II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2644 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 with respect to the carriage 

of direct broadcast satellite television signals by satellite carriers to 

consumers in rural areas, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2004 

Mr. ENSIGN (for himself and Mr. MCCAIN) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 with respect 

to the carriage of direct broadcast satellite television 

signals by satellite carriers to consumers in rural areas, 

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 ‘‘Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Rural Consumer 

6 Access to Digital Television Act of 2004’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 
2 

•S 2644 IS 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Extension of retransmission consent exception. 

Sec. 3. Carriage of local stations on a single dish. 

Sec. 4. Unserved digital customers. 

Sec. 5. Bargaining obligations. 

Sec. 6. Reduction of required tests. 

Sec. 7. Privacy rights of satellite subscribers. 

Sec. 8. Sponsorship identification rules for DBS. 

Sec. 9. Certain vessels and aircraft. 

1 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF RETRANSMISSION CONSENT EXCEP2 TION. 

3 Section 325(b)(2)(C) of the Communications Act of 

4 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(2)(C)) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘December 31, 2004,’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

6 2009,’’. 

7 SEC. 3. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL STATIONS ON A SINGLE DISH. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 338 of the Communica9 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 

11 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(g) CARRIAGE OF LOCAL STATIONS ON A SINGLE

15 DISH.— 

16 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—A satellite carrier that 

17 retransmits the signals of local television broadcast 

18 stations in a local market shall retransmit the sig19 nals of all local television broadcast stations retrans20 mitted by that carrier to subscribers in that market 
3 

•S 2644 IS 

1 by means of a single reception antenna and associ2 ated equipment. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR DIGITAL TELEVISION

4 SERVICE.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the 

5 carrier retransmits signals in the digital television 

6 service, the carrier shall retransmit the digital tele7 vision service signals of all the local television broad8 cast stations retransmitted by that carrier to sub9 scribers in that market by means of a single recep10 tion antenna and associated equipment, but the an11 tenna and associated equipment may be separate 

12 from the single reception antenna and associated 

13 equipment used for signals that are not in the dig14 ital television service.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), subsection (g) of section 338 of the Com18 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338), as added 

19 by subsection (a) of this section, takes effect 180 

20 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (2) PHASE-IN FOR EXISTING 2-DISH MAR22 KETS.— 

23 (A) SCHEDULE.—In the case of a satellite 

24 carrier that, as of July 1, 2004, is retransmit25 ting local television broadcast signals to sub-
4 

•S 2644 IS 

1 scribers in local markets by means of more than 

2 a single reception antenna and associated 

3 equipment, subsection (g) of section 338 of the 

4 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338), 

5 as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall 

6 first apply to that carrier in those local markets 

7 in accordance with the following schedule: 

8 (i) Beginning 180 days after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, to all but 33 of 

10 those local markets, as selected by the sat11 ellite carrier. 

12 (ii) By December 31, 2005, to all but 

13 28 of those local markets, as selected by 

14 the satellite carrier. 

15 (iii) By December 31, 2006, to all but 

16 14 of those local markets, as selected by 

17 the satellite carrier. 

18 (iv) By December 31, 2007, to all 

19 those local markets. 

20 (B) ENFORCEMENT.—If a satellite carrier 

21 to which subparagraph (A) applies fails to com22 ply with the implementation schedule set forth 

23 in that subparagraph— 

24 (i) the failure to comply shall be pun25 ishable under section 503(b) of the Com-
5 

•S 2644 IS 

1 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

2 503(b)) to the same extent as if such fail3 ure were a failure to comply with section 

4 338(g) of the Communications Act of 

5 1934; 

6 (ii) each market with respect to which 

7 the satellite carrier fails to comply shall be 

8 considered to be a separate violation; and 

9 (iii) each day of a continuing violation 

10 shall be considered to be a separate viola11 tion. 

12 SEC. 4. UNSERVED DIGITAL CUSTOMERS. 

13 (a) PROVISIONS RELATING TO CARRIAGE OF DIS14 TANT SIGNALS.—Section 339(a)(1) of the Communica15 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 339(a)(1)) is amended to 

16 read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) CARRIAGE PERMITTED.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ANALOG SIGNALS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 

20 119 of title 17, United States Code, a sat21 ellite carrier may provide the analog sig22 nals of no more than 2 network stations in 

23 a single day for each television network to 

24 any household not located within the local 

25 markets of those network stations. 
6 

•S 2644 IS 

1 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL SERVICE.—To the 

2 extent consistent with sections 119 and 

3 122 of title 17, United States Code, a sat4 ellite carrier may also provide service 

5 under the statutory license of those sec6 tions to the local market within which such 

7 household is located in addition to the sig8 nals provided under clause (i). 

9 ‘‘(B) DIGITAL SIGNALS.—To the extent 

10 consistent with section 119 of title 17, United 

11 States Code, a satellite carrier may provide the 

12 digital signals of no more than 2 network sta13 tions in a single day for each television network 

14 to any household not located within the local 

15 markets of those network stations.’’. 

16 (b) DISTANT DIGITAL SIGNAL RETRANSMISSION.— 

17 Section 339 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

18 U.S.C. 339) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub20 section (e); 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘(d)(4),’’ in subsection (c)(5) 

22 and inserting ‘‘(e)(4),’’; and 

23 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol24 lowing: 
7 

•S 2644 IS 

1 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY FOR RETRANSMISSION OF DISTANT

2 DIGITAL SIGNALS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of identifying 

4 an unserved digital household under section 

5 119(d)(10) of title 17, United States Code, within 2 

6 years after the date of enactment of the Satellite 

7 Home Viewer Extension and Rural Consumer Access 

8 to Digital Television Act of 2004, the Commission 

9 shall conclude a proceeding— 

10 ‘‘(A) to determine the appropriate signal 

11 standard for determining eligibility for retrans12 missions of the digital signals of network sta13 tions; 

14 ‘‘(B) to develop and prescribe by rule a 

15 point-to-point predictive model for reliably and 

16 presumptively determining the ability of indi17 vidual locations to receive digital signals in ac18 cordance with the signal standard determined 

19 under subparagraph (A), and in prescribing 

20 that model, the Commission shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) ensure that it takes into account 

22 terrain, building structures, and other land 

23 cover variations; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) establish procedures for the con25 tinued refinement in the application of the 
8 

•S 2644 IS 

1 model by the use of additional data as it 

2 becomes available; and 

3 ‘‘(C) to establish appropriate waiver and 

4 objective verification procedures, similar to the 

5 procedures under paragraphs (2) and (4) of 

6 subsection (c), to apply to unserved digital 

7 household determinations made pursuant to the 

8 model. 

9 ‘‘(2) INTERIM ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.— 

10 Until the Commission completes the proceeding re11 quired by paragraph (1), an unserved household for 

12 purposes of section 119(d)(10) of title 17, United 

13 States Code, with respect to the digital signals of a 

14 particular network, is a household that— 

15 ‘‘(A) is eligible to receive retransmission of 

16 analog signals pursuant to subsection (c) of this 

17 section and section 119(a) of title 17, United 

18 States Code; or 

19 ‘‘(B) after December 31, 2004, is deter20 mined, pursuant to the predictive model estab21 lished by subsection (c) not to receive the ana22 log signal of a network station affiliated with 

23 that network that is licensed by the Commission 

24 for its fully authorized digital facility; and— 
9 

•S 2644 IS 

1 ‘‘(i) is located in a local market in 

2 which a network station affiliated with that 

3 network is not broadcasting a digital sig4 nal; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) is located outside the city of li6 cense of a network station that is under a 

7 Commission grant of special temporary au8 thority to operate at less than its author9 ized facility. 

10 ‘‘(3) CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND NETWORK STA11 TION’S CONTROL.—For purposes of subparagraph 

12 (B) of paragraph (2), a network station that has 

13 been granted an extension of its construction permit 

14 or a special temporary authority to operate at re15 duced facilities due to noneconomic circumstances 

16 beyond its control is deemed to be operating at fully 

17 authorized facilities. 

18 ‘‘(4) NOTICES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) BY CARRIER TO CUSTOMERS TO

20 WHOM DIGITAL SIGNAL WILL BE PROVIDED.— 

21 A satellite carrier providing a distant digital 

22 signal pursuant to paragraph (2) shall notify its 

23 customers in a clear and conspicuous manner 

24 before offering the distant digital signal that it 

25 will cease providing that digital signal within 
10 

•S 2644 IS 

1 120 days after the date on which it is notified 

2 that the household ceases to be an unserved 

3 household with respect to digital signals. 

4 ‘‘(B) BY NETWORK STATION TO SAT5 ELLITE CARRIER.—Within not more than 48 

6 hours after filing with the Commission a license 

7 application for its fully authorized facilities or 

8 filing an application for special temporary au9 thority, a network station shall notify all sat10 ellite carriers of the filing. 

11 ‘‘(C) BY SATELLITE CARRIERS TO NET12 WORK STATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) RESPONSE TO STATION NO14 TICE.—Within 60 days after receiving noti15 fication under subparagraph (B) from a 

16 network station, a satellite carrier shall 

17 transmit a list identifying (by name and 

18 street address, including county and zip 

19 code) all subscribers to which the satellite 

20 carrier provides a distant digital signal in 

21 the local market of the network station 

22 whose service will be terminated under 

23 paragraph (5). 

24 ‘‘(ii) COMPLETION OF COMMISSION

25 PROCEEDING.—Within 120 days after the 
11 

•S 2644 IS 

1 Commission completes the proceeding re2 quired by paragraph (1), each satellite car3 rier shall transmit a comprehensive list to 

4 the network stations that, as a result of 

5 the proceeding, are providing a digital sig6 nal to the satellite carrier’s subscribers, 

7 containing the information required by 

8 clause (i). 

9 ‘‘(D) LIST USED ONLY FOR COMPLI10 ANCE.—It is unlawful for any person to use a 

11 list provided under this paragraph, or informa12 tion derived from such a list, for any purpose 

13 other than compliance with the requirements of 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(5) TERMINATION OF CARRIAGE TO HOUSE16 HOLDS THAT LOSE UNSERVED STATUS.—Within 120 

17 days after the date on which a satellite carrier re18 ceives notice under paragraph (4)(B), it shall cease 

19 providing the distant digital signal to subscribers in 

20 households, determined on the basis of the notice, 

21 that will cease to be unserved households with re22 spect to digital signals. Within 120 days after the 

23 date on which the Commission completes the pro24 ceeding required by paragraph (1) (or on such date 

25 as the Commission in that proceeding may otherwise 
12 

•S 2644 IS 

1 specify), a satellite carrier shall cease providing dis2 tant digital signals to households required as a re3 sult of the Commission’s action. 

4 ‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Compliance with this 

6 section shall be enforced under titles IV and V 

7 of this Act. 

8 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR SATELLITE CAR9 RIER LIST REQUIREMENT.—If a satellite carrier 

10 fails to provide a complete list of subscribers in 

11 accordance with the requirements of paragraph 

12 (4)(C)(i), then each household with respect to 

13 which such failure occurs shall constitute a sep14 arate violation. 

15 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR TERMI16 NATIONS.—If a satellite carrier providing a dis17 tant digital signal pursuant to paragraph (2) 

18 fails to comply with the requirements of para19 graph (5), then— 

20 ‘‘(i) each household with respect to 

21 which the satellite carrier fails to comply 

22 shall be considered to be a separate viola23 tion for purposes of section 503(b) of this 

24 Act; and 
13 

•S 2644 IS 

1 ‘‘(ii) each day of a continuing viola2 tion shall be considered to be a separate 

3 violation. 

4 ‘‘(7) APPLICATION OF SECTION 338.—Nothing 

5 in this subsection affects the obligations of a sat6 ellite carrier under section 338(a) of this Act.’’. 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) DISTANT ANALOG SIGNAL RETRANS9 MISSION.—Section 339(c) of the Communications 

10 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 339(c)) is amended by in11 serting ‘‘OF DISTANT ANALOG SIGNALS.—’’ after 

12 ‘‘RETRANSMISSION’’ in the subsection heading. 

13 (2) 2-NETWORK STATION RULE APPLIES WITH14 OUT REGARD TO TYPE OF SIGNALS.—Section 119 of 

15 title 17, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (A) by striking the first sentence of clause 

17 (i) of subsection (a)(2)(B) and inserting ‘‘The 

18 statutory license provided for in subparagraph 

19 (A) shall be limited to secondary transmissions 

20 of the analog and digital signals of no more 

21 than 2 network stations in a single day for each 

22 television network to persons who reside in 

23 unserved households.’’; 
14 

•S 2644 IS 

1 (B) by striking ‘‘(d)(10)(A)’’ in subclauses 

2 (I) and (II) of subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii) and in3 serting ‘‘(d)(10)’’; 

4 (C) by striking ‘‘339(c)(3)’’ in subclause 

5 (I) of subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii) and inserting 

6 ‘‘339’’; 

7 (D) by striking ‘‘339(c)(4)’’ in subclause 

8 (II) of subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii) and inserting 

9 ‘‘339’’; and 

10 (E) by striking subsection (d)(10) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(10) UNSERVED HOUSEHOLD.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘unserved 

14 household’, with respect to a particular tele15 vision network, means an unserved analog 

16 household or an unserved digital household. 

17 ‘‘(B) UNSERVED ANALOG HOUSEHOLD.— 

18 In this paragraph, the term ‘unserved analog 

19 household’ means, with respect to an analog 

20 signal, a household that— 

21 ‘‘(i) cannot receive, through the use of 

22 a conventional, stationary, outdoor rooftop 

23 receiving antenna, an over-the-air signal of 

24 a primary network station affiliated with 

25 that network of Grade B intensity as de-
15 

•S 2644 IS 

1 fined by the Federal Communications 

2 Commission under section 73.683(a) of 

3 title 47 of the Code of Federal Regula4 tions, as in effect on January 1, 1999; 

5 ‘‘(ii) is subject to a waiver granted 

6 under regulations established under section 

7 339(c)(2) of the Communications Act of 

8 1934; 

9 ‘‘(iii) is a subscriber to whom sub10 section (e) applies; 

11 ‘‘(iv) is a subscriber to whom sub12 section (a)(11) applies; or 

13 ‘‘(v) is a subscriber to whom the ex14 emption under subsection (a)(2)(B)(iii) ap15 plies. 

16 ‘‘(C) UNSERVED DIGITAL HOUSEHOLD.— 

17 In this paragraph, the term ‘unserved digital 

18 household’ means, with respect to a digital sig19 nal, a household that is eligible to receive dis20 tant digital signals pursuant to section 339(d) 

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

22 339(d)).’’. 
16 

•S 2644 IS 

1 SEC. 5. BARGAINING OBLIGATIONS. 

2 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 325(b)(3)(C) of the 

3 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘Within 45 days’’ and all that 

6 follows through ‘‘1999, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; 

7 (2) by striking the second sentence; 

8 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i); 

9 (4) in clause (ii)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2006’’ and in11 serting ‘‘January 1, 2010’’ 

12 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

13 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (5) by adding at the end the following new 

15 clauses: 

16 ‘‘(iii) until January 1, 2010, prohibit 

17 a multichannel video programming dis18 tributor from failing to negotiate in good 

19 faith for retransmission consent under this 

20 section, and it shall not be a failure to ne21 gotiate in good faith if the distributor en22 ters into retransmission consent agree23 ments containing different terms and con24 ditions, including price terms, with dif25 ferent broadcast stations if such different 
17 

•S 2644 IS 

1 terms and conditions are based on com2 petitive marketplace considerations.’’. 

3 (b) DEADLINE.—The Federal Communications Com4 mission shall prescribe regulations to implement the 

5 amendments made by subsection (a)(5) within 180 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 6. REDUCTION OF REQUIRED TESTS. 

8 Section 339(c)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934 

9 (47 U.S.C. 339(c)(4) is amended by inserting after sub10 paragraph (C) the following new subparagraphs: 

11 ‘‘(D) REDUCTION OF VERIFICATION BUR12 DENS.—Within one year after the date of enact13 ment of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension 

14 and Rural Consumer Access to Digital Tele15 vision Act of 2004, the Commission shall by 

16 rule exempt from the verification requirements 

17 of subparagraph (A) any request for a test 

18 made by a subscriber to a satellite carrier— 

19 ‘‘(i) to whom the retransmission of 

20 the signals of local broadcast stations is 

21 available under section 122 of title 17, 

22 United States Code, from such carrier; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) for whom the predictive model 

24 required by paragraph (3) predicts a signal 

25 intensity that exceeds the signal intensity 
18 

•S 2644 IS 

1 standard in effect under section 

2 119(d)(11)(A) of such title by such num3 ber of decibels as the Commission specifies 

4 in such rule. 

5 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding any 

6 provision of this Act, this section does not pro7 hibit a subscriber who is predicted to receive a 

8 signal that meets or exceeds such signal inten9 sity standard from conducting a signal strength 

10 test at the subsciber’s own expense for the pur11 pose of determining their eligibility for distant 

12 signals under this section.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. PRIVACY RIGHTS OF SATELLITE SUBSCIBERS. 

14 Section 631 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

15 U.S.C. 551) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION TO DBS PROVIDERS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this sec19 tion shall apply to satellite carriers in the same way 

20 and to the same extent as they apply to cable opera21 tors. 

22 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—For the purpose of ap23 plying the last sentence of subsection (a)(1) to a sat24 ellite carrier, the phrase ‘the date of enactment of 

25 the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Rural 
19 

•S 2644 IS 

1 Consumer Access to Digital Television Act of 2004,’ 

2 shall be substituted for the phrase ‘the effective date 

3 of this section,’. 

4 ‘‘(3) SATELLITE CARRIER.—In this subsection, 

5 the term ‘satellite carrier’ means any person using 

6 the facilities of a satellite or satellite service licensed 

7 by the Federal Communications Commission and op8 erating in the Fixed-Satellite Service, or the Direct 

9 Broadcast Satellite Service, under part 25 of title 47 

10 of the Code of Federal Regulations to establish and 

11 operate a channel of communications for distribution 

12 of signals, and owning or leasing a capacity or serv13 ice on a satellite in order to provide such distribu14 tion.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. SPONSORSHIP IDENTIFICATION RULES FOR DBS. 

16 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

17 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall mod18 ify section 76.1615 of its rules (47 CFR 76.1615) to apply 

19 the requirements of section 317 of the Communications 

20 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 317) to all multichannel video pro21 gram distributors. 

22 SEC. 9. CERTAIN VESSELS AND AIRCRAFT. 

23 Section 119(a)(11) of title 17, United States Code, 

24 is amended— 
20 

•S 2644 IS 

1 (1) by striking ‘‘RECREATIONAL VEHICLES AND

2 COMMERCIAL TRUCKS.—’’ in the heading and insert3 ing ‘‘RECREATIONAL VEHICLE, VESSELS, AIRCRAFT, 

4 AND COMMERCIAL TRUCKS.—’’; 

5 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 

6 subparagraph (A)(i)(I); 

7 (3) by striking ‘‘Regulations.’’ in subparagraph 

8 (A)(i)(II) and inserting ‘‘Regulations;’’; 

9 (4) by inserting after subclause (II) of subpara10 graph (A)(i) the following: 

11 ‘‘(III) recreational vessels (as defined 

12 in section 2101(25) of title 46, United 

13 States Code, documented in accordance 

14 with section 12101 of title 46 or State law; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(IV) aircraft registered under section 

17 44103 of title 49.’’; 

18 (5) by striking ‘‘vehicle or’’ each place it ap19 pears in subparagraph (A)(ii), and inserting ‘‘vehi20 cle, vessel, aircraft, or’’; 

21 (6) by striking ‘‘vehicle’’ in subparagraph 

22 (A)(iii) and inserting ‘‘vehicle, recreational vessel, 

23 aircraft’’; 

24 (7) by striking ‘‘vehicle or’’ each place it ap25 pears in subparagraph (B), other than in clause (ii), 
21 

•S 2644 IS 

1 and inserting ‘‘vehicle, recreational vessel, aircraft, 

2 or’’; 

3 (8) by inserting after ‘‘vehicle.’’ in clause (ii) of 

4 subparagraph (B) the following: ‘‘In the case of a 

5 recreational vessel, a copy of the current certificate 

6 of documentation issued under section 12103 of title 

7 46 for the vessel or the State certificate of registra8 tion. In the case of an aircraft, a copy of the certifi9 cate of registration for the aircraft issued under sec10 tion 44103 of title 49.’’; and 

11 (9) by striking ‘‘vehicle or’’ in subparagraph 

12 (C) and inserting ‘‘vehicle, recreational vessel, air13 craft, or’’. 

Æ