II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1515 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations 

that establish a national standard for determining whether mobile and 

broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably comparable 

to those services provided in urban areas. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2019 

Ms. HASSAN (for herself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations that establish a national standard 

for determining whether mobile and broadband services 

available in rural areas are reasonably comparable to 

those services provided in urban areas. 

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 Reasonable and 

5 Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF MOBILE BROADBAND SERVICE IN 

2 UNDERSERVED RURAL AREAS. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section: 

5 (A) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commis6 sion’’ means the Federal Communications Com7 mission. 

8 (B) RURAL TELEPHONE COMPANY.—The 

9 term ‘‘rural telephone company’’ has the mean10 ing given the term in section 3 of the Commu11 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

12 (C) SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘‘service 

13 area’’ has the meaning given the term in sec14 tion 214(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 

15 (47 U.S.C. 214(e)). 

16 (2) MOBILE BROADBAND SERVICE.—The Com17 mission shall define the term ‘‘mobile broadband 

18 service’’ for purposes of this section. 

19 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARD.— 

20 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF RULEMAKING.—Not 

21 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

22 this Act, the Commission shall commence a rule23 making to establish a national standard to deter24 mine, with respect to access to universal service in 

25 rural, insular, and high cost areas under section 

26 254(b)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 


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1 U.S.C. 254(b)(3)), whether mobile broadband service 

2 available in rural areas is reasonably comparable to 

3 mobile broadband service provided in urban areas. 

4 (2) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not less frequently 

5 than once every 180 days after commencing the 

6 rulemaking under paragraph (1), the Commission 

7 shall submit to Congress a report on the progress of 

8 the Commission in establishing the standard under 

9 that paragraph. 

10 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing a standard 

11 under subsection (b), the Commission shall consider— 

12 (1) defining a rural area as any area— 

13 (A) in which a school or library designated 

14 as ‘‘rural’’ under section 54.505(b)(3)(i) of title 

15 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, is located; or 

17 (B) that is a service area that is served by 

18 a rural telephone company; 

19 (2) defining a rural area as underserved, with 

20 respect to mobile broadband service, if mobile 

21 broadband service that meets or exceeds the stand22 ard established under subsection (b) is not available 

23 in the area; and 

24 (3) providing that a rural area shall be consid25 ered underserved, with respect to mobile broadband 


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1 service, if tests show that the average speed and sig2 nal strength of mobile broadband service available in 

3 the area do not meet or exceed the average speed 

4 and signal strength of mobile broadband service pro5 vided in the 20 most populous metropolitan statis6 tical areas in the United States. 

7 (d) DATA FROM URBAN AREAS.—To help inform the 

8 standard established under subsection (b), the Commis9 sion shall gather, and periodically update, data on mobile 

10 broadband service provided in the 20 most populous met11 ropolitan statistical areas in the United States. 

Æ 


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