I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1479 

To expand rural access to broadband services. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2005 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Mr. SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 

and in addition to the Committees on Science and Energy and Commerce, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To expand rural access to broadband 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural Access to 

5 Broadband Service Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RURAL BROADBAND OFFICE. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

8 the Department of Commerce, the Rural Broadband Of9 fice. 
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1 (b) DUTIES.—The Office shall coordinate all Federal 

2 Government resources as they relate to the expansion of 

3 broadband technology into rural areas. 

4 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

6 Rural Broadband Office shall submit a report to the Con7 gress that— 

8 (1) assesses the availability of, and access to, 

9 broadband technology in rural areas; 

10 (2) estimates the number of individuals using 

11 broadband technology in rural areas; 

12 (3) estimates the unmet demand for broadband 

13 technology in rural areas; and 

14 (4) sets forth a strategic plan to meet the de15 mand described in paragraph (3). 

16 SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON ENHANCEMENT OF BROADBAND 

17 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

19 Science Foundation (in this section, referred to as the 

20 ‘‘Director’’) shall carry out research on the following: 

21 (1) Means of enhancing or facilitating the avail22 ability of broadband telecommunications services in 

23 rural areas and other remote areas. 
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1 (2) Means of facilitating or enhancing access to 

2 the Internet through broadband telecommunications 

3 services. 

4 (b) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.—The Director may carry 

5 out research under subsection (a) within the National 

6 Science Foundation or pursuant to such grants, agree7 ments, or other arrangements as the Director considers 

8 appropriate. 

9 (c) RESULTS OF RESEARCH.—The Director shall 

10 make available to the public, in such manner as the Direc11 tor considers appropriate, the results of any research car12 ried out under this section. 

13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated for the National Science 

15 Foundation for purposes of activities under this section 

16 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and such sums as are 

17 necessary for each fiscal year thereafter. 

18 SEC. 4. FULL FUNDING FOR RURAL BROADBAND SERVICES. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that the loan program es20 tablished in section 4 of the Rural Electrification Act of 

21 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.), which is essential to the eco22 nomic well-being of small telecommunications providers 

23 and to the quality of life for all rural residents, be funded 

24 fully. 
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1 SEC. 5. EXPENSING OF BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS EX2 PENDITURES FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VI of subchapter B of chap4 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

5 itemized deductions for individuals and corporations) is 

6 amended by inserting after section 190 the following new 

7 section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 191. BROADBAND EXPENDITURES FOR RURAL COM9 MUNITIES. 

10 ‘‘(a) TREATMENT OF EXPENDITURES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A taxpayer may elect to 

12 treat any qualified broadband expenditure which is 

13 paid or incurred by the taxpayer as an expense 

14 which is not chargeable to capital account. Any ex15 penditure which is so treated shall be allowed as a 

16 deduction. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELECTION.—An election under paragraph 

18 (1) shall be made at such time and in such manner 

19 as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation. 

20 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED BROADBAND EXPENDITURES.—For 

21 purposes of this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

23 broadband expenditure’ means, with respect to any 

24 taxable year, any direct or indirect costs incurred 

25 and properly taken into account with respect to— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the purchase or installation of quali2 fied equipment (including any upgrades there3 to), and 

4 ‘‘(B) the connection of such qualified 

5 equipment to any qualified subscriber. 

6 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN SATELLITE EXPENDITURES EX7 CLUDED.—Such term shall not include any costs in8 curred with respect to the launching of any satellite 

9 equipment. 

10 ‘‘(3) LEASED EQUIPMENT.—Such term shall in11 clude so much of the purchase price paid by the les12 sor of qualified equipment subject to a lease de13 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(B) as is attributable to 

14 expenditures incurred by the lessee which would oth15 erwise be described in paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(c) WHEN EXPENDITURES TAKEN INTO AC17 COUNT.—For purposes of this section— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Qualified broadband ex19 penditures with respect to qualified equipment shall 

20 be taken into account with respect to the first tax21 able year in which— 

22 ‘‘(A) current generation broadband services 

23 are provided through such equipment to quali24 fied subscribers, or 
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1 ‘‘(B) next generation broadband services 

2 are provided through such equipment to quali3 fied subscribers. 

4 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Qualified expenditures 

6 shall be taken into account under paragraph (1) 

7 only with respect to qualified equipment— 

8 ‘‘(i) the original use of which com9 mences with the taxpayer, and 

10 ‘‘(ii) which is placed in service, after 

11 the date of the enactment of this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) SALE-LEASEBACKS.—For purposes of 

13 subparagraph (A), if property— 

14 ‘‘(i) is originally placed in service 

15 after the date of the enactment of this sec16 tion by any person, and 

17 ‘‘(ii) sold and leased back by such per18 son within 3 months after the date such 

19 property was originally placed in service, 

20 such property shall be treated as originally 

21 placed in service not earlier than the date 

22 on which such property is used under the 

23 leaseback referred to in clause (ii). 

24 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL ALLOCATION RULES.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) CURRENT GENERATION BROADBAND SERV2 ICES.—For purposes of determining the amount of 

3 qualified broadband expenditures under subsection 

4 (a)(1) with respect to qualified equipment through 

5 which current generation broadband services are 

6 provided, if the qualified equipment is capable of 

7 serving both qualified subscribers and other sub8 scribers, the qualified broadband expenditures shall 

9 be multiplied by a fraction— 

10 ‘‘(A) the numerator of which is the sum of 

11 the number of potential qualified subscribers 

12 within the rural areas which the equipment is 

13 capable of serving with current generation 

14 broadband services, and 

15 ‘‘(B) the denominator of which is the total 

16 potential subscriber population of the area 

17 which the equipment is capable of serving with 

18 current generation broadband services. 

19 ‘‘(2) NEXT GENERATION BROADBAND SERV20 ICES.—For purposes of determining the amount of 

21 qualified broadband expenditures under subsection 

22 (a)(1) with respect to qualified equipment through 

23 which next generation broadband services are pro24 vided, if the qualified equipment is capable of serv25 ing both qualified subscribers and other subscribers, 
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1 the qualified expenditures shall be multiplied by a 

2 fraction— 

3 ‘‘(A) the numerator of which is the sum 

4 of— 

5 ‘‘(i) the number of potential qualified 

6 subscribers within the rural areas, plus 

7 ‘‘(ii) the number of potential qualified 

8 subscribers within the area consisting only 

9 of residential subscribers not described in 

10 clause (i), which the equipment is capable 

11 of serving with next generation broadband 

12 services, and 

13 ‘‘(B) the denominator of which is the total 

14 potential subscriber population of the area 

15 which the equipment is capable of serving with 

16 next generation broadband services. 

17 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

18 ‘‘(1) ANTENNA.—The term ‘antenna’ means 

19 any device used to transmit or receive signals 

20 through the electromagnetic spectrum, including sat21 ellite equipment. 

22 ‘‘(2) CABLE OPERATOR.—The term ‘cable oper23 ator’ has the meaning given such term by section 

24 602(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

25 U.S.C. 522(5)). 
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1 ‘‘(3) COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE CAR2 RIER.—The term ‘commercial mobile service carrier’ 

3 means any person authorized to provide commercial 

4 mobile radio service as defined in section 20.3 of 

5 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations. 

6 ‘‘(4) CURRENT GENERATION BROADBAND SERV7 ICE.—The term ‘current generation broadband serv8 ice’ means the transmission of signals at a rate of 

9 at least 1,000,000 bits per second to the subscriber 

10 and at least 128,000 bits per second from the sub11 scriber. 

12 ‘‘(5) MULTIPLEXING OR DEMULTIPLEXING.— 

13 The term ‘multiplexing’ means the transmission of 2 

14 or more signals over a single channel, and the term 

15 ‘demultiplexing’ means the separation of 2 or more 

16 signals previously combined by compatible multi17 plexing equipment. 

18 ‘‘(6) NEXT GENERATION BROADBAND SERV19 ICE.—The term ‘next generation broadband service’ 

20 means the transmission of signals at a rate of at 

21 least 22,000,000 bits per second to the subscriber 

22 and at least 5,000,000 bits per second from the sub23 scriber. 

24 ‘‘(7) NONRESIDENTIAL SUBSCRIBER.—The 

25 term ‘nonresidential subscriber’ means any person 
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1 who purchases broadband services which are deliv2 ered to the permanent place of business of such per3 son. 

4 ‘‘(8) OPEN VIDEO SYSTEM OPERATOR.—The 

5 term ‘open video system operator’ means any person 

6 authorized to provide service under section 653 of 

7 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 573). 

8 ‘‘(9) OTHER WIRELESS CARRIER.—The term 

9 ‘other wireless carrier’ means any person (other than 

10 a telecommunications carrier, commercial mobile 

11 service carrier, cable operator, open video system op12 erator, or satellite carrier) providing current genera13 tion broadband services or next generation 

14 broadband service to subscribers through the radio 

15 transmission of energy. 

16 ‘‘(10) PACKET SWITCHING.—The term ‘packet 

17 switching’ means controlling or routing the path of 

18 any digitized transmission signal which is assembled 

19 into packets or cells. 

20 ‘‘(11) PROVIDER.—The term ‘provider’ means, 

21 with respect to any qualified equipment— 

22 ‘‘(A) a cable operator, 

23 ‘‘(B) a commercial mobile service carrier, 

24 ‘‘(C) an open video system operator, 

25 ‘‘(D) a satellite carrier, 
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1 ‘‘(E) a telecommunications carrier, 

2 ‘‘(F) any other wireless carrier, providing 

3 current generation broadband services or next 

4 generation broadband services to subscribers 

5 through such qualified equipment; or 

6 ‘‘(G) any carrier or operator using any 

7 other technology. 

8 ‘‘(12) PROVISION OF SERVICES.—A provider 

9 shall be treated as providing services to 1 or more 

10 subscribers if— 

11 ‘‘(A) such a subscriber has been passed by 

12 the provider’s equipment and can be connected 

13 to such equipment for a standard connection 

14 fee, 

15 ‘‘(B) the provider is physically able to de16 liver current generation broadband services or 

17 next generation broadband services, as applica18 ble, to such a subscriber without making more 

19 than an insignificant investment with respect to 

20 such subscriber, 

21 ‘‘(C) the provider has made reasonable ef22 forts to make such subscribers aware of the 

23 availability of such services, 

24 ‘‘(D) such services have been purchased by 

25 1 or more such subscribers, and 
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1 ‘‘(E) such services are made available to 

2 such subscribers at average prices comparable 

3 to those at which the provider makes available 

4 similar services in any areas in which the pro5 vider makes available such services. 

6 ‘‘(13) QUALIFIED EQUIPMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

8 equipment’ means equipment which provides 

9 current generation broadband services or next 

10 generation broadband services— 

11 ‘‘(i) at least a majority of the time 

12 during periods of maximum demand to 

13 each subscriber who is utilizing such serv14 ices, and 

15 ‘‘(ii) in a manner substantially the 

16 same as such services are provided by the 

17 provider to subscribers through equipment 

18 with respect to which no deduction is al19 lowed under subsection (a)(1). 

20 ‘‘(B) ONLY CERTAIN INVESTMENT TAKEN

21 INTO ACCOUNT.—Except as provided in sub22 paragraph (C) or (D), equipment shall be taken 

23 into account under subparagraph (A) only to 

24 the extent it— 
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1 ‘‘(i) extends from the last point of 

2 switching to the outside of the unit, build3 ing, dwelling, or office owned or leased by 

4 a subscriber in the case of a telecommuni5 cations carrier, 

6 ‘‘(ii) extends from the customer side 

7 of the mobile telephone switching office to 

8 a transmission/receive antenna (including 

9 such antenna) owned or leased by a sub10 scriber in the case of a commercial mobile 

11 service carrier, 

12 ‘‘(iii) extends from the customer side 

13 of the headend to the outside of the unit, 

14 building, dwelling, or office owned or 

15 leased by a subscriber in the case of a 

16 cable operator or open video system oper17 ator, or 

18 ‘‘(iv) extends from a transmission/re19 ceive antenna (including such antenna) 

20 which transmits and receives signals to or 

21 from multiple subscribers, to a trans22 mission/receive antenna (including such 

23 antenna) on the outside of the unit, build24 ing, dwelling, or office owned or leased by 

25 a subscriber in the case of a satellite car-
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1 rier or other wireless carrier, unless such 

2 other wireless carrier is also a tele3 communications carrier. 

4 ‘‘(C) PACKET SWITCHING EQUIPMENT.— 

5 Packet switching equipment, regardless of loca6 tion, shall be taken into account under subpara7 graph (A) only if it is deployed in connection 

8 with equipment described in subparagraph (B) 

9 and is uniquely designed to perform the func10 tion of packet switching for current generation 

11 broadband services or next generation 

12 broadband services, but only if such packet 

13 switching is the last in a series of such func14 tions performed in the transmission of a signal 

15 to a subscriber or the first in a series of such 

16 functions performed in the transmission of a 

17 signal from a subscriber. 

18 ‘‘(D) MULTIPLEXING AND

19 DEMULTIPLEXING EQUIPMENT.—Multiplexing 

20 and demultiplexing equipment shall be taken 

21 into account under subparagraph (A) only to 

22 the extent it is deployed in connection with 

23 equipment described in subparagraph (B) and 

24 is uniquely designed to perform the function of 

25 multiplexing and demultiplexing packets or cells 
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1 of data and making associated application 

2 adaptions, but only if such multiplexing or 

3 demultiplexing equipment is located between 

4 packet switching equipment described in sub5 paragraph (C) and the subscriber’s premises. 

6 ‘‘(14) QUALIFIED SUBSCRIBER.—The term 

7 ‘qualified subscriber’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) with respect to the provision of cur9 rent generation broadband services— 

10 ‘‘(i) any nonresidential subscriber 

11 maintaining a permanent place of business 

12 in a rural area, or 

13 ‘‘(ii) any residential subscriber resid14 ing in a dwelling located in a rural area 

15 which is not a saturated market, and 

16 ‘‘(B) with respect to the provision of next 

17 generation broadband services— 

18 ‘‘(i) any nonresidential subscriber 

19 maintaining a permanent place of business 

20 in a rural area, or 

21 ‘‘(ii) any residential subscriber. 

22 ‘‘(15) RESIDENTIAL SUBSCRIBER.—The term 

23 ‘residential subscriber’ means any individual who 

24 purchases broadband services which are delivered to 

25 such individual’s dwelling. 
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1 ‘‘(16) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 

2 means any census tract which— 

3 ‘‘(A) is not within 5 miles of any incor4 porated or census designated place containing 

5 more than 25,000 people, and 

6 ‘‘(B) is not within a county or county 

7 equivalent which has an overall population den8 sity of more than 500 people per square mile of 

9 land. 

10 ‘‘(17) RURAL SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘rural 

11 subscriber’ means any residential subscriber residing 

12 in a dwelling located in a rural area or nonresiden13 tial subscriber maintaining a permanent place of 

14 business located in a rural area. 

15 ‘‘(18) SATELLITE CARRIER.—The term ‘sat16 ellite carrier’ means any person using the facilities 

17 of a satellite or satellite service licensed by the Fed18 eral Communications Commission and operating in 

19 the Fixed-Satellite Service under part 25 of title 47 

20 of the Code of Federal Regulations or the Direct 

21 Broadcast Satellite Service under part 100 of title 

22 47 of such Code to establish and operate a channel 

23 of communications for distribution of signals, and 

24 owning or leasing a capacity or service on a satellite 
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1 in order to provide such point-to-multipoint distribu2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(19) SATURATED MARKET.—The term ‘satu4 rated market’ means any census tract in which, as 

5 of the date of the enactment of this section— 

6 ‘‘(A) current generation broadband services 

7 have been provided by a single provider to 85 

8 percent or more of the total number of potential 

9 residential subscribers residing in dwellings lo10 cated within such census tract, and 

11 ‘‘(B) such services can be utilized— 

12 ‘‘(i) at least a majority of the time 

13 during periods of maximum demand by 

14 each such subscriber who is utilizing such 

15 services, and 

16 ‘‘(ii) in a manner substantially the 

17 same as such services are provided by the 

18 provider to subscribers through equipment 

19 with respect to which no deduction is al20 lowed under subsection (a)(1). 

21 ‘‘(20) SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘subscriber’ 

22 means any person who purchases current generation 

23 broadband services or next generation broadband 

24 services. 
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1 ‘‘(21) TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER.—The 

2 term ‘telecommunications carrier’ has the meaning 

3 given such term by section 3(44) of the Communica4 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(44)), but— 

5 ‘‘(A) includes all members of an affiliated 

6 group of which a telecommunications carrier is 

7 a member, and 

8 ‘‘(B) does not include a commercial mobile 

9 service carrier. 

10 ‘‘(22) TOTAL POTENTIAL SUBSCRIBER POPU11 LATION.—The term ‘total potential subscriber popu12 lation’ means, with respect to any area and based on 

13 the most recent census data, the total number of po14 tential residential subscribers residing in dwellings 

15 located in such area and potential nonresidential 

16 subscribers maintaining permanent places of busi17 ness located in such area. 

18 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) PROPERTY USED OUTSIDE THE UNITED

20 STATES, ETC., NOT QUALIFIED.—No expenditures 

21 shall be taken into account under subsection (a)(1) 

22 with respect to the portion of the cost of any prop23 erty referred to in section 50(b) or with respect to 

24 the portion of the cost of any property specified in 

25 an election under section 179. 
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1 ‘‘(2) BASIS REDUCTION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

3 title, the basis of any property shall be reduced 

4 by the portion of the cost of such property 

5 taken into account under subsection (a)(1). 

6 ‘‘(B) ORDINARY INCOME RECAPTURE.— 

7 For purposes of section 1245, the amount of 

8 the deduction allowable under subsection (a)(1) 

9 with respect to any property which is of a char10 acter subject to the allowance for depreciation 

11 shall be treated as a deduction allowed for de12 preciation under section 167. 

13 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH SECTION 38.—No 

14 credit shall be allowed under section 38 with respect 

15 to any amount for which a deduction is allowed 

16 under subsection (a)(1).’’. 

17 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR MUTUAL OR COOPERATIVE

18 TELEPHONE COMPANIES.—Section 512(b) of the Internal 

19 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to modifications) is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new para21 graph: 

22 ‘‘(21) SPECIAL RULE FOR MUTUAL OR COOPER23 ATIVE TELEPHONE COMPANIES.—A mutual or coop24 erative telephone company which for the taxable year 

25 satisfies the requirements of section 501(c)(12)(A) 
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1 may elect to reduce its unrelated business taxable in2 come for such year, if any, by an amount that does 

3 not exceed the qualified broadband expenditures 

4 which would be taken into account under section 

5 191 for such year by such company if such company 

6 was not exempt from taxation. Any amount which is 

7 allowed as a deduction under this paragraph shall 

8 not be allowed as a deduction under section 191 and 

9 the basis of any property to which this paragraph 

10 applies shall be reduced under section 

11 1016(a)(32).’’. 

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) Section 263(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986 (relating to capital expenditures) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara16 graph (H), by striking the period at the end of sub17 paragraph (I) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by adding 

18 at the end the following new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(J) expenditures for which a deduction is 

20 allowed under section 191.’’. 

21 (2) Section 1016(a) of such Code is amended 

22 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (30), by 

23 striking the period at the end of paragraph (31) and 

24 inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol25 lowing new paragraph: 
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1 ‘‘(32) to the extent provided in section 

2 191(f)(2).’’. 

3 (3) The table of sections for part VI of sub4 chapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by 

5 inserting after the item relating to section 190 the 

6 following new item: 

‘‘Sec.191.Broadband expenditures for rural communities.’’. 

7 (d) DESIGNATION OF CENSUS TRACTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas9 ury shall, not later than 90 days after the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act, designate and publish 

11 those census tracts meeting the criteria described in 

12 paragraphs (16) and (22) of section 191(e) of the 

13 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this 

14 section). In making such designations, the Secretary 

15 of the Treasury shall consult with such other depart16 ments and agencies as the Secretary determines ap17 propriate. 

18 (2) SATURATED MARKET.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of desig20 nating and publishing those census tracts meet21 ing the criteria described in subsection (e)(19) 

22 of such section 191— 

23 (i) the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

24 prescribe not later than 30 days after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act the form 
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1 upon which any provider which takes the 

2 position that it meets such criteria with re3 spect to any census tract shall submit a 

4 list of such census tracts (and any other 

5 information required by the Secretary) not 

6 later than 60 days after the date of the 

7 publication of such form, and 

8 (ii) the Secretary of the Treasury 

9 shall publish an aggregate list of such cen10 sus tracts and the applicable providers not 

11 later than 30 days after the last date such 

12 submissions are allowed under clause (i). 

13 (B) NO SUBSEQUENT LISTS REQUIRED.— 

14 The Secretary of the Treasury shall not be re15 quired to publish any list of census tracts meet16 ing such criteria subsequent to the list de17 scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii). 

18 (e) OTHER REGULATORY MATTERS.— 

19 (1) PROHIBITION.—No Federal or State agency 

20 or instrumentality shall adopt regulations or rate21 making procedures that would have the effect of 

22 eliminating or reducing any deduction or portion 

23 thereof allowed under section 191 of the Internal 

24 Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this section) or 

25 otherwise subverting the purpose of this section. 
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1 (2) TREASURY REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—It is 

2 the intent of Congress in providing the election to 

3 deduct qualified broadband expenditures under sec4 tion 191 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 

5 added by this section) to provide incentives for the 

6 purchase, installation, and connection of equipment 

7 and facilities offering expanded broadband access to 

8 the Internet for users in certain rural areas of the 

9 United States, as well as to residential users nation10 wide, in a manner that maintains competitive neu11 trality among the various classes of providers of 

12 broadband services. Accordingly, the Secretary of 

13 the Treasury shall prescribe such regulations as may 

14 be necessary or appropriate to carry out the pur15 poses of section 191 of such Code, including— 

16 (A) regulations to determine how and when 

17 a taxpayer that incurs qualified broadband ex18 penditures satisfies the requirements of section 

19 191 of such Code to provide broadband serv20 ices, and 

21 (B) regulations describing the information, 

22 records, and data taxpayers are required to pro23 vide the Secretary to substantiate compliance 

24 with the requirements of section 191 of such 

25 Code. 
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1 (f) NO IMPLICATION REGARDING THE NEED FOR

2 NEXT GENERATION INCENTIVE IN URBAN AREAS.— 

3 Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply that 

4 an incentive for next generation broadband is not needed 

5 in urban areas. 

6 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall apply to expenditures incurred after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act and before the date 

9 which is 12 months after the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act. 

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