAND-ALONE BROADBAND SERVICE. 

3 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

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

5 section 717 (as added by section 301 of this Act) the fol6 lowing new section: 

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

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

9 shall not require a subscriber, as a condition on the pur10 chase of any broadband service the provider offers, to pur11 chase any cable service, telecommunications service, or 

12 VOIP service offered by the provider. 

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

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘broadband service’ means a two15 way transmission service that connects to the Inter16 net and transmits information at an average rate of 

17 at least 200 kilobits per second in at least one direc18 tion. 

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

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

21 resells and controls any facility used to provide 

22 broadband service to the public, by whatever tech23 nology and whether provided for a fee, in exchange 

24 for an explicit benefit, or for free. 


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

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

3 SEC. 502. STUDY OF INTERFERENCE POTENTIAL OF 

4 BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE SYSTEMS. 

5 Within 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall con7 duct, and submit to the Committee on Energy and Com8 merce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

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

10 a study of the interference potential of broadband over 

11 power line systems. 

12 TITLE VI—SEAMLESS MOBILITY 

13 SEC. 601. DEVELOPMENT OF SEAMLESS MOBILITY. 

14 (a) STREAMLINED REVIEW.— 

15 (1) The Commission shall further the develop16 ment of seamless mobility. 

17 (2) Within 120 days after the date of enact18 ment of this Act, the Commission shall implement a 

19 process for streamlined review and authorization of 

20 multi-mode devices that permit communication 

21 across multiple Internet protocol-enabled broadband 

22 platforms, facilities, and networks. 

23 (b) STUDY.—The Commission shall undertake an in24 quiry to identify barriers to the achievement of seamless 

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


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

2 its findings and its recommendations for steps to eliminate 

3 those barriers. 

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

5 term ‘‘seamless mobility’’ means the ability of a commu6 nications device to select between and utilize multiple 

7 Internet protocol-enabled technology platforms, facilities, 

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

9 service. 

Æ 


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