I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 760 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an income tax 

credit to holders of bonds financing new advanced broadband infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2009 

Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, and Mr. MARKEY of 

Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on 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 amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

an income tax credit to holders of bonds financing new 

advanced broadband infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Broadband 

5 Infrastructure Bond Initiative of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF QUALIFIED ADVANCED 

2 BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart I of part IV of sub4 chapter A of chapter 1 (relating to qualified tax credit 

5 bonds) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 54F. CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF QUALIFIED ADVANCED 

8 BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS. 

9 ‘‘(a) QUALIFIED ADVANCED BROADBAND INFRA10 STRUCTURE BOND.—For purposes of this subpart the 

11 term ‘qualified advanced broadband infrastructure bond’ 

12 means any bond issued as part of an issue if— 

13 ‘‘(1) 100 percent of the available project pro14 ceeds of such issue are to be used for any or a series 

15 of designated qualified advanced broadband infra16 structure projects, and 

17 ‘‘(2) the bond is issued by a qualified issuer. 

18 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF BONDS DES19 IGNATED.— 

20 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL LIMITATION.—There is a na21 tional advanced broadband infrastructure bond limi22 tation for each calendar year. Such limitation for 

23 each calendar year, 2009, 2010, and 2011, is— 

24 ‘‘(A) in the case of qualified issuers which 

25 are States or local governments, 

26 $1,000,000,000, and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of all other issuers, 

2 $10,000,000,000, 

3 and, except as provided in paragraph (4), zero there4 after. 

5 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF LIMITATION.—The na6 tional advanced broadband infrastructure bond limi7 tation for a calendar year shall be allocated by the 

8 Secretary among the qualified advanced broadband 

9 infrastructure projects designated for such year to 

10 ensure an equitable distribution among the States 

11 and to maximize the number of jobs and economic 

12 output. 

13 ‘‘(3) DESIGNATION SUBJECT TO LIMITATION

14 AMOUNT.—The maximum aggregate face amount of 

15 bonds issued during any calendar year which may be 

16 designated under subsection (a) with respect to any 

17 qualified advanced broadband infrastructure project 

18 shall not exceed the limitation amount allocated to 

19 such project under paragraph (2) for such calendar 

20 year. 

21 ‘‘(4) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If for any calendar 

23 year— 

24 ‘‘(i) the national advanced broadband 

25 infrastructure limitation amount, exceeds 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the amount of bonds issued dur2 ing such year which are designated under 

3 subsection (a) with respect to qualified ad4 vanced broadband infrastructure projects, 

5 the national advanced broadband infrastructure limi6 tation amount for the following calendar year shall 

7 be increased by the amount of such excess. 

8 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION OF CARRYOVER.—Any 

9 carryforward of a limitation amount may be 

10 carried only to the first 3 years following the 

11 unused limitation year. For purposes of the pre12 ceding sentence, a limitation amount shall be 

13 treated as used on a first-in first-out basis. 

14 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED ADVANCED BROADBAND INFRA15 STRUCTURE PROJECT.—For purposes of this section— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified ad17 vanced broadband infrastructure project’ means a 

18 project approved by the Secretary to construct ad19 vanced broadband infrastructure that— 

20 ‘‘(A) provides residential or small business 

21 consumers with access to the internet in the 

22 normal course of operations at transmission 

23 speeds that comply with the requirements of 

24 paragraph (3) for the provision of advanced 

25 broadband communications services; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) operates advanced broadband service 

2 networks on an open access basis, as defined by 

3 the Federal Communications Commission. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A project may not be 

6 approved as a qualified advanced broadband in7 frastructure project unless— 

8 ‘‘(i) the issuer with respect to such 

9 project certifies that the NTIA Adminis10 trator has approved such project in writ11 ing, and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the project— 

13 ‘‘(I) in the case of a qualified 

14 issuer which is a State or local gov15 ernment, meets the requirements of 

16 subparagraph (B), and 

17 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other 

18 qualified issuer, meets the require19 ments of subparagraph (C). 

20 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE OR

21 LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROJECTS.—The require22 ments of this subparagraph are met if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the project is nominated by a 

24 State or local government for approval as 


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1 a qualified advanced broadband infrastruc2 ture project, 

3 ‘‘(ii) such State or local government 

4 has provided private sector entities with 

5 notice of the opportunity during a 30-day 

6 period to bid to provide the services offered 

7 by such nominated project, and 

8 ‘‘(iii) such project is approved by the 

9 Secretary, upon recommendation of the 

10 Secretary of Commerce, as a qualified ad11 vanced broadband infrastructure project or 

12 a series of qualified advanced broadband 

13 infrastructure projects. 

14 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS FOR OTHER

15 PROJECTS.—The requirements of this subpara16 graph are met if— 

17 ‘‘(i) the project— 

18 ‘‘(I) in the case of a qualified 

19 issuer described in subsection 

20 (d)(1)(B), is with respect to such pro21 vision of services within the des22 ignated operating area of the jurisdic23 tion of the State or local governing 

24 authority from which such qualified 

25 issuer has obtained a certificate of 


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1 public convenience and necessity (or 

2 the equivalent), or, in the case of a 

3 qualified issuer described in sub4 section (d)(1)(C), is with respect to 

5 such provision of services within the 

6 area for which such qualified issuer is 

7 licensed to provide commercial mobile 

8 service by the Federal Communica9 tions Commission, or 

10 ‘‘(II) is nominated by a State 

11 Public Utility Commission or local 

12 governing authority for approval as a 

13 qualified advanced broadband infra14 structure project, or by the Federal 

15 Communications Commission under 

16 paragraph (5), and 

17 ‘‘(ii) such project is approved by the 

18 Secretary, upon receipt of such a nomina19 tion, as a qualified advanced broadband in20 frastructure project or a series of qualified 

21 advanced broadband infrastructure 

22 projects. 

23 ‘‘(3) TRANSMISSION SPEED REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A project complies 

25 with the requirements of this subparagraph if it 


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1 provides each subscribing residential or small 

2 business consumer with access to the internet in 

3 the normal course of operations at transmission 

4 speeds of at least— 

5 ‘‘(i) 50 megabits per second down6 stream and 20 megabits per second up7 stream, or 

8 ‘‘(ii) 10 megabits per second down9 stream and 2 megabits per second up10 stream for the provision of advanced 

11 broadband communications services using 

12 commercial mobile services. 

13 ‘‘(B) TRANSMISSION SPEED ADJUST14 MENTS.—The Secretary shall adjust the trans15 mission speeds required under clause (i) to re16 flect the most recent increase in the trans17 mission speed requirements prescribed by the 

18 NTIA Administrator under section 159(c) of 

19 the National Telecommunications and Informa20 tion Administration Organization Act. Any ad21 justment under the preceding sentence shall 

22 apply to bonds issued later than 60 days after 

23 the date such increase is prescribed by the 

24 NTIA Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY.—The Sec2 retary shall approve projects as qualified advanced 

3 broadband infrastructure projects on a technology 

4 neutral basis. 

5 ‘‘(5) ALTERNATE NOMINATING PROCEDURE.—If 

6 a State Public Utility Commission or local governing 

7 authority that receives, from an entity holding a cer8 tificate of public convenience and necessity (or the 

9 equivalent) described in paragraph (2)(C)(i)(I), a 

10 formal request for nomination under paragraph 

11 (2)(C)(i)(II) does not act on the nomination within 

12 30 days of the submission of such request, the Fed13 eral Communications Commission shall act on such 

14 request for nomination within 30 days the submis15 sion of a notice from such entity of the inaction by 

16 such State Public Utility Commission or local gov17 erning authority on such formal request. 

18 ‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

19 section— 

20 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED ISSUER.—The term ‘qualified 

21 issuer’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) a State or local government, 

23 ‘‘(B) an entity that has obtained from a 

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1 erning authority a certificate of public conven2 ience and necessity (or the equivalent), 

3 ‘‘(C) an entity that has a project that is 

4 nominated by a State Public Utility Commis5 sion or local governing authority for approval as 

6 a qualified advanced broadband infrastructure 

7 project, or 

8 ‘‘(D) a commercial mobile service provider 

9 which is licensed to provide mobile service by 

10 the Federal Communication Commission. 

11 ‘‘(2) NTIA ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘NTIA 

12 Administrator’ means the Administrator of the Na13 tional Telecommunications and Information Admin14 istration within the Department of Commerce, who 

15 is the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu16 nications and Information. 

17 ‘‘(3) STATE REGULATORY UTILITY COMMIS18 SION.—The term ‘State Regulatory Utility Commis19 sion’ means the government agency in a State that 

20 regulates the entry into and provision of tele21 communications services. 

22 ‘‘(e) DESIGNATION PREFERENCES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to designa24 tions under this section, preferences shall be given— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to nominations reflecting expeditious 

2 deployment of advanced broadband infrastruc3 ture, 

4 ‘‘(B) to approved projects serving areas in 

5 the following order: unserved areas, underserved 

6 areas, and served areas, and 

7 ‘‘(C) in the case of a project with respect 

8 to a qualified issuer which is a State or local 

9 government, to nominations reflecting partner10 ships and comprehensive planning between 

11 State and local governments and the private 

12 sector or existing governmental entities that 

13 provide telecommunications services, with con14 struction and operation performed by the pri15 vate sector entity or the existing governmental 

16 entity. 

17 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub18 section— 

19 ‘‘(A) SERVED AREA.—The term ‘served 

20 area’ means an area served by at least 2 

21 wireline broadband service providers. 

22 ‘‘(B) UNDERSERVED AREA.—The term 

23 ‘underserved area’ means an area served by 1 

24 wireline broadband service provider. 


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1 ‘‘(C) UNSERVED AREA.—The term 

2 ‘unserved area’ means an area not served by 

3 any wireline broadband service provider. 

4 ‘‘(f) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN TRANSMISSION SPEED

5 REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of subsection (a)(1), the 

6 proceeds from the sale of an issue shall not be treated 

7 as used for a qualified advanced broadband infrastructure 

8 project to the extent that it is certified to the Secretary 

9 by the NTIA Administrator under section 159 of the Na10 tional Telecommunications and Information Administra11 tion Organization Act that the project has failed to meet 

12 the applicable transmission speed requirements. The Sec13 retary shall, in consultation with the NTIA Administrator, 

14 prescribe regulations specifying remedial actions that may 

15 be taken (including conditions to taking such remedial ac16 tions) to prevent such a failure from causing a bond to 

17 fail to be a qualified advanced broadband infrastructure 

18 bond. 

19 ‘‘(g) REPORTING.—Issuers of qualified advanced 

20 broadband infrastructure bonds shall submit reports simi21 lar to the reports required under section 149(e) and shall 

22 maintain a file for public inspection that contains quar23 terly certifications by an officer of the entity operating the 

24 advanced broadband infrastructure that it is providing in 

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1 munication services to each consumer served by the quali2 fied advanced broadband infrastructure project. Such re3 ports and certifications shall be made available on the 

4 issuer’s website and shall include a description of the use 

5 of the proceeds of issues by such issuer.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) Paragraph (1) of section 54A(d) is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (C), by 

9 inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (D), and 

10 by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following 

11 new subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(E) a qualified advanced broadband infra13 structure bond.’’. 

14 (2) Subparagraph (C) of section 54A(d)(2) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (iii), 

16 by striking the period at the end of clause (iv) and 

17 inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol18 lowing new clause: 

19 ‘‘(v) in the case of a qualified ad20 vanced broadband infrastructure bond, a 

21 purpose specified in section 54F(a)(1).’’. 

22 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

23 for subpart I of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 54F. Credit to holders of qualified advanced broadband infrastructure 

bonds.’’. 


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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to obligations issued after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

4 (e) NTIA RESPONSIBILITIES.—The National Tele5 communications and Information Administration Organi6 zation Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended by adding 

7 at the end of part C the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 159. ADVANCED BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE 

9 BOND PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) INITIAL CERTIFICATION.—The NTIA shall re11 ceive requests for approval of qualified advanced 

12 broadband infrastructure projects with respect to qualified 

13 advanced infrastructure bonds under section 54F of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and, within 30 days of 

15 receipt, issue a written decision as to whether such project 

16 meets the requirements of such section relating to quali17 fied advanced broadband infrastructure projects. 

18 ‘‘(b) MONITORING.—The NTIA shall develop a pro19 gram to monitor the implementation of qualified advanced 

20 broadband infrastructure projects under section 54F of 

21 such Code— 

22 ‘‘(1) to ensure that such projects meet the ap23 plicable transmission speed requirements under such 

24 section; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to provide notification to any issuer with 

2 respect to a project not in compliance with such 

3 speed requirements and include in such notice an ex4 planation that if such project fails to satisfy such re5 quirements not later than 60 days after the date of 

6 such notice— 

7 ‘‘(A) the certification described in para8 graph (3) shall be made, and 

9 ‘‘(B) the bond with respect to such project 

10 risks failing to be a qualified advanced 

11 broadband infrastructure bond; and 

12 ‘‘(3) in the case of a project which does not sat13 isfy such requirements before the expiration of such 

14 60-day period, to certify to the Secretary of the 

15 Treasury that such a project has not met such re16 quirements. 

17 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY TO INCREASE TRANSMISSION

18 SPEED REQUIREMENTS.—On December 31, 2009, and 

19 December 31, 2010, the NTIA shall, after providing pub20 lic notice and an opportunity for comment, issue a decision 

21 determining whether and by what amount to increase the 

22 transmission speed requirements of the advanced 

23 broadband infrastructure bond program under section 

24 54F(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In reach25 ing the determination, the Assistant Secretary shall ensure 


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1 that the transmission speed requirements reflect the fast2 est speeds currently being offered in a generally available 

3 service in the normal course of operations to residential 

4 and small business consumers by wireline broadband serv5 ice providers. 

6 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The NTIA shall, in con7 sultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, transmit to 

8 Congress an annual report describing the progress in 

9 achieving the goals of the advanced broadband infrastruc10 ture bond program, including for the year upon which the 

11 report is based— 

12 ‘‘(1) the monetary value of the bonds issued; 

13 ‘‘(2) the transmission speeds being deployed by 

14 bond issuers; 

15 ‘‘(3) a description of the qualified advanced 

16 broadband infrastructure projects using proceeds 

17 from bonds issued under section 54F of such Code; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(4) the results of any rule-making proceedings 

20 carried out under the authority provided in sub21 section (b), including any changes to the trans22 mission speed requirements of the program.’’. 

23 (f) FCC RESPONSIBILITIES.—Not later than 45 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Com25 munications Commission shall complete a rule-making 


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1 proceeding to define ‘‘operates advanced broadband serv2 ice networks on an open access basis’’, as used in section 

3 54F(c)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 

4 amended by subsection (a) of this Act). 

Æ 


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