I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5537 
To promote internet access in developing countries and update foreign policy 
toward the internet, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 21, 2016 
Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. ENGEL, and Ms. 
MENG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To promote internet access in developing countries and up-
date foreign policy toward the internet, and for other 
purposes. 
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 ‘‘Digital Global Access 
Policy Act of 2016’’ or the ‘‘Digital GAP Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to encourage the efforts 
of developing countries to improve mobile and fixed access 
to the internet in order to spur economic growth and job 
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creation, improve health, education, and financial services, 
reduce poverty and gender inequality, mitigate disasters, 
promote democracy and good governance, strengthen cy-
bersecurity, and update the Department of State’s struc-
ture to address cyberspace policy. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Since 2005, the number of internet users 
has more than tripled from 1,000,000,000 to 
3,200,000,000. 
(2) 4.2 billion people, 60 percent of the world’s 
population, remain offline and the growth rate of 
internet access is slowing. An estimated 75 percent 
of the offline population lives in just 20 countries 
and is largely rural, female, elderly, illiterate, and 
low-income. 
(3) Studies suggest that across the developing 
world, women are nearly 50 percent less likely to ac-
cess the internet than men living within the same 
communities, and that this digital gender divide car-
ries with it a great economic cost. According to a 
study, ‘‘Women and the Web’’, bringing an addi-
tional 600,000,000 women online would contribute 
$13,000,000,000–$18,000,000,000 to annual GDP 
across 144 developing countries. 
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(4) Without increased internet access, the devel-
oping world risks falling behind. 
(5) Internet access in developing countries is 
hampered by a lack of infrastructure and a poor reg-
ulatory environment for investment. 
(6) Build-once policies and approaches are poli-
cies or practices that minimize the number and scale 
of excavation and construction activities when in-
stalling telecommunications infrastructure in rights- 
of-way, thereby lowering the installation costs for 
high-speed internet networks and serve as a develop-
ment best practice. 
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
Congress declares that it is the policy of the United 
States to partner, consult, and coordinate with the govern-
ments of foreign countries, international organizations, re-
gional economic communities, businesses, civil society, and 
other stakeholders in a concerted effort to— 
(1) promote first-time internet access to mobile 
or broadband internet for at least 1.5 billion people 
in developing countries by 2020 in both urban and 
rural areas; 
(2) promote internet deployment and related co-
ordination, capacity building, and build-once policies 
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and approaches in developing countries, including 
actions to encourage— 
(A) a build-once approach by standardizing 
the inclusion of broadband conduit pipes which 
house fiber optic communications cable that 
support broadband or wireless facilities for 
broadband service as part of rights-of-way 
projects, including sewers, power transmission 
facilities, rail, pipelines, bridges, tunnels, and 
roads, that are funded, co-funded, or partially 
financed by the United States or any inter-
national organization that includes the United 
States as a member, in consultation with tele-
communications providers, unless a cost-benefit 
analysis determines that the cost of such ap-
proach outweighs the benefits; 
(B) national and local government agencies 
of developing countries and donor governments 
and organizations to coordinate road building, 
pipe laying, and major infrastructure with the 
private sector so that, for example, fiber optic 
cable could be laid below roads at the time such 
roads are built; and 
(C) international organizations to increase 
their financial support, including grants and 
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loans, and technical assistance to expand infor-
mation and communications access and internet 
connectivity; 
(3) promote policy changes that encourage first- 
time affordable access to the internet in developing 
countries, including actions to encourage— 
(A) integration of universal and gender-eq-
uitable internet access goals, to be informed by 
the collection of related gender disaggregated 
data, and internet tools into national develop-
ment plans and United States Government 
country-level strategies; 
(B) reforms of competition laws and spec-
trum allocation processes that may impede the 
ability of companies to provide internet services; 
and 
(C) efforts to improve procurement proc-
esses to help attract and incentivize investment 
in internet infrastructure; 
(4) promote the removal of tax and regulatory 
barriers to internet access; 
(5) promote the use of the internet to increase 
economic growth and trade, including— 
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(A) policies and strategies to remove re-
strictions to e-commerce, cross-border informa-
tion flows, and competitive marketplaces; and 
(B) entrepreneurship and distance learning 
enabled by access to technology; 
(6) promote the use of the internet to bolster 
democracy, government accountability, transparency, 
and human rights, including— 
(A) policies, initiatives, and investments, 
including the development of national internet 
plans, that are consistent with United States 
human rights goals, including freedom of ex-
pression, religion, and association; 
(B) policies and initiatives aimed at pro-
moting the multistakeholder model of internet 
governance; and 
(C) policies and support programs, re-
search, and technologies that safeguard human 
rights and fundamental freedoms online, and 
enable political organizing and activism, free 
speech, and religious expression that are in 
compliance with international human rights 
standards; 
(7) promote internet access and inclusion into 
internet policymaking for women, people with dis-
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