I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4171 

To provide for a transition process to make electromagnetic spectrum between 

the frequencies of 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz available for 

allocation and auction, to make available Federal spectrum for nonFederal use or shared Federal and non-Federal use, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 6, 2019 

Ms. MATSUI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To provide for a transition process to make electromagnetic 

spectrum between the frequencies of 3700 megahertz 

and 4200 megahertz available for allocation and auction, 

to make available Federal spectrum for non-Federal use 

or shared Federal and non-Federal use, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Wireless Investment Now in 5G Act’’ or the ‘‘WIN 5G 

6 Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Rule of construction. 

TITLE I—TRANSITION OF CERTAIN SPECTRUM 

Sec. 101. Transition of spectrum between 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz. 

TITLE II—FEDERAL SPECTRUM AVAILABILITY 

Sec. 201. Costs of spectrum research and development and planning activities. 

Sec. 202. Inclusion of spectrum sharing in annual NTIA report on relocation. 

Sec. 203. Studies on reallocation of certain Federal spectrum. 

Sec. 204. Identification, reallocation, and auction of certain Federal spectrum. 

Sec. 205. Definitions. 

TITLE III—NTIA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 301. NTIA independent research and development costs. 

TITLE IV—RURAL BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT 

Sec. 401. Rural Broadband Deployment Fund. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON6 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con7 gress’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 

9 the House of Representatives; 

10 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the Senate; 

12 (C) the Committee on Energy and Com13 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

14 (D) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

15 and Transportation of the Senate. 


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1 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

2 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

3 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

4 Each range of frequencies described in this Act shall 

5 be construed to be inclusive of the upper and lower fre6 quencies in the range. 

7 TITLE I—TRANSITION OF 

8 CERTAIN SPECTRUM 

9 SEC. 101. TRANSITION OF SPECTRUM BETWEEN 3700 MEGA10 HERTZ AND 4200 MEGAHERTZ. 

11 (a) DESIGNATION OF TRANSITION FACILITATOR.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis14 sion shall designate to serve as the Transition 

15 Facilitator for purposes of this section an organiza16 tion that— 

17 (A) consists of all satellite operators pro18 viding service using spectrum between the fre19 quencies of 3700 megahertz and 4200 mega20 hertz to the continental United States pursuant 

21 to a license or grant of market access issued by 

22 the Commission; and 

23 (B) agrees to serve as the Transition 

24 Facilitator and to carry out the duties of the 

25 Transition Facilitator under this section. 


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1 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Commission may des2 ignate under paragraph (1) an organization con3 sisting of less than all satellite operators described 

4 in subparagraph (A) of such paragraph if— 

5 (A) any satellite operator described in such 

6 subparagraph that is not part of such organiza7 tion— 

8 (i) notifies the Commission that such 

9 operator does not wish to be part of the 

10 Transition Facilitator; or 

11 (ii) is otherwise determined by the 

12 Commission not to be necessary to be part 

13 of the Transition Facilitator; and 

14 (B) the organization designated by the 

15 Commission consists of not fewer than 4 sat16 ellite operators described in such subparagraph. 

17 (b) TRANSITION FACILITATION PLAN.— 

18 (1) SUBMISSION BY TRANSITION

19 FACILITATOR.—Not later than 120 days after the 

20 Transition Facilitator is designated under subsection 

21 (a), the Transition Facilitator shall submit to the 

22 Commission and the appropriate committees of Con23 gress a transition facilitation plan for the spectrum 

24 between the frequencies of 3700 megahertz and 


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1 4200 megahertz that contains the information re2 quired by paragraph (2). 

3 (2) REQUIRED CONTENTS.—The transition fa4 cilitation plan shall contain the following: 

5 (A) A specification of the amount of spec6 trum between the frequencies of 3700 mega7 hertz and 4200 megahertz that the Transition 

8 Facilitator determines can be cleared in each 

9 geographic area in the continental United 

10 States, together with— 

11 (i) a demonstration that the amount 

12 of spectrum specified for each such area is 

13 the maximum amount of spectrum in such 

14 area that can be made available for the as15 signment of licenses through a system of 

16 competitive bidding under subsection 

17 (c)(1); and 

18 (ii) a demonstration that end users 

19 will receive service after the implementa20 tion of the transition facilitation plan that 

21 is comparable in quality to service received 

22 before the implementation of the transition 

23 facilitation plan. 

24 (B) A service migration plan, including— 


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1 (i) a description, for each geographic 

2 area in the continental United States, of 

3 any activities that will be conducted or 

4 measures that will be taken by the Transi5 tion Facilitator to ensure the continuation 

6 of services corresponding to an earth sta7 tion receiving transmissions using spec8 trum between the frequencies of 3700 

9 megahertz and 4200 megahertz; and 

10 (ii) a description of any other activi11 ties that will be conducted or measures 

12 that will be taken by the Transition 

13 Facilitator to implement the service migra14 tion plan. 

15 (C) A technical migration plan, including a 

16 description of any activities or measures nec17 essary to ensure continuation of service to in18 cumbent end users. 

19 (D) An end user protection plan, includ20 ing— 

21 (i) any documentation received by the 

22 Transition Facilitator from end users of 

23 any activities, measures, or equipment nec24 essary to ensure end users receive service 

25 after the implementation of the transition 


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1 facilitation plan that is comparable in qual2 ity to service received before the implemen3 tation of the transition facilitation plan; 

4 and 

5 (ii) any reasonable requests from end 

6 users for inclusion of estimated costs under 

7 subparagraph (E)(ii). 

8 (E) An estimate of the costs expected to be 

9 incurred by— 

10 (i) the Transition Facilitator for ac11 tivities, measures, or equipment necessary 

12 to clear spectrum in accordance with the 

13 transition facilitation plan in each geo14 graphic area in the continental United 

15 States, including any necessary equipment 

16 associated with migrating services; and 

17 (ii) end users in each geographic area 

18 in the continental United States for activi19 ties, measures, or equipment necessary to 

20 clear spectrum in accordance with the 

21 transition facilitation plan, including costs 

22 to migrate services to— 

23 (I) alternative technologies; or 


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1 (II) spectrum other than spec2 trum between the frequencies of 3700 

3 megahertz and 4200 megahertz. 

4 (F) A proceeds division plan stating a 

5 method by which the portion of the proceeds of 

6 a system of competitive bidding under para7 graph (1) of subsection (c) that is paid to the 

8 Transition Facilitator under paragraph 

9 (3)(A)(i)(II) of such subsection may be divided 

10 between— 

11 (i) entities that comprise the Transi12 tion Facilitator; and 

13 (ii) licensees and registrants of earth 

14 stations receiving signals between the fre15 quencies of 3700 megahertz and 4200 

16 megahertz. 

17 (3) REVIEW BY COMMISSION.—Not later than 

18 60 days after the submission of the transition facili19 tation plan under paragraph (1), the Commission 

20 shall— 

21 (A) review such plan to determine whether 

22 such plan contains the information required by 

23 paragraph (2); and 

24 (B) submit to the Transition Facilitator 

25 and the appropriate committees of Congress a 


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1 report on the determination under subpara2 graph (A), including, if the Commission deter3 mines that any such information is omitted or 

4 inadequate— 

5 (i) a description of the omitted or in6 adequate information; and 

7 (ii) if the Commission determines that 

8 the transition facilitation plan does not 

9 contain an adequate demonstration of a 

10 matter specified in clause (i) or (ii) of 

11 paragraph (2)(A), the steps that the Com12 mission determines are necessary to correct 

13 the inadequacy. 

14 (4) OPPORTUNITY TO CURE OMISSION OR INAD15 EQUACY.— 

16 (A) SUBMISSION OF REVISED PLAN.—If 

17 the Commission determines under paragraph 

18 (3)(A) that any information required by para19 graph (2) to be in the transition facilitation 

20 plan is omitted or inadequate, the Transition 

21 Facilitator shall, not later than 90 days after 

22 receiving the report of the Commission under 

23 paragraph (3)(B), submit a revised transition 

24 facilitation plan to cure the omission or inad25 equacy. 


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1 (B) REVIEW OF REVISED PLAN.—Not later 

2 than 60 days after the submission of a revised 

3 transition facilitation plan under subparagraph 

4 (A), the Commission shall— 

5 (i) review such plan to determine 

6 whether such plan contains the information 

7 required by paragraph (2); and 

8 (ii) submit to the Transition Facilita9 tor and the appropriate committees of 

10 Congress a report on the determination 

11 under clause (i), including, if the Commis12 sion determines that any such information 

13 is omitted or inadequate, a description of 

14 the omitted or inadequate information. 

15 (C) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO CURE.—If the 

16 Transition Facilitator fails to submit a revised 

17 transition facilitation plan as required by sub18 paragraph (A), subsections (c), (d), and (e) 

19 shall not apply. 

20 (5) MODIFICATIONS BY COMMISSION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission de22 termines under paragraph (4)(B)(i) that infor23 mation required by paragraph (2) is omitted or 

24 inadequate in a revised transition facilitation 

25 plan submitted by the Transition Facilitator 


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1 under paragraph (4)(A), the Commission shall, 

2 after public notice and an opportunity for pub3 lic comment, modify such plan in order to cure 

4 the omission or inadequacy. 

5 (B) LIMITATION.—In making any modi6 fication under subparagraph (A), the Commis7 sion— 

8 (i) may not, subject to subparagraph 

9 (A)(ii), change the amount of spectrum to 

10 be cleared in each geographic area under 

11 such plan; and 

12 (ii) shall ensure that any such modi13 fication does not harm end users. 

14 (C) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall 

15 complete any modification under subparagraph 

16 (A) not later than 90 days after the date on 

17 which the Commission submits the report re18 quired by paragraph (4)(B)(ii). 

19 (D) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

20 after completing any modification under sub21 paragraph (A), the Commission shall submit to 

22 the Transition Facilitator and the appropriate 

23 committees of Congress a report that contains 

24 the modified transition facilitation plan. 


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1 (c) ASSIGNMENT OF LICENSES THROUGH COMPETI2 TIVE BIDDING.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the transi4 tion facilitation plan submitted under paragraph (1) 

5 of subsection (b) or the revised transition facilitation 

6 plan submitted under paragraph (4)(A) of such sub7 section (including any modification of such plan by 

8 the Commission under paragraph (5)(A) of such 

9 subsection), as the case may be, the Commission 

10 shall— 

11 (A) allocate the spectrum to be cleared in 

12 each geographic area in the continental United 

13 States, as specified under subsection (b)(2)(A), 

14 for terrestrial use (other than the use for which 

15 such spectrum is allocated on the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act); 

17 (B) modify the spectrum usage rights of 

18 each satellite operator providing service and 

19 each end user using such spectrum (including 

20 any such operator that is not part of the Tran21 sition Facilitator, as provided in subsection 

22 (a)(2)) so as to effect the removal of the co-pri23 mary allocation protection afforded to such op24 erator with respect to the use of such spectrum 

25 for satellite service (except with respect to a 


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1 limited number of telemetry, tracking, and com2 mand sites, as the Commission considers nec3 essary); and 

4 (C) through a system of competitive bid5 ding under section 309(j) of the Communica6 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), assign li7 censes for the use of such spectrum. 

8 (2) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall com9 plete the actions required by paragraph (1) not later 

10 than— 

11 (A) if the Commission determines under 

12 paragraph (3)(A) of subsection (b) that the 

13 transition facilitation plan submitted under 

14 paragraph (1) of such subsection contains the 

15 information required by paragraph (2) of such 

16 subsection, the date that is 6 months after the 

17 Commission submits the report required by 

18 paragraph (3)(B) of such subsection; or 

19 (B) if the Commission determines under 

20 paragraph (3)(A) of subsection (b) that the 

21 transition facilitation plan submitted under 

22 paragraph (1) of such subsection does not con23 tain the information required by paragraph (2) 

24 of such subsection— 


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1 (i) if the Commission determines 

2 under subparagraph (B)(i) of paragraph 

3 (4) of subsection (b) that the revised tran4 sition facilitation plan submitted under 

5 subparagraph (A) of such paragraph con6 tains the information required by para7 graph (2) of such subsection, the date that 

8 is 6 months after the Commission submits 

9 the report required by subparagraph 

10 (B)(ii) of such paragraph (4); or 

11 (ii) if the Commission determines 

12 under subparagraph (B)(i) of paragraph 

13 (4) of subsection (b) that the revised tran14 sition facilitation plan submitted under 

15 subparagraph (A) of such paragraph does 

16 not contain the information required by 

17 paragraph (2) of such subsection, the date 

18 that is 6 months after the Commission 

19 completes the modification required by 

20 paragraph (5)(A) of such subsection. 

21 (3) USE OF PROCEEDS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub23 paragraphs (A) and (C)(i) of section 309(j)(8) 

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

25 309(j)(8)), in the case of the proceeds from the 


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1 use of a system of competitive bidding under 

2 paragraph (1) that are attributable to the li3 censes assigned in a geographic area in the con4 tinental United States (including deposits and 

5 upfront payments from successful bidders and 

6 excluding the costs retained by the salaries and 

7 expenses account of the Commission under sub8 paragraph (B) of such section)— 

9 (i) the Commission shall pay the 

10 Transition Facilitator an amount of such 

11 proceeds that is equal to the sum of— 

12 (I) the costs reasonably incurred 

13 and documented by the Transition 

14 Facilitator for activities, measures, or 

15 equipment necessary to clear spec16 trum in such geographic area in ac17 cordance with the transition facilita18 tion plan submitted under paragraph 

19 (1) of subsection (b) or the revised 

20 transition facilitation plan submitted 

21 under paragraph (4)(A) of such sub22 section (including any modification of 

23 such plan by the Commission under 

24 paragraph (5)(A) of such subsection), 

25 as the case may be; and 


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1 (II) a percentage of such pro2 ceeds (excluding the amount of the 

3 costs described in subclause (I) and 

4 any amounts paid to end users under 

5 clause (ii) with respect to such geo6 graphic area) determined under sub7 paragraph (B); 

8 (ii) the Commission shall pay each 

9 end user an amount of such proceeds that 

10 is equal to the costs (if any) reasonably in11 curred and documented by such end user 

12 for activities, measures, or equipment nec13 essary to clear spectrum in accordance 

14 with the transition facilitation plan in such 

15 geographic area, including costs to migrate 

16 services in such geographic area to alter17 native technologies or to spectrum other 

18 than spectrum between the frequencies of 

19 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz; and 

20 (iii) the remainder of such proceeds 

21 shall be deposited in the Rural Broadband 

22 Deployment Fund established by section 

23 401. 

24 (B) PERCENTAGE OF PROCEEDS DETER25 MINED.—The percentage of proceeds deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4171.IH H4171

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1 mined under this subparagraph with respect to 

2 a geographic area is the following: 

3 (i) If the amount of spectrum cleared 

4 in such geographic area is less than 100 

5 megahertz, 0 percent. 

6 (ii) If the amount of spectrum cleared 

7 in such geographic area is 100 megahertz 

8 or greater but less than 200 megahertz, 10 

9 percent. 

10 (iii) If the amount of spectrum cleared 

11 in such geographic area is 200 megahertz 

12 or greater but less than 300 megahertz, 35 

13 percent. 

14 (iv) If the amount of spectrum cleared 

15 in such geographic area is 300 megahertz 

16 or greater but less than 400 megahertz, 75 

17 percent. 

18 (v) If the amount of spectrum cleared 

19 in such geographic area is 400 megahertz 

20 or greater but less than 500 megahertz, 90 

21 percent. 

22 (vi) If the amount of spectrum cleared 

23 in such geographic area is 500 megahertz, 

24 100 percent. 


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1 (C) TREATMENT OF GUARD BANDS.—In 

2 the case of spectrum that is designated as a 

3 guard band after the reallocation required by 

4 paragraph (1), such spectrum shall be treated 

5 as having been cleared for purposes of deter6 mining the percentage of proceeds under sub7 paragraph (B), except that not more than 20 

8 megahertz of spectrum in each geographic area 

9 may be so treated. 

10 (D) PROCEEDS ADJUSTMENTS.—The Com11 mission shall increase the percentage of pro12 ceeds determined with respect to a geographic 

13 area under subparagraph (B) (except for clause 

14 (vi) of such subparagraph) by 5 percent if— 

15 (i) the Commission determines under 

16 paragraph (3)(A) of subsection (b) that 

17 the transition facilitation plan submitted 

18 under paragraph (1) of such subsection 

19 contains the information required by para20 graph (2) of such subsection; and 

21 (ii) not later than 30 days after the 

22 Commission makes the determination de23 scribed in clause (i), the Transition 

24 Facilitator demonstrates to the Commis25 sion that the Transition Facilitator has 


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1 taken any steps necessary to clear spec2 trum in such geographic area in accord3 ance with the transition facilitation plan. 

4 (d) IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSITION FACILITATION

5 PLAN.—The Commission may not make a payment to the 

6 Transition Facilitator under subsection (c)(3) until the 

7 Transition Facilitator has fully implemented the transition 

8 facilitation plan submitted under paragraph (1) of sub9 section (b) or the revised transition facilitation plan sub10 mitted under paragraph (4)(A) of such subsection (includ11 ing any modification of such plan by the Commission 

12 under paragraph (5)(A) of such subsection), as the case 

13 may be, except for the portion of such plan required by 

14 paragraph (2)(F) of such subsection. 

15 (e) SUBMISSION OF ADDITIONAL TRANSITION FA16 CILITATION PLANS.—Not later than 3 years after the 

17 Commission determines that the implementation of the 

18 transition facilitation plan submitted under paragraph (1) 

19 of subsection (b) or the revised transition facilitation plan 

20 submitted under paragraph (4)(A) of such subsection (in21 cluding any modification of such plan by the Commission 

22 under paragraph (5)(A) of such subsection), as the case 

23 may be, is completed, the Transition Facilitator may sub24 mit an additional transition facilitation plan to the Com25 mission to clear additional spectrum between the freVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4171.IH H4171

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1 quencies of 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz. Except 

2 for the deadline for the submission of the transition facili3 tation plan under paragraph (1) of such subsection, any 

4 such additional transition facilitation plan shall be subject 

5 to this section in the same manner and to the same extent 

6 as the initial transition facilitation plan, and, not later 

7 than 3 years after the Commission determines that the 

8 implementation of such additional transition facilitation 

9 plan is completed, the Transition Facilitator may submit 

10 another additional transition facilitation plan as described 

11 in this subsection. 

12 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) CLEAR.—The term ‘‘clear’’ means, with re14 spect to electromagnetic spectrum between the fre15 quencies of 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz, to 

16 make such spectrum available for allocation and the 

17 assignment of licenses through a system of competi18 tive bidding under subsection (c)(1). 

19 (2) END USER.—The term ‘‘end user’’ means 

20 any entity that— 

21 (A) is a licensee or registrant of an earth 

22 station receiving signals between the fre23 quencies of 3700 megahertz and 4200 mega24 hertz; or 


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1 (B) receives or distributes programming or 

2 services using spectrum between the frequencies 

3 of 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz. 

4 (3) TRANSITION FACILITATOR.—The term 

5 ‘‘Transition Facilitator’’ means the organization des6 ignated under subsection (a). 

7 TITLE II—FEDERAL SPECTRUM 

8 AVAILABILITY 

9 SEC. 201. COSTS OF SPECTRUM RESEARCH AND DEVELOP10 MENT AND PLANNING ACTIVITIES. 

11 Section 118(g) of the National Telecommunications 

12 and Information Administration Organization Act (47 

13 U.S.C. 928(g)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

16 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

18 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) the Director of OMB may make a 

21 payment described in paragraph (2) from 

22 amounts in the Fund other than amounts made 

23 available under subparagraphs (A) and (B) if, 

24 before making the payment, the Director of 

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1 mines and submits to the congressional commit2 tees described in subsection (d)(2)(C) a certifi3 cation that— 

4 ‘‘(i) the conditions described in sub5 clauses (I) and (II) of paragraph (2)(D)(i) 

6 have been met; 

7 ‘‘(ii) as of the date of the certification, 

8 amounts made available under subpara9 graphs (A) and (B) are insufficient to 

10 make the payment requested by the Fed11 eral entity in the plan approved under 

12 paragraph (2)(E) by the Technical Panel 

13 established under section 113(h)(3); and 

14 ‘‘(iii) the payment will leave sufficient 

15 amounts in the Fund to pay the relocation 

16 or sharing costs that will be incurred by el17 igible Federal entities to complete the im18 plementation of all transition plans that, 

19 as of the date of the certification, have 

20 been found sufficient by the Technical 

21 Panel under section 113(h)(4).’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by inserting 

24 after ‘‘60 days’’ the following: ‘‘(or, in the case 


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1 of a payment under paragraph (1)(C), 30 

2 days)’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(F) CONSULTATION REGARDING SHARING

5 FREQUENCIES ON UNLICENSED BASIS.—If a 

6 Federal entity that receives a payment under 

7 subparagraph (A) determines, in carrying out 

8 activities under a plan approved by the Tech9 nical Panel under subparagraph (E), that it is 

10 not feasible for such Federal entity to make 

11 available frequencies described in such plan for 

12 reallocation for non-Federal use or shared Fed13 eral and non-Federal use, or a combination 

14 thereof, and for auction in accordance with 

15 such reallocation— 

16 ‘‘(i) such Federal entity shall submit 

17 to the NTIA a certification stating the de18 termination; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the NTIA shall consult with the 

20 Commission and such Federal entity re21 garding whether such frequencies may be 

22 shared with non-Federal entities on an un23 licensed basis.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. INCLUSION OF SPECTRUM SHARING IN ANNUAL 

2 NTIA REPORT ON RELOCATION. 

3 Section 207 of the Commercial Spectrum Enhance4 ment Act (47 U.S.C. 928 note) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) by inserting ‘‘or sharing of’’ after ‘‘re7 location from’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘section 118(d)(2)(A)’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘section 118(d)(2)(B)’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘relocated communication 

12 system’’ and inserting ‘‘such communication 

13 system’’; 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘relocation costs’’ and in15 serting ‘‘relocation or sharing costs’’; and 

16 (C) by striking ‘‘relocations costs’’ and in17 serting ‘‘relocation or sharing costs’’. 

18 SEC. 203. STUDIES ON REALLOCATION OF CERTAIN FED19 ERAL SPECTRUM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, each Federal entity 

22 that, as of such date of enactment, is operating on spec23 trum between the frequencies of 3450 megahertz to 3550 

24 megahertz shall— 

25 (1) request a payment under section 118(g)(2) 

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1 tion Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 

2 928(g)(2)) for the purpose of conducting a study of 

3 any such frequencies on which such entity operates 

4 in order to determine the feasibility of the realloca5 tion of such frequencies, or a portion thereof, for 

6 non-Federal use or shared Federal and non-Federal 

7 use, or a combination thereof, and auction in accord8 ance with such reallocation; and 

9 (2) if such Federal entity receives such pay10 ment— 

11 (A) conduct such study; and 

12 (B) submit to the appropriate committees 

13 of Congress and the Secretary a report on the 

14 results of such study. 

15 (b) CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

16 (1) RECEIPT OF PAYMENT.—A Federal entity is 

17 not required to conduct a study under subsection (a) 

18 if such entity requests such payment in accordance 

19 with section 118(g)(2) of the National Telecommuni20 cations and Information Administration Organiza21 tion Act (47 U.S.C. 928(g)(2)) but does not receive 

22 such payment. 

23 (2) INABILITY TO ACHIEVE COMPARABLE CAPA24 BILITY OF SYSTEMS.—If it is found in a study con25 ducted under subsection (a) that any Federal entity 


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1 operating on spectrum with respect to which the 

2 study is conducted would not be able to achieve com3 parable capability of systems in the case of the re4 allocation of such spectrum or a portion thereof for 

5 non-Federal use or shared Federal and non-Federal 

6 use, or a combination thereof, and auction in accord7 ance with such reallocation, the Federal entity that 

8 conducted the study shall submit to the National 

9 Telecommunications and Information Administration 

10 and the Director of the Office of Management and 

11 Budget a certification stating such finding. 

12 SEC. 204. IDENTIFICATION, REALLOCATION, AND AUCTION 

13 OF CERTAIN FEDERAL SPECTRUM. 

14 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF SPECTRUM.—Not later than 

15 January 1, 2025, the Secretary shall— 

16 (1) for the frequencies with respect to which a 

17 Federal entity makes an affirmative feasibility deter18 mination under section 203(a), determine whether 

19 the Secretary concurs with the determination of the 

20 Federal entity; and 

21 (2) if the Secretary concurs with the determina22 tion of the Federal entity, submit to the President 

23 and the Commission a report identifying for re24 allocation the frequencies with respect to which the 

25 Federal entity made the determination. 


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1 (b) CLEARING OF SPECTRUM.—The President 

2 shall— 

3 (1) not later than 180 days after the Secretary 

4 submits a report under subsection (a)(2), begin the 

5 process of withdrawing or modifying the assignment 

6 to a Federal Government station of the frequencies 

7 identified in such report; and 

8 (2) not later than 30 days after completing the 

9 withdrawal or modification, notify the Commission 

10 that the withdrawal or modification is complete. 

11 (c) REALLOCATION AND AUCTION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 

13 (A) reallocate the frequencies identified in 

14 a report under subsection (a)(2) for non-Fed15 eral use or shared Federal and non-Federal use, 

16 or a combination thereof; and 

17 (B) notwithstanding paragraph (15)(A) of 

18 section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 

19 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), not later than Janu20 ary 1, 2026, begin a system of competitive bid21 ding under such section to grant new initial li22 censes for the use of such frequencies, subject 

23 to flexible-use service rules. 

24 (2) PROCEEDS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub2 paragraphs (A), (C)(i), and (D)(i) of section 

3 309(j)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 

4 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)), in the case of the pro5 ceeds from the use of a system of competitive 

6 bidding under paragraph (1)(B) (including de7 posits and upfront payments from successful 

8 bidders), after the retention of costs by the sal9 aries and expenses account of the Commission 

10 under subparagraph (B) of such section and the 

11 deposit in the Spectrum Relocation Fund estab12 lished by section 118 of the National Tele13 communications and Information Administra14 tion Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 928) of such 

15 portion of such proceeds as is necessary to 

16 cover the relocation or sharing costs (as defined 

17 in section 113(g)(3) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

18 923(g)(3)) of Federal entities with respect to 

19 such system of competitive bidding and the 

20 amounts required to be made available to the 

21 Director of the Office of Management and 

22 Budget under subsections (f) and (g) of such 

23 section 118, the remainder of such proceeds 

24 shall be deposited in the Rural Broadband De25 ployment Fund established by section 401. 


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•HR 4171 IH

1 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this section shall be construed to relieve the 

3 Commission from the requirements of section 

4 309(j)(16)(B) of the Communications Act of 

5 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(16)(B)). 

6 (d) AUCTION AUTHORITY.—Section 309(j)(11) of the 

7 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(11)) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by striking the period at the end and insert10 ing ‘‘; and’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘except that, with respect to’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘except that— 

13 ‘‘(A) with respect to’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(B) with respect to the frequencies identi16 fied under section 204(a)(2) of the Wireless In17 vestment Now in 5G Act, such authority shall 

18 expire on September 30, 2027.’’. 

19 (e) RELATIONSHIP TO SPECTRUM PIPELINE IDENTI20 FICATION REQUIREMENT.—The identification of fre21 quencies under subsection (a)(2), withdrawal or modifica22 tion of the assignment to a Federal Government station 

23 of such frequencies under subsection (b), or reallocation 

24 or auction of such frequencies under subsection (c) does 

25 not preclude such frequencies from being identified under 


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•HR 4171 IH

1 section 1006(c) of the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015 

2 (Public Law 114–74; 129 Stat. 624). 

3 SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) COMPARABLE CAPABILITY OF SYSTEMS.— 

6 The term ‘‘comparable capability of systems’’ has 

7 the meaning described in section 113(g)(3)(B) of the 

8 National Telecommunications and Information Ad9 ministration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 

10 923(g)(3)(B)). 

11 (2) FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Federal en12 tity’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

13 113(l) of the National Telecommunications and In14 formation Administration Organization Act (47 

15 U.S.C. 923(l)). 

16 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Commerce. 

18 TITLE III—NTIA RESEARCH AND 

19 DEVELOPMENT 

20 SEC. 301. NTIA INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOP21 MENT COSTS. 

22 Section 118 of the National Telecommunications and 

23 Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 

24 928) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(j) NTIA INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOP2 MENT COSTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub4 sections (c) through (e), from amounts described in 

5 paragraph (2), the Director of OMB may transfer to 

6 the salaries and expenses account of the NTIA such 

7 sums as may be necessary for costs incurred by the 

8 NTIA to conduct independent research and develop9 ment, engineering studies, economic analyses, or 

10 other activities not already subject to a plan ap11 proved under subsection (g)(2)(E) and intended to 

12 improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the spec13 trum use of Federal entities in order to make avail14 able frequencies described in paragraph (3) for re15 allocation for non-Federal use or shared Federal and 

16 non-Federal use, or a combination thereof, and for 

17 auction in accordance with such reallocation. 

18 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS DESCRIBED.—The amounts de19 scribed in this paragraph are amounts in the Fund 

20 from auctions of eligible frequencies that are made 

21 available for reallocation and auction primarily as a 

22 result of research and development, engineering 

23 studies, economic analyses, or other activities in24 tended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of 

25 the spectrum use of Federal entities in order to 


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•HR 4171 IH

1 make available frequencies for reallocation for non2 Federal use or shared Federal and non-Federal use, 

3 or a combination thereof, and for auction in accord4 ance with such reallocation, that are conducted by 

5 the NTIA after the date of the enactment of this 

6 subsection, regardless of whether the NTIA conducts 

7 such activities using amounts transferred to the 

8 NTIA under paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(3) FREQUENCIES DESCRIBED.—The fre10 quencies described in this paragraph are frequencies 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(A) are assigned to a Federal entity; and 

13 ‘‘(B) at the time when the activities de14 scribed in paragraph (1) are conducted, are not 

15 identified for auction. 

16 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts 

17 transferred under paragraph (1) shall be available 

18 for obligation subject to the terms and conditions of 

19 the receiving appropriations account and shall re20 main available until expended. 

21 ‘‘(5) NO CHARGE TO FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law (includ23 ing the terms and conditions of an appropriations 

24 account referred to in paragraph (4)), the NTIA 

25 may not charge any Federal agency for an activity 


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1 conducted using amounts transferred to the NTIA 

2 under paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

4 this subsection shall be construed to limit the avail5 ability to the NTIA to conduct activities described in 

6 paragraph (1) of funds, other than amounts trans7 ferred under such paragraph, that are otherwise 

8 available to the NTIA to conduct such activities.’’. 

9 TITLE IV—RURAL BROADBAND 

10 DEPLOYMENT 

11 SEC. 401. RURAL BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT FUND. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

13 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 

14 Rural Broadband Deployment Fund. 

15 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—To the extent or in 

16 the amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, 

17 amounts in the Rural Broadband Deployment Fund shall 

18 be available to the Commission to make payments to ex19 pand access to broadband in unserved and underserved 

20 areas. 

21 (c) NO COMBINATION WITH OTHER SUPPORT.—In 

22 making payments under subsection (b), the Commission 

23 may not combine such payments with any other support 

24 for broadband provided by the Commission. 

Æ 


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