I
108TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1320
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Organization Act to facilitate the reallocation of spectrum from govern-
mental to commercial users.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 18, 2003
Mr. UPTON (for himself, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr.
TERRY, Mr. GREEN of Texas, and Mr. STEARNS) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration Organization Act to facilitate the re-
allocation of spectrum from governmental to commercial
users.
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 ‘‘Commercial Spectrum
Enhancement Act’’.
SEC. 2. RELOCATION OF ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES FOR
THE 
REALLOCATION 
OF 
SPECTRUM 
FOR
COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.
(a) RELOCATION FROM AUCTIONED SPECTRUM.—
Section 113 of the National Telecommunications and In-
formation Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C.
923(g)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection
(j); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(i) RELOCATION OF ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES
FOR THE REALLOCATION OF SPECTRUM FOR COMMER-
CIAL PURPOSES.—
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Any Fed-
eral entity that operates a Federal Government sta-
tion assigned to a band of frequencies specified in
paragraph (2) and that incurs relocation costs be-
cause of the reallocation of frequencies from Federal
use to non-Federal use shall receive payment for
such costs from the Spectrum Relocation Fund, in
accordance with section 118 of this Act, in lieu of
receiving compensation under subsection (g) of this
section. For purposes of this paragraph, Federal
power agencies exempted under subsection (c)(4)
that choose to relocate from the frequencies identi-
fied for reallocation pursuant to subsection (a), are
eligible to receive payment under this paragraph.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE FREQUENCIES.—The bands of
eligible frequencies for purposes of this section are
as follows:
‘‘(A) the 1710–1755 megahertz band; and
‘‘(B) any other band of frequencies reallo-
cated from Federal use to non-Federal use after
January 1, 1995, that is assigned by competi-
tive bidding pursuant to section 309(j) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
309(j)).
‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF RELOCATION COSTS.—For
purposes of this subsection, the term ‘relocation
costs’ means the costs incurred by a Federal entity
to achieve comparable capability of systems, regard-
less of whether that capability is achieved by relo-
cating to a new frequency assignment or by utilizing
an alternative technology. Such costs include—
‘‘(A) the costs of any modification or re-
placement of equipment, software, facilities, op-
erating manuals, training costs, or regulations
that are attributable to relocation;
‘‘(B) the costs of all engineering, equip-
ment, software, site acquisition and construc-
tion costs, as well as any legitimate and pru-
dent transaction expense, including outside con-
sultants, and reasonable additional costs in-
curred by the Federal entity that are attrib-
utable to relocation, including increased recur-
ring costs associated with the replacement fa-
cilities;
‘‘(C) the costs of engineering studies, eco-
nomic analyses, or other expenses reasonably
incurred in calculating the estimated relocation
costs that are provided to the Commission pur-
suant to paragraph (4) of this subsection;
‘‘(D) the one-time costs of any modifica-
tion of equipment reasonably necessary to ac-
commodate commercial use of such frequencies
prior to the termination of the Federal entity’s
primary allocation or protected status, when the
eligible frequencies as defined in paragraph (2)
of this subsection are made available for private
sector uses by competitive bidding and a Fed-
eral entity retains primary allocation or pro-
tected status in those frequencies for a period
of time after the completion of the competitive
bidding process; and
‘‘(E) the costs associated with the acceler-
ated replacement of systems and equipment if
such acceleration is necessary to ensure the
timely relocation of systems to a new frequency
assignment.
‘‘(4) NOTICE TO COMMISSION OF ESTIMATED
RELOCATION COSTS.—
‘‘(A) The Commission shall notify the
NTIA at least 9 months prior to the commence-
ment of any auction of eligible frequencies de-
fined in paragraph (2). At least 6 months prior
to the commencement of any such auction, the
NTIA, on behalf of the Federal entities and
after review by the Office of Management and
Budget, shall notify the Commission of esti-
mated relocation costs and timelines for such
relocation.
‘‘(B) Upon timely request of a Federal en-
tity, the NTIA shall provide such entity with in-
formation regarding an alternative frequency
assignment or assignments to which their
radiocommunications operations could be relo-
cated for purposes of calculating the estimated
relocation costs and timelines to be submitted
to the Commission pursuant to subparagraph
(A).
‘‘(C) To the extent practicable and con-
sistent with national security considerations,
the NTIA shall provide the information re-
quired by subparagraphs (A) and (B) by the ge-
ographic location of the Federal entities’ facili-
ties or systems and the frequency bands used
by such facilities or systems.
‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROCEDURES.—The
NTIA shall take such actions as necessary to ensure
the timely relocation of Federal entities’ spectrum-
related operations from frequencies defined in para-
graph (2) to frequencies or facilities of comparable
capability. Upon a finding by the NTIA that a Fed-
eral entity has achieved comparable capability of sys-
tems by relocating to a new frequency assignment or
by utilizing an alternative technology, the NTIA
shall terminate the entity’s authorization and notify
the Commission that the entity’s relocation has been
completed. The NTIA shall also terminate such enti-
ty’s authorization if the NTIA determines that the
entity has unreasonably failed to comply with the
timeline for relocation submitted by the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget under section
118(d)(2)(B).’’.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
113(g)(1)(B) of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘A per-
son’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (i)
with respect to a relocation from eligible frequencies de-
scribed in paragraph (2) of such subsection, a person’’.
SEC. 3. MINIMUM AUCTION RECEIPTS AND DISPOSITION OF
PROCEEDS.
(a) AUCTION DESIGN.—Section 309(j)(3) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(3)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (D);
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(F) for any auction of eligible frequencies
described in section 113(i)(2) of the National
Telecommunications and Information Adminis-
tration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(i)(2)),
the recovery of 110 percent of estimated reloca-
tion costs as provided to the Commission pursu-
ant to section 113(i)(4) of such Act.’’.
(b) SPECIAL AUCTION PROVISIONS FOR ELIGIBLE
FREQUENCIES.—Section 309(j) of such Act is further
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(15) SPECIAL AUCTION PROVISIONS FOR ELI-
GIBLE FREQUENCIES.—
‘‘(A) SPECIAL REGULATIONS.—The Com-
mission shall revise the regulations prescribed
under paragraph (4)(F) of this subsection to
prescribe methods by which the total cash pro-
ceeds from any auction of eligible frequencies
described in section 113(i)(2) of the National
Telecommunications and Information Adminis-
tration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(i)(2))
shall at least equal 110 percent of the total esti-
mated relocation costs provided to the Commis-
sion pursuant to section 113(i)(4) of such Act.
‘‘(B) CONCLUSION OF AUCTIONS CONTIN-
GENT ON MINIMUM PROCEEDS.—The Commis-
sion shall not conclude any auction of eligible
frequencies described in section 113(i)(2) of
such Act if the total cash proceeds attributable
to such spectrum are less than 110 percent of
the total estimated relocation costs provided to
the Commission pursuant to section 113(i)(4)
of such Act. If the Commission is unable to
conclude an auction for the foregoing reason,
the Commission shall cancel the auction, return
within 45 days after the auction cancellation
date any deposits from participating bidders
held in escrow, and absolve such bidders from
any obligation to bid in any subsequent reauc-
tion of such spectrum.
‘‘(C) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PRIOR TO DE-
AUTHORIZATION.—In any auction conducted
under the regulations required by subparagraph
(A), the Commission may grant a license as-
signed for the use of eligible frequencies prior
to the termination of an eligible Federal entity’s
authorization. However, the Commission shall
condition such license by requiring that the li-
censee cannot cause harmful interference to
such Federal entity until such entity’s author-
ization has been terminated by the National
Telecommunications and Information Adminis-
tration.’’.
(c) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Paragraph (8) of sec-
tion 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
309(j)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or sub-
paragraph (D)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(D) DISPOSITION OF CASH PROCEEDS.—
Cash proceeds attributable to the auction of any
eligible 
frequencies 
described 
in 
section
113(i)(2) of the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration Organization
Act (47 U.S.C. 923(i)(2)) shall be deposited in
the Spectrum Relocation Fund established
under section 118 of such Act, and shall be
available in accordance with that section.’’.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND AND PROCEDURES.
Part B of the National Telecommunications and In-
formation Administration Organization Act is amended by
adding after section 117 (47 U.S.C. 927) the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 118. SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECTRUM RELOCATION
FUND.—There is established on the books of the Treasury
a separate fund to be known as the ‘Spectrum Relocation
Fund’ (in this section referred to as the ‘Fund’), which
shall be administered by the Office of Management and
Budget (in this section referred to as ‘OMB’), in consulta-
tion with the NTIA.
‘‘(b) CREDITING OF RECEIPTS.—The Fund shall be
credited 
with 
the 
amounts 
specified 
in 
section
309(j)(8)(D) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(D)). The proceeds attributable to each
auction of any eligible frequencies described in section
113(i)(2) of this Act shall be deposited in a separate ac-
count in the Fund.
‘‘(c) USED
TO
PAY
RELOCATION
COSTS.—The
amounts in an account in the Fund from an auction of
eligible frequencies are authorized to be used to pay relo-
cation costs, as defined in section 113(i)(3) of this Act,
of an eligible Federal entity incurring such costs with re-
spect to relocation from those frequencies.
‘‘(d) FUND AVAILABILITY.—
‘‘(1) APPROPRIATION.—There are hereby ap-
propriated from the Fund such sums as are required
to pay the relocation costs specified in subsection
(c).
‘‘(2) TRANSFER
CONDITIONS.—None of the
funds provided under this subsection may be trans-
ferred to any eligible Federal entity—
‘‘(A) unless the Director of OMB has de-
termined, in consultation with the NTIA, the
appropriateness of such costs and the timeline
for relocation; and
‘‘(B) until 30 days after the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget has sub-
mitted to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations, the House Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, and the Senate Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation a
detailed plan describing how the sums trans-
ferred from the Fund will be used to pay relo-
cation costs in accordance with such subsection
and the timeline for such relocation.
‘‘(3) REVERSION OF UNUSED FUNDS.—Any un-
expended balances of an account in the Fund that
are remaining after the payment of the relocation
costs that are payable from such account shall revert
to and be deposited in the general fund of the Treas-
ury. Such reversion and deposit shall be made not
later than the end of the fiscal year in which the
NTIA has notified the Commission that all of the
entities whose relocation costs are payable from such
account have either—
‘‘(A) completed their relocation; or
‘‘(B) been determined by NTIA to have
unreasonably failed to complete such relocation
in accordance with the timeline required by
paragraph (2)(A).
‘‘(e) TRANSFER TO ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES.—
‘‘(1) TRANSFER.—Amounts made available pur-
suant to subsection (d) shall be transferred to eligi-
ble Federal entities, as defined in section 113(i)(1)
of this Act. An eligible Federal entity may, subject
to subsection (d)(2) of this section and the avail-
ability of funds in the relevant account, receive more
than one such transfer, but all such transfers are
subject to prior approval by the Director of OMB.
Such transferred amounts shall be credited to the
account of the eligible Federal entity which has in-
curred, or will incur, such costs, and shall remain
available until the NTIA has notified the Commis-
sion that the Federal entity has completed the relo-
cation, or the NTIA has determined that such entity
has unreasonably failed to complete such relocation
in accordance with the timeline required by para-
graph (2)(A).
‘‘(2) RETRANSFER TO FUND.—An eligible Fed-
eral entity that has received such amounts shall re-
port its expenditures to OMB and shall transfer any
amounts in excess of actual relocation costs back to
the account in the Fund from which it was trans-
ferred immediately after the NTIA has notified the
Commission that the entity’s relocation is complete,
or has determined that such entity has unreasonably
failed to complete such relocation in accordance with
the timeline required by paragraph (2)(A).’’.
SEC. 5. TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND.
Section 714(f) of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 614(f)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(f) LENDING AND CREDIT OPERATIONS.—Loans or
other extensions of credit from the Fund shall be made
available to an eligible small business on the basis of—
‘‘(1) the analysis of the business plan of the eli-
gible small business;
‘‘(2) the reasonable availability of collateral to
secure the loan or credit extension;
‘‘(3) the extent to which the loan or credit ex-
tension promotes the purposes of this section; and
‘‘(4) other lending policies as defined by the
Board.’’.
SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act is intended to modify section
1062(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106–65).