I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4024 
To improve the collection and distribution of broadband availability data. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2019 
Ms. FINKENAUER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To improve the collection and distribution of broadband 
availability data. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadband Trans-
parency and Accountability Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘affordable broadband service’’— 
(A) except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), with respect to a covered household, means 
broadband service at the baseline speed with an 
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communications capability’’ in section 706 of 
the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 
U.S.C. 1302); and 
(B) does not include mobile service or sat-
ellite-based service; 
(6) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 
Communications Commission; 
(7) the term ‘‘county’’, in the case of a State 
that does not have a local county system of govern-
ance, means an equivalent political subdivision as 
determined by the Commission, consistent with State 
law; 
(8) the term ‘‘covered entity’’ means an entity 
that— 
(A) is required to report data to the Com-
mission under the Form 477 Program; and 
(B) provides broadband service; 
(9) the term ‘‘covered household’’— 
(A) means a household; and 
(B) includes a farm, a ranch, a business, 
and a public facility, without regard to whether 
any such entity serves as a residence; 
(10) the term ‘‘Form 477 Program’’ means the 
program carried out by the Commission under sub-
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part V of part 1 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula-
tions, or any successor regulation; 
(11) the term ‘‘has access to broadband serv-
ice’’, with respect to a covered household, means af-
fordable broadband service— 
(A) is being provided to the covered house-
hold; or 
(B) could be provided to the covered 
household not later than 10 days after the date 
on which the covered household chooses to sub-
scribe to such service, if the household so choos-
es; 
(12) the term ‘‘qualified technology’’— 
(A) means a technology that delivers 
broadband service at not less than the baseline 
speed; and 
(B) does not include any technology— 
(i) used to provide broadband service 
to fewer than 5 percent of urban sub-
scribers to broadband service in the United 
States; or 
(ii) that is experimental or specula-
tive, until a provider of the technology has 
proven through consumer choices to be a 
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competitor in the marketplace, as deter-
mined by the Commission; and 
(13) the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 
(b) UPDATES TO DEFINITION OF BROADBAND SERV-
ICE.—Not less frequently than once every 2 years, the 
Commission shall update the definition of the term 
‘‘broadband service’’. 
SEC. 3. COLLECTION OF DATA. 
(a) FORM 477 PROGRAM.— 
(1) COLLECTION OF MORE GRANULAR DATA.— 
In collecting data from a covered entity under the 
Form 477 Program, the Commission shall require 
the covered entity to report data for each covered 
household in a census block. 
(2) DATA COLLECTION.— 
(A) TYPES OF DATA.—In collecting data 
from a covered entity under the Form 477 Pro-
gram, the Commission shall require the covered 
entity to report data that reflects the average 
speed and other characteristics of broadband 
service, including— 
(i) price and affordability, including, 
with respect to price, the total monthly 
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price charged to a covered household for 
each distinct broadband service plan or tier 
of standalone broadband service, net of any 
promotional discount, including mandatory 
equipment charges, usage-based fees, and 
fees for early termination of required con-
tracts; 
(ii) latency, including latency— 
(I) internal to the network, as 
measured on the backbone; and 
(II) from the backbone out to the 
entire internet routing table, reported 
as an average based on a measure-
ment of latency against 10 anchor 
sites selected by the Commission from 
among the most popular websites in 
the United States; 
(iii) denials of service and the reason 
for such denials, such as— 
(I) insufficient bandwidth capac-
ity to serve additional customers; or 
(II) the inability to reach a loca-
tion; and 
(iv) the type of broadband technology 
available. 
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(B) CHARACTERISTICS
OF
BROADBAND 
SERVICE AS ADVERTISED, AS AGREED TO, AND 
AS DELIVERED.—In collecting data from a cov-
ered entity under the Form 477 Program, the 
Commission shall require the covered entity to 
report data that measures the characteristics of 
broadband service reported under subparagraph 
(A)— 
(i) as advertised by the covered entity; 
(ii) as subscribed to by the consumer; 
and 
(iii) that the covered entity actually 
delivers to subscribers during high-volume 
hours, which shall be defined by the Com-
mission based on the type of broadband 
service usage in a particular area, includ-
ing whether the usage is primarily— 
(I) commercial or industrial; or 
(II) residential. 
(3) 
UPDATES
TO
REPORTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not less frequently 
than once every 3 years, the Commission shall 
update the reporting requirements for covered 
entities under the Form 477 Program. 
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(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
subparagraph (A) shall be construed to author-
ize the Commission to collect less granular data 
than is required under this subsection. 
(b) GOVERNMENT SOURCES.—The Commission shall 
collect data relating to broadband service from— 
(1) each Federal agency that has such data, in-
cluding the Department of Agriculture; and 
(2) each State or local governmental entity that 
is willing to share such data. 
(c) CONSOLIDATION OF DATA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con-
solidate all data relating to broadband service that 
is collected under the Form 477 Program or under 
subsection (b) into a single database. 
(2) USAC.—The Commission may enter into a 
contract with the Universal Service Administrative 
Company to administer the database described in 
paragraph (1). 
SEC. 4. DISTRIBUTION OF DATA. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Subject to subsection 
(b), the Commission shall make all data relating to 
broadband service collected under the Form 477 Program 
or from governmental entities under section 3(b) available 
in native electronic format to— 
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(1) other Federal agencies; 
(2) a broadband office, public utility commis-
sion, 
broadband 
mapping 
program, 
or 
other 
broadband program of a State, in the case of data 
pertaining to the needs of that State; 
(3) a unit of local government, in the case of 
data pertaining to the needs of that locality; 
(4) a nonprofit organization; and 
(5) an individual conducting research for non- 
commercial purposes. 
(b) PROTECTION OF DATA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may not 
share any data described in subsection (a) with an 
entity or individual described in that subsection un-
less the Commission has determined that the receiv-
ing entity or individual has the capability and intent 
to protect any personally identifiable information 
contained in the data. 
(2) DETERMINATION OF PERSONALLY IDENTI-
FIABLE INFORMATION.—The Commission— 
(A) shall define the term ‘‘personally iden-
tifiable information’’, for purposes of paragraph 
(1), through notice and comment rulemaking; 
and 
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(B) may not share any data under sub-
section (a) before completing the rulemaking 
under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. 
(3) BALANCING ACCESS AND PROTECTION.—If 
the Commission is unable to determine under para-
graph (1) that an entity or individual requesting ac-
cess to data under subsection (a) has the capability 
to protect personally identifiable information con-
tained in the data, the Commission shall make as 
much of the data available as possible in a format 
that does not compromise personally identifiable in-
formation, through methods such as anonymization. 
(c) MAP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in coordi-
nation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, and State and local stake-
holders, shall develop and maintain a searchable, 
interactive, and comprehensive nationwide inventory 
map of existing broadband service capability and 
availability in the United States that depicts the ge-
ographic extent to which broadband service is de-
ployed and available from a commercial provider or 
public provider throughout each State. 
(2) PARAMETERS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
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sion shall establish parameters for, and make avail-
able to the public, the map required under para-
graph (1). 
(3) REVISIONS.—Not less frequently than every 
2 years, the Commission shall revise the parameters 
established under paragraph (2). 
(4) REPLACEMENT OF PRIOR MAPS.—The map 
developed by the Commission under paragraph (1) 
shall replace any broadband deployment map main-
tained by the Commission before the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
(d) GRADATED OR TIERED MAPPING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In producing the Broadband 
Map, the Commission shall— 
(A) create, at a minimum— 
(i) a map that indicates the percent-
age of covered households in each census 
block that have access to broadband service 
at the baseline speed during peak usage 
hours; 
(ii) a map that indicates the percent-
age of covered households in each census 
block that have access to broadband service 
delivered using a qualified technology; 
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(iii) a map that layers the types of 
telecommunications technology available to 
deliver broadband service in each census 
block; and 
(iv) a map that indicates the relative 
affordability of broadband service in each 
census block; and 
(B) enable users of the Broadband Map 
to— 
(i) layer the maps described in sub-
paragraph (A); and 
(ii) filter the maps described in sub-
paragraph (A) by broadband provider. 
(2) TIERS.—The Commission shall display the 
percentage of covered households in a census block 
that have access to broadband service or technology 
under paragraph (1) by reference to one of the fol-
lowing tiers: 
(A) Less than 20 percent. 
(B) Not less than 20 percent and less than 
40 percent. 
(C) Not less than 40 percent and less than 
60 percent. 
(D) Not less than 60 percent and less than 
80 percent. 
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(E) Not less than 80 percent and less than 
90 percent. 
(F) Not less than 90 percent and less than 
95 percent. 
(G) Not less than 95 percent. 
(e) UPDATES.—Not later than 180 days after col-
lecting data relating to broadband service under the Form 
477 Program, the Commission, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and 
State and local stakeholders, shall— 
(1) update the Broadband Map with the data, 
and with any data collected from a governmental en-
tity under section 3(b) since the last update to the 
Broadband Map; and 
(2) make the data described in paragraph (1) 
available under subsection (a). 
SEC. 
5. 
REPORT 
ON 
BROADBAND 
LAST-MILE 
TECH-
NOLOGIES. 
Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 
(47 U.S.C. 1302) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); 
(2) in subsection (e), as so redesignated, in the 
matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub-
section’’ and inserting ‘‘section’’; and 
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(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) BROADBAND LAST-MILE TECHNOLOGIES.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘broadband service’ has the 
meaning given the term ‘advanced telecommuni-
cations capability’ in subsection (e); 
‘‘(B) the terms ‘covered entity’ and ‘cov-
ered household’ have the meanings given those 
terms in section 2 of the Broadband Trans-
parency and Accountability Act of 2019; and 
‘‘(C) the term ‘last-mile technology’ means 
the technology used to transmit broadband 
service from the backbone network into a cov-
ered household. 
‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—As part of the inquiry 
required under subsection (b), the Commission shall 
report on the number of covered households that 
subscribe to broadband service, categorized by the 
type of last-mile technology, as reported by covered 
entities under the Form 477 Program and by gov-
ernmental entities under section 3(b) of the 
Broadband Transparency and Accountability Act of 
2019. 
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‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—The Commission, in 
consultation with the Bureau of the Census, 
shall define the terms ‘insular’ and ‘high-cost’, 
with respect to census blocks, for purposes of 
subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(5) TRIBAL LAND.—Nothing in this subsection 
shall be construed to authorize the Commission to 
exclude covered households located on Tribal land 
from the information reported under paragraph (2), 
including the categorization under paragraph (3).’’. 
SEC. 6. MAP ACCOUNTABILITY. 
(a) VERIFICATION PROCESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 
shall conduct a rulemaking to establish a process to 
use data relating to broadband service capability and 
availability in the United States (referred to in this 
section as ‘‘coverage data’’) that is reported by con-
sumers, businesses, and State and local governments 
to verify the data used in the Broadband Map. 
(2) TIME
PERIOD
FOR
VERIFICATION.—The 
Commission, and any other Federal agency, may not 
use a new version of the Broadband Map to dis-
tribute support for broadband service unless the 
Commission has used the process established under 
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paragraph (1) for a period of not less than 60 days 
to verify the data used in the new Broadband Map. 
(3) SOURCES OF COVERAGE DATA.—The Com-
mission shall include in the process established 
under paragraph (1) a mechanism to incorporate 
coverage data obtained from— 
(A) any reputable application through 
which consumers report coverage data, as deter-
mined by the Commission; 
(B) State, local, or Tribal government enti-
ties that are primarily responsible for mapping 
or tracking broadband service capability and 
availability for a State, unit of local govern-
ment, or Indian Tribe, as applicable; and 
(C) any other source that the Commission 
determines appropriate. 
(b) CHALLENGE PROCESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 
shall establish, in addition to the process established 
under subsection (a), an evidence-based process by 
which a consumer, business, or State or local gov-
ernment may challenge data used in the Broadband 
Map. 
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(2) RESPONSIBILITY OF COVERED ENTITIES.— 
In carrying out the evidence-based challenge process 
under paragraph (1), the Commission shall require 
the covered entity that reported the data being chal-
lenged through the process to bear the burden of 
proving that the data is accurate. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to affect any determination made 
by the Commission before the date of enactment of this 
Act with respect to the distribution of support for 
broadband service. 
SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS. 
(a) OMB REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, any rulemaking or information collection 
conducted by the Commission under this Act or an amend-
ment made by this Act shall be exempt from review by 
the Office of Management and Budget. 
(b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.—Chapter 35 of 
title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Pa-
perwork Reduction Act’’), shall not apply to any rule-
making or information collection conducted by the Com-
mission under this Act or an amendment made by this 
Act. 
Æ 
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