I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3435 
To establish a broadband expansion grant program, to streamline the permit-
ting process for fixed and mobile broadband services, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 20, 2021 
Mrs. RODGERS of Washington (for herself and Mr. LATTA) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and Ag-
riculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a broadband expansion grant program, to 
streamline the permitting process for fixed and mobile 
broadband services, 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 ‘‘American Broadband 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
TITLE I—BROADBAND EXPANSION 
Sec. 101. Broadband expansion grant program. 
Sec. 102. Mobile broadband expansion grant program. 
TITLE II—BOOSTING BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY 
Sec. 201. Wireless leadership. 
Sec. 202. Broadband leadership. 
Sec. 203. Cable leadership. 
Sec. 204. Cable expansion. 
Sec. 205. Cable competition. 
Sec. 206. Cable transparency. 
Sec. 207. Communities over regulating networks need economic competition 
today. 
Sec. 208. Streamlining permitting to enable efficient deployment of broadband 
infrastructure. 
Sec. 209. Wireless broadband competition and efficient deployment. 
Sec. 210. Broadband competition and efficient deployment. 
Sec. 211. Wireless resiliency and flexible investment. 
Sec. 212. Broadband resiliency and flexible investment. 
Sec. 213. Proportional reviews for broadband deployment. 
Sec. 214. Protecting critical infrastructure. 
Sec. 215. Reducing antiquated permitting for infrastructure deployment. 
Sec. 216. Coastal broadband deployment. 
Sec. 217. Brownfields broadband deployment. 
Sec. 218. Trusted broadband networks. 
Sec. 219. Connecting communities post disaster. 
Sec. 220. Wildfire wireless resiliency. 
Sec. 221. Standard fees. 
Sec. 222. Expediting Federal broadband deployment. 
Sec. 223. Federal broadband deployment in unserved areas. 
Sec. 224. Federal broadband deployment tracking. 
TITLE I—BROADBAND 
EXPANSION 
SEC. 101. BROADBAND EXPANSION GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) NOTIFICATION
OF CREATION
OF BROADBAND 
MAPS; DATA SHARING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 business 
days after creating the maps required under section 
802(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 642(c)(1)), the Commission shall notify the 
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Assistant Secretary that such maps have been cre-
ated. 
(2) DATA SHARING.—Not less frequently than 
annually, the Commission shall, through the process 
established under section 802(b)(7) of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(b)(7)), provide 
the Assistant Secretary any data collected by the 
Commission pursuant to title VIII of such Act. 
(b) BROADBAND GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM; NO-
TICE
OF
FUNDING
OPPORTUNITY.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall, not later than 1 year after the As-
sistant Secretary is notified as described in sub-
section (a)(1)— 
(A) establish a program to make grants on 
a competitive basis, from amounts made avail-
able to carry out this section, to covered part-
nerships for covered broadband projects; and 
(B) publish a Notice of Funding Oppor-
tunity in the Federal Register that includes in-
formation about such program, including any 
requirement established by this section. 
(2) LIMITATION.—The Assistant Secretary may 
not make a grant under this section before the date 
that is 1 year after the date on which the Assistant 
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Secretary is notified as described in subsection 
(a)(1). 
(3) COORDINATION.—In making a grant award 
under paragraph (1), in order to avoid overbuilding 
in areas where Federal funds have already been 
awarded, the Assistant Secretary shall coordinate 
with— 
(A) the Chairman of the Commission; 
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture; and 
(C) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce 
for Economic Development. 
(4) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—To be eligible for a 
grant under this section, a covered partnership 
shall submit an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information 
as the Assistant Secretary may require, but the 
application shall, at a minimum, include a de-
scription of— 
(i) the covered partnership submitting 
the application under this subsection; 
(ii) the covered broadband project to 
be funded by the grant, including the 
speed or speeds at which the covered part-
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nership plans to offer broadband service 
under the project; 
(iii) the cost of the covered broadband 
project to be funded by the grant, includ-
ing— 
(I) a description of how the re-
quired construction will be funded; 
(II) all estimated project costs 
for all facilities that are required to 
complete the project, including the 
costs of upgrading, replacing, or oth-
erwise modifying the existing facilities 
to expand coverage or meet perform-
ance requirements; 
(III) a description of how grant 
funds will be used in combination with 
other funds to support the broadband 
service project; 
(IV) in the case of a broadband 
service project that will be partially 
supported by loans, financial projec-
tions demonstrating that the covered 
partnership can cover the necessary 
debt service payments over the life of 
any loan; and 
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(V) financial projections dem-
onstrating that the covered partner-
ship will remain financially stable at 
the conclusion of the grant award; 
(iv) the area to be served by the cov-
ered broadband project (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘proposed service area’’); 
(v) how the State, political subdivi-
sion, or political subdivisions in the covered 
partnership 
chose 
which 
provider 
of 
broadband service to enter into a partner-
ship with for the purposes of applying for 
a grant under this section; and 
(vi) any support provided to the pro-
vider of broadband service that is in the 
covered partnership through— 
(I) any grant, loan, or loan guar-
antee provided by a State to the pro-
vider of broadband service for the de-
ployment of broadband service in the 
proposed service area; 
(II) any grant, loan, or loan 
guarantee with respect to the pro-
posed service area provided by the 
Secretary of Agriculture under title 
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VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 
1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.), includ-
ing the Broadband Grants, Loans, 
and Loan Guarantees program, the 
Community Connect Programs, and 
the ReConnect Pilot Program; 
(III) any high-cost universal serv-
ice support provided under section 
254 of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 254); 
(IV) any grant provided under 
section 6001 of the American Recov-
ery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (47 
U.S.C. 1305); 
(V) the Education Stabilization 
Fund under title VIII of division B of 
the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 
136); 
(VI) any grant, loan, or loan 
guarantee provided by the Federal 
Government for the provision of 
broadband service; or 
(VII) 
any 
legally 
enforceable 
broadband deployment obligations to 
which the provider of broadband serv-
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ice is subject in the eligible service 
area. 
(B) REQUIREMENT TO STREAMLINE PER-
MITTING PROCESS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—In order for a cov-
ered partnership to be eligible for a grant 
under this section each covered entity may 
only charge a fee to consider an applica-
tion for the placement, construction, or 
modification of a facility for the provision 
of broadband service, personal wireless 
services, or telecommunications service in 
the proposed service area or an application 
to use a right-of-way or a facility in a 
right-of-way owned or managed by that en-
tity for the placement, construction, or 
modification of a facility for the provision 
of any such service in the proposed service 
area, if the fee for considering such appli-
cation is— 
(I) nondiscriminatory; 
(II) publicly disclosed; and 
(III) based on actual and direct 
costs, such as costs for the review and 
processing of such applications. 
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(ii) COVERED ENTITY DEFINED.—In 
this paragraph, the term ‘‘covered entity’’ 
means— 
(I) an entity in the partnership 
that is a State or political subdivision 
of a State; and 
(II) a political subdivision in 
which all or part of the proposed serv-
ice area is located. 
(5) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
section, the Assistant Secretary shall give priority to 
applications for covered broadband projects as fol-
lows (in decreasing order of priority): 
(A) Covered broadband projects designed 
to provide broadband service to the greatest 
number of households in an eligible service 
area. 
(B) Covered broadband projects designed 
to provide broadband service in an eligible serv-
ice area that is wholly within any area other 
than— 
(i) a county, city, or town that has a 
population of greater than 50,000 inhab-
itants; and 
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(ii) the urbanized area contiguous and 
adjacent to such a city or town. 
(C) Covered broadband projects that are 
most cost-effective, prioritizing such areas that 
are most rural. 
(D) Covered broadband projects designed 
to provide broadband service with a download 
speed of at least 100 megabits per second and 
an upload speed of at least 20 megabits per sec-
ond. 
(E) Any other covered broadband project 
that meets the requirements of this section. 
(6) FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—The amount of 
any grant provided to a covered partnership under 
this section may not exceed 75 percent of the total 
cost of the covered broadband project. 
(7) GRANT CONDITIONS.— 
(A) REQUIREMENTS.—As a condition of 
receiving a grant under this section for a cov-
ered broadband project that involves placing fa-
cilities along a roadway, the Assistant Secretary 
shall require the covered partnership receiving 
the grant to include consistent access points to 
allow access to such facilities, in accordance 
with any best practices established by the Com-
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mission regarding the placement of conduit ac-
cess points. 
(B) PROHIBITIONS.—As a condition of re-
ceiving a grant under this section, the Assistant 
Secretary shall prohibit— 
(i) a provider of broadband service 
that is in the covered partnership receiving 
the grant under this section— 
(I) from using grant amounts 
provided under this section to repay, 
or make any other payment relating 
to, a loan made by any public or pri-
vate lender; 
(II) from using grant amounts 
provided under this section as collat-
eral for a loan made by any public or 
private lender; and 
(III) from using more than 
$75,000 of grant amounts provided 
under this section to pay for the prep-
aration of an application for a grant 
under this section; and 
(ii) a State, or a political subdivision 
of the State, that is in the covered partner-
ship receiving the grant under this section 
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from, after accepting a grant under this 
section offering broadband service. 
(C) NONDISCRIMINATION.—The Assistant 
Secretary may not require a provider of 
broadband service that is in an eligible partner-
ship to be designated as an eligible tele-
communications carrier pursuant to section 
214(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 214(e)) to be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section or as a condition of receiving 
a grant under this section. 
(8) BUILD-OUT, NOTIFICATION, AND ACCOUNT-
ABILITY REQUIREMENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec-
retary shall establish build-out, accountability, 
and (in accordance with paragraph (8)) report-
ing requirements for covered partnerships that 
receive grants under this section, including, for 
each covered partnership that receives a grant 
under this section, milestones for the deploy-
ment of broadband service under the covered 
broadband project funded by the grant. 
(B) NOTIFICATION
TO
COMMISSION.— 
Upon establishing a build-out, accountability, or 
reporting requirement under subparagraph (A), 
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the Assistant Secretary shall transmit to the 
Commission a notification describing such re-
quirement. 
(C) PENALTY.—If a covered partnership 
fails to meet a build out requirement under 
subparagraph (A), the Assistant Secretary 
shall— 
(i) recover any funds made available 
to the covered partnership; and 
(ii) assess a covered partnership (to 
be split equally among each entity in the 
partnership) a fine of not less than 50 per-
cent of the funds made available to the 
covered partnership. 
(9) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered partnership 
that receives a grant under this section shall— 
(i) semi-annually submit to the Assist-
ant Secretary a certification that identifies 
the areas for which broadband service has 
been 
deployed 
under 
the 
covered 
broadband project funded by the grant, to 
assess compliance with broadband build- 
out milestones established by the Assistant 
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(C) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—Not later 
than 30 days after receiving information under 
subparagraph (A)(ii), the Assistant Secretary 
shall provide such information to the Commis-
sion. 
(10) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec-
retary may, at the request of a covered partner-
ship applying for a grant under this section, 
provide technical assistance and training to 
such partnership with respect to the application 
process and the application to be submitted by 
the partnership. 
(B) 
FUNDING.—Not 
more 
than 
$1,000,000 of the amount made available to 
carry out this section may be used for technical 
assistance and training under subparagraph 
(A). 
(C) 
COORDINATION.—When 
providing 
technical assistance to a covered partnership, 
the Assistant Secretary shall coordinate with 
any official of the State in which the political 
subdivision or political subdivisions in the cov-
ered partnership are located that is responsible 
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for the expansion of broadband service in the 
State. 
(11) RELATION
TO
OTHER
FEDERAL
AND 
STATE BROADBAND PROGRAMS.— 
(A) UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND.—Not later 
than 5 business days after the Commission re-
ceives a request from the Assistant Secretary 
for any information the Assistant Secretary de-
termines necessary to ensure that any grant 
made under this section complements and is not 
duplicative of high-cost universal service sup-
port provided under section 254 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254), for an 
area that includes any portion or all of the area 
to be served by the covered broadband project 
with respect to which the grant is made, the 
Commission shall provide the Assistant Sec-
retary such information. 
(B) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE.—Not later 
than 5 business days after the Secretary of Ag-
riculture receives a request from the Assistant 
Secretary for any information the Assistant 
Secretary determines necessary to ensure that 
any grant made under this section complements 
and is not duplicative of grants, loans, or loan 
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guarantees provided by the Secretary of Agri-
culture under title VI of the Rural Electrifica-
tion Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.), in-
cluding the Broadband Grants, Loans, and 
Loan Guarantees program and the Community 
Connect Programs, and the ReConnect Pilot 
Program, for an area that includes any portion 
or all of the area to be served by the covered 
broadband project with respect to which the 
grant is made, the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall provide the Assistant Secretary such infor-
mation. 
(C) STATE
BROADBAND
GRANT
PRO-
GRAMS.—The Assistant Secretary shall ensure 
that any grant made under this section com-
plements and is not duplicative of grants, loans, 
loan guarantees, or other support, provided by 
a State to a provider of broadband service in 
the covered partnership, that establishes a le-
gally enforceable obligation for the provider to 
provide broadband service with a download 
speed of at least 25 megabits per second and an 
upload speed of at least 3 megabits per second, 
in an area that includes any portion or all of 
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the area to be served by the covered broadband 
project with respect to which the grant is made. 
(12) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall annually submit a report to Congress 
on the progress of the program established under 
this section, based on the information provided by 
covered partnerships under paragraph (8)(A)(ii), 
until every obligation under each grant provided 
under this section is fulfilled. 
(13) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this section $20,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 
through fiscal year 2027, to remain available 
through fiscal year 2027. 
(14) CHALLENGE PROCESS.—In the Notice of 
Funding Opportunity required to be published under 
subsection (b)(1)(B), the Assistant Secretary shall 
be required to establish a user-friendly challenge 
process through which consumers, State, local, and 
Tribal governmental entities, and other entities or 
individuals may submit information to the Assistant 
Secretary to challenge whether— 
(A) with respect to an area, such area is 
an eligible service area; 
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(B) with respect to an area, an entity al-
ready provides such service in the area; or, 
(C) with respect to an area, an entity al-
ready has a legally enforceable obligation to 
provide broadband service in the area at 25 
megabits per second upload speed and 3 mega-
bits per second download speed. 
(15) LIMITATION ON STATE OR POLITICAL SUB-
DIVISION.— 
(A) Any entity in a covered partnership 
that is a State or political subdivision of a State 
may not prohibit or have the effect of prohib-
iting the entity in a covered partnership that is 
a provider of fixed broadband service that is not 
owned (in whole or in part) or controlled by the 
State or any political subdivision of the State 
from entering into a covered partnership on the 
basis of requiring any obligation, requirement, 
duty, or regulation that is inconsistent with, or 
exceeds in a material way, any grant condition 
required by the Assistant Secretary. 
(B) In the case of a covered partnership 
that receives a grant under this section, the en-
tity in the partnership that is a State or polit-
ical subdivision of a State may not impose any 
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obligation, requirement, duty, or regulation that 
is inconsistent with, or exceeds in a material 
way, any grant condition required by the Assist-
ant Secretary. 
(16) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed to permit an entity in a 
covered partnership that is a State or a political 
subdivision of a State to own or operate any facility 
used to provide broadband service at the conclusion 
of the covered partnership. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Communications and Information. 
(2) 
BROADBAND
SERVICE.—The 
term 
‘‘broadband service’’ has the meaning given the term 
broadband internet access service in section 8.1(b) 
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc-
cessor regulation). 
(3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(4) 
COVERED
BROADBAND
PROJECT.—The 
term ‘‘covered broadband project’’ means a competi-
tively and technologically neutral project for the de-
ployment of fixed broadband service that provides in 
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(ii) a provider of fixed broadband 
service that is not owned (in whole or in 
part) or controlled by the State or any po-
litical subdivision of the State. 
(6) ELIGIBLE SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble service area’’ means a household or business lo-
cation in which broadband service at 25 megabits 
per second upload and 3 megabits per second 
download speed is not available, as determined by 
the Assistant Secretary solely on the basis of the 
maps created under section 802(c)(1) of the Com-
munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)), ex-
cept for those areas that are awarded funding in the 
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase II Auction 
(FCC 20–5) or a High Cost Program. 
(7) HIGH
COST
PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘high 
cost program’’ means any of the following— 
(A) any grant, loan, or loan guarantee pro-
vided by a State to the provider of broadband 
service for the deployment of broadband service 
in the proposed service area; 
(B) any grant, loan, or loan guarantee 
with respect to the proposed service area pro-
vided by the Secretary of Agriculture under title 
VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 
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U.S.C. 950bb et seq.), including the Broadband 
Grants, Loans, and Loan Guarantees program, 
the Community Connect Programs, and the Re-
Connect Pilot Program; 
(C) any high-cost universal service support 
provided under section 254 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254); 
(D) any grant provided under section 6001 
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment 
Act of 2009 (47 U.S.C. 1305); 
(E) the Education Stabilization Fund 
under title VIII of division B of the CARES 
Act (Public Law 116–136); or 
(F) any grant, loan, or loan guarantee pro-
vided by the Federal Government for the provi-
sion of broadband service. 
(8) PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICES.—The term 
‘‘personal wireless services’’— 
(A) has the meaning given such term in 
section 332 of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 332); and 
(B) includes commercial mobile data serv-
ice (as defined in section 6001 of the Middle 
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 
(47 U.S.C. 1401)). 
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(9) POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.—The term ‘‘polit-
ical subdivision’’ includes a city, county, wireless au-
thority, or planning district commission. 
(10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 
States, the District of Columbia, the territories and 
possessions of the United States, and federally rec-
ognized Indian Tribes. 
(11) 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE.—The 
term ‘‘telecommunications service’’ has the meaning 
given the term in section 3 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 
SEC. 102. MOBILE BROADBAND EXPANSION GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) NOTIFICATION
OF CREATION
OF BROADBAND 
MAPS; DATA SHARING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 business 
days after creating the maps required under section 
802(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 642(c)(1)), the Commission shall notify the 
Assistant Secretary that such maps have been cre-
ated. 
(2) DATA SHARING.—Not less frequently than 
annually, the Commission shall, through the process 
established under section 802(b)(7) of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(b)(7)), provide 
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the Assistant Secretary any data collected by the 
Commission pursuant to title VIII of such Act. 
(b) MOBILE BROADBAND GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM; NO-
TICE
OF
FUNDING
OPPORTUNITY.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall, not later than 1 year after the As-
sistant Secretary is notified as described in sub-
section (a)(1)— 
(A) establish a program to make grants on 
a competitive basis, from amounts made avail-
able to carry out this section, to covered part-
nerships for covered mobile broadband service 
projects; and 
(B) publish a Notice of Funding Oppor-
tunity in the Federal Register that includes in-
formation about such program, including any 
requirement established by this section. 
(2) LIMITATION; COORDINATION.— 
(A) The Assistant Secretary may not make 
a grant under this section before the date that 
is 1 year after the date on which the Assistant 
Secretary is notified as described in subsection 
(a)(1). 
(B) In making a grant award under para-
graph (1), the Assistant Secretary shall coordi-
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nate with the Chairman of the Commission in 
order to avoid overbuilding in areas where 
funds are made available through the 5G Fund 
Report and Order (FCC 20–150) adopted by 
the Commission on October 27, 2020. 
(3) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—To be eligible for a 
grant under this section, a covered partnership 
shall submit an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information 
as the Assistant Secretary may require, but the 
application shall, at a minimum, include a de-
scription of— 
(i) the covered partnership submitting 
the application under this paragraph; 
(ii) the covered mobile broadband 
service project to be funded by the grant, 
including the speed or speeds at which the 
covered partnership plans to offer mobile 
broadband service under the project; 
(iii) the cost of the covered mobile 
broadband service project to be funded by 
the grant, including— 
(I) a description of how the re-
quired construction will be funded; 
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(II) all estimated project costs 
for all facilities that are required to 
complete the project, including the 
costs of upgrading, replacing, or oth-
erwise modifying the existing facilities 
to expand coverage or meet perform-
ance requirements; 
(III) a description of how grant 
funds will be used in combination with 
other funds to support the mobile 
broadband service project; 
(IV) in the case of a mobile 
broadband service project that will be 
partially supported by loans, financial 
projections demonstrating that the 
covered partnership can cover the nec-
essary debt service payments over the 
life of any loan; and 
(V) 
financial 
projects 
dem-
onstrating that the covered partner-
ship will remain financially stable at 
the conclusion of the grant award; 
(iv) the area to be served by the cov-
ered mobile broadband service project (in 
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this subsection referred to as the ‘‘pro-
posed service area’’); 
(v) how the State, political subdivi-
sion, or political subdivisions in the covered 
partnership chose which provider of mobile 
broadband service to enter into a partner-
ship with for the purposes of applying for 
a grant under this section; and 
(vi) any support (other than support 
for a wireline service) that the provider of 
mobile broadband service that is in the 
covered partnership has received through— 
(I) any grant, loan, or loan guar-
antee provided by a State to the pro-
vider of mobile broadband service for 
the deployment of mobile broadband 
service in the proposed service area; 
(II) any high-cost universal serv-
ice support provided under section 
254 of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 254); 
(III) any grant provided under 
section 6001 of the American Recov-
ery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (47 
U.S.C. 1305); 
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(IV) the Education Stabilization 
Fund under title VIII of division B of 
the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 
136); 
(V) any other grant, loan, or loan 
guarantee provided by the Federal 
Government for the provision of 
broadband service; or 
(VI) any legally enforceable mo-
bile broadband deployment obligations 
to which the provider of mobile 
broadband service is subject in the eli-
gible service area. 
(B) REQUIREMENT TO STREAMLINE PER-
MITTING PROCESS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—In order for a cov-
ered partnership to be eligible for a grant 
under this section each covered entity may 
only charge a fee to consider an applica-
tion for the placement, construction, or 
modification of a facility for the provision 
of broadband service, personal wireless 
services, or telecommunications service in 
the proposed service area or an application 
to use a right-of-way or a facility in a 
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right-of-way owned or managed by that en-
tity for the placement, construction, or 
modification of a facility for the provision 
of any such service in the proposed service 
area, if the fee for considering such appli-
cation is— 
(I) nondiscriminatory; 
(II) publicly disclosed; and 
(III) based on actual and direct 
costs, such as costs for the review and 
processing of such applications. 
(ii) COVERED ENTITY DEFINED.—In 
this subparagraph, the term ‘‘covered enti-
ty’’ means— 
(I) an entity in the partnership 
that is a State or political subdivision 
of a State; and 
(II) a political subdivision in 
which all or part of the proposed serv-
ice area is located. 
(4) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
section, the Assistant Secretary shall give priority to 
applications for covered mobile broadband service 
projects as follows (in decreasing order of priority): 
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(A) Covered mobile broadband service 
projects designed to provide mobile broadband 
service to an eligible service in which the great-
est number of households in the eligible service 
area do not have fixed broadband service with 
a download speed of 25 megabits per second 
and an upload speed of 3 megabits per second, 
as determined by the Assistant Secretary on the 
basis of the maps required under section 
802(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)). 
(B) Covered mobile broadband service 
projects designed to provide mobile broadband 
service in an eligible service area that is wholly 
within any area other than— 
(i) a county, city, or town that has a 
population of greater than 50,000 inhab-
itants; and 
(ii) the urbanized area contiguous and 
adjacent to such a city or town. 
(C) Covered mobile broadband service 
projects that are most cost-effective. 
(D) Covered mobile broadband service 
projects that are most rural. 
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(E) Covered mobile broadband service 
projects designed to provide 5th Generation 
long-term evolution or future generation of 
service that meets the standards set forth in 
Release 15, or any successor release, of the 3rd 
Generation Partnership Project. 
(F) Any other covered mobile broadband 
service project that meets the requirements of 
this section. 
(5) FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—The amount of 
any grant provided to a covered partnership under 
this section may not exceed 75 percent of the total 
cost of the covered mobile broadband service project. 
(6) GRANT CONDITIONS.— 
(A) REQUIREMENTS.—As a condition of 
receiving a grant under this section for a cov-
ered mobile broadband service project, a cov-
ered partnership shall provide mobile broadband 
service under the project using the facilities of 
the provider of mobile broadband service in the 
covered partnership and not exclusively through 
the resale of the service of another provider of 
personal wireless services. 
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(B) PROHIBITIONS.—As a condition of re-
ceiving a grant under this section, the Assistant 
Secretary shall prohibit— 
(i) a provider of mobile broadband 
service that is in the covered partnership 
receiving the grant under this section— 
(I) from using grant amounts 
provided under this section to repay, 
or make any other payment relating 
to, a loan made by any public or pri-
vate lender; 
(II) from using grant amounts 
provided under this section as collat-
eral for a loan made by any public or 
private lender; and 
(III) from using more than 
$75,000 of grant amounts provided 
under this section to pay for the prep-
aration of an application for a grant 
under this section; and 
(ii) a State, or a political subdivision 
of a State, that is in the covered partner-
ship receiving the grant under this section, 
after accepting a grant under this section 
from offering mobile broadband service. 
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(C) NONDISCRIMINATION.—The Assistant 
Secretary may not require a provider of mobile 
broadband service that is in an eligible partner-
ship to be designated as an eligible tele-
communications carrier pursuant to section 
214(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 214(e)) for the covered partnership to 
be eligible to receive a grant under this section 
or as a condition of the covered partnership re-
ceiving a grant under this section. 
(D) COLLOCATION.—A covered entity (as 
defined in paragraph (3)(B)(ii)) may not pro-
hibit or have the effect of prohibiting the col-
location of personal wireless service facilities at 
any site at which the covered partnership has 
deployed a personal wireless service facility in 
connection with a grant made available in this 
section. 
(7) BUILD-OUT, NOTIFICATION, AND ACCOUNT-
ABILITY REQUIREMENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec-
retary shall establish build-out, accountability, 
and (in accordance with paragraph (8)) report-
ing requirements for covered partnerships that 
receive grants under this section, including, for 
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each covered partnership that receives a grant 
under this section, milestones for the deploy-
ment of mobile broadband service under the 
covered mobile broadband service project fund-
ed by the grant. 
(B) NOTIFICATION
TO
COMMISSION.— 
Upon establishing a build-out, accountability, or 
reporting requirement under subparagraph (A), 
the Assistant Secretary shall transmit to the 
Commission a notification describing such re-
quirement. 
(C) PENALTY.—If a covered partnership 
fails to meet a build out requirement under 
subparagraph (A), the Assistant Secretary 
shall— 
(i) recover any funds made available 
to the covered partnership; and 
(ii) assess a covered partnership (to 
be split equally among each entity in the 
partnership) a fine of not less than 50 per-
cent of the funds made available to the 
covered partnership. 
(8) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered partnership 
that receives a grant under this section shall— 
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(i) semi-annually submit to the Assist-
ant Secretary a certification that identifies 
the areas for which mobile broadband serv-
ice have been deployed under the covered 
mobile broadband service project funded by 
the grant, to assess compliance with mobile 
broadband service build-out milestones es-
tablished by the Assistant Secretary under 
paragraph (7) for the project; and 
(ii) provide to the Assistant Secretary 
complete, reliable, and precise information 
(in a manner consistent with how informa-
tion is submitted under section 802 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
642)) on each area receiving access to mo-
bile broadband service through the covered 
mobile broadband service project funded by 
the grant, not later than 90 days after— 
(I) the date of completion of each 
milestone established by the Assistant 
Secretary under paragraph (6) for the 
covered 
mobile 
broadband 
service 
project; and 
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(II) the date of completion of the 
covered 
mobile 
broadband 
service 
project. 
(B) PUBLICATION OF SEMI-ANNUAL CER-
TIFICATION.—The Assistant Secretary shall 
publish in the Federal Register each certifi-
cation submitted under subparagraph (A)(i), 
except that the Assistant Secretary shall not 
publish any information in such certification 
that the Assistant Secretary determines to be 
confidential. 
(C) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—Not later 
than 30 days after receiving information under 
subparagraph (A)(ii), the Assistant Secretary 
shall provide such information to the Commis-
sion. 
(9) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec-
retary may, at the request of a covered partner-
ship applying for a grant under this section, 
provide technical assistance and training to 
such partnership with respect to the application 
process and the application to be submitted by 
the partnership. 
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(B) 
FUNDING.—Not 
more 
than 
$1,000,000 of the amount made available to 
carry out this section may be used for technical 
assistance and training under subparagraph 
(A). 
(C) 
COORDINATION.—When 
providing 
technical assistance to a covered partnership, 
the Assistant Secretary shall coordinate with 
any official of the State in which the political 
subdivision or political subdivisions in the cov-
ered partnership are located that is responsible 
for the expansion of personal wireless services 
in the State. 
(10) RELATION
TO
OTHER
FEDERAL
AND 
STATE BROADBAND PROGRAMS.— 
(A) UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND.—Not later 
than 5 business days after the Commission re-
ceives a request from the Assistant Secretary 
for any information the Assistant Secretary de-
termines necessary to ensure that any grant 
made under this section complements and is not 
duplicative of high-cost universal service sup-
port provided under section 254 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254), for an 
area that includes any portion or all of the area 
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to be served by the covered mobile broadband 
service project with respect to which the grant 
is made, the Commission shall provide the As-
sistant Secretary such information. 
(B) STATE
BROADBAND
GRANT
PRO-
GRAMS.—The Assistant Secretary shall ensure 
that any grant made under this section com-
plements and is not duplicative of grants, loans, 
loan guarantees, or other support, provided by 
a State to a provider of mobile broadband serv-
ice in the covered partnership, that establishes 
a legally enforceable obligation for the provider 
to provide broadband service with a download 
speed of at least 25 megabits per second and an 
upload speed of at least 3 megabits per second, 
in an area that includes any portion or all of 
the area to be served by the covered mobile 
broadband service project with respect to which 
the grant is made. 
(11) CHALLENGE PROCESS.—In the Notice of 
Funding Opportunity required to be published under 
subsection (b)(1)(B), the Assistant Secretary shall 
be required to establish a user-friendly challenge 
process through which consumers, State, local, and 
Tribal governmental entities, and other entities or 
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individuals may submit information to the Assistant 
Secretary to challenge whether— 
(A) with respect to an area, such area is 
an eligible service area; 
(B) with respect to an area, an entity al-
ready provides such service in the area; or 
(C) with respect to an area, an entity al-
ready has a legally enforceable obligation to 
provide mobile broadband service in the area. 
(12) LIMITATION ON STATE OR POLITICAL SUB-
DIVISION.— 
(A) Any entity in a covered partnership 
that is a State or political subdivision of a State 
may not prohibit or have the effect of prohib-
iting the entity in a covered partnership that is 
a provider of mobile broadband service that is 
not owned (in whole or in part) or controlled by 
the State or any political subdivision of the 
State from entering into a covered partnership 
on the basis of requiring any obligation, re-
quirement, duty, or regulation that is incon-
sistent with, or exceeds in a material way, any 
grant condition required by the Assistant Sec-
retary. 
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(B) In the case of a covered partnership 
that receives a grant under this section, the en-
tity in the partnership that is a State or polit-
ical subdivision of a State may not impose any 
obligation, requirement, duty, or regulation that 
is inconsistent with, or exceeds in a material 
way, any grant condition required by the Assist-
ant Secretary. 
(13) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed to permit an entity in a 
covered partnership that is a State or a unit of local 
government to own or operate any facility used to 
provide mobile broadband service at the conclusion 
of the covered partnership. 
(14) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—The Assistant 
Secretary shall annually submit a report to Congress 
on the progress of the program established under 
this section, based on the information provided by 
covered partnerships under paragraph (8)(A)(ii), 
until every obligation under each grant provided 
under this section is fulfilled. 
(15) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this section $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 
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through fiscal year 2027, to remain available 
through fiscal year 2027. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Communications and Information. 
(2) 
BROADBAND
SERVICE.—The 
term 
‘‘broadband service’’ has the meaning given the term 
broadband internet access service in section 8.1(b) 
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc-
cessor regulation). 
(3) CELL
EDGE
PROBABILITY; CELL
LOAD-
ING.—The terms ‘‘cell edge probability’’ and ‘‘cell 
loading’’ have the meaning given those terms in sec-
tion 801 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 641). 
(4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(5) COVERED
MOBILE
BROADBAND
SERVICE 
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘covered mobile broadband 
service project’’ means a competitively and techno-
logically neutral project for the deployment of mobile 
broadband service in an eligible service area. 
(6) COVERED PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘cov-
ered partnership’’ means— 
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(A) a partnership between— 
(i) a State, if such State does not 
offer personal wireless services; 
(ii) one or more political subdivisions 
of the State, if such political subdivision or 
such political subdivisions (as the case may 
be) do not offer mobile broadband service; 
and 
(iii) a provider of mobile broadband 
service that is not owned (in whole or in 
part) or controlled by the State or any po-
litical subdivision of the State; or 
(B) a partnership between— 
(i) one or more political subdivisions 
of a State, provided such political subdivi-
sion or political subdivisions (as the case 
may be) does not offer mobile broadband 
service; and 
(ii) a provider of mobile broadband 
service that is not owned (in whole or in 
part) or controlled by the State or any po-
litical subdivision of the State. 
(7) ELIGIBLE SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble service area’’ means an area not smaller than a 
census block in which mobile broadband service is 
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not available, as determined by the Assistant Sec-
retary solely on the basis of the maps created under 
section 802(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)), except such areas that 
are eligible for support or are awarded support 
under the 5G Fund Report and Order (FCC 20– 
150) adopted by the Commission on October 27, 
2020. 
(8) MOBILE BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 
‘‘mobile broadband service’’ means 4th Generation 
long-term evolution service, 5th Generation long- 
term evolution service, or future generation of serv-
ice that meets the standards set forth in Release 10, 
or any successor release, of the 3rd Generation Part-
nership Project. 
(9) PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICES.—The term 
‘‘personal wireless services’’— 
(A) has the meaning given such term in 
section 332 of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 332); and 
(B) includes commercial mobile data serv-
ice (as defined in section 6001 of the Middle 
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 
(47 U.S.C. 1401)). 
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(10) PERSONAL
WIRELESS
SERVICE
FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘‘personal wireless service facility’’ 
means a facility for the provision of personal wire-
less service. 
(11) POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.—The term ‘‘po-
litical subdivision’’ includes a city, county, wireless 
authority, or planning district commission. 
(12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 
States, the District of Columbia, the territories and 
possessions of the United States, and federally rec-
ognized Indian Tribes. 
(13) 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE.—The 
term ‘‘telecommunications service’’ has the meaning 
given the term in section 3 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 
TITLE II—BOOSTING 
BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY 
SEC. 201. WIRELESS LEADERSHIP. 
Section 332(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 332(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (7) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(7) PRESERVATION
OF
LOCAL
ZONING
AU-
THORITY.— 
‘‘(A) GENERAL
AUTHORITY.—Except as 
provided in this paragraph, nothing in this Act 
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shall limit or affect the authority of a State or 
local government or instrumentality thereof over 
decisions regarding the placement, construction, 
and modification of personal wireless service fa-
cilities. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The regulation of 
the placement, construction, or modifica-
tion of a personal wireless service facility 
by any State or local government or instru-
mentality thereof— 
‘‘(I) shall not unreasonably dis-
criminate among providers of the 
same service, including by providing 
exclusive or preferential use of facili-
ties to a particular provider or class of 
providers of personal wireless service; 
and 
‘‘(II) shall not prohibit or have 
the effect of prohibiting the provision 
or enhancement of personal wireless 
service. 
‘‘(ii) ENGINEERING STANDARDS; AES-
THETIC REQUIREMENTS.—It is not a viola-
tion of clause (i) for a State or local gov-
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ernment or instrumentality thereof to es-
tablish for small personal wireless service 
facilities objective, reasonable, and non-
discriminatory— 
‘‘(I) structural engineering stand-
ards based on generally applicable 
codes; 
‘‘(II) safety requirements; or 
‘‘(III) aesthetic or concealment 
requirements. 
‘‘(iii) TIMEFRAMES.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—A State or 
local government or instrumentality 
thereof shall grant or deny a complete 
request for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify a personal wire-
less service facility not later than— 
‘‘(aa) in the case of a per-
sonal wireless service facility that 
is not a small personal wireless 
service facility— 
‘‘(AA) if the request is 
for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify such fa-
cility on an eligible support 
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structure, including in an 
area that has not previously 
been 
zoned 
for 
personal 
wireless 
service 
facilities 
(other than small personal 
wireless service facilities), 90 
days after the date on which 
the complete request is re-
ceived by the government or 
instrumentality; or 
‘‘(BB) if the request is 
for any other action relating 
to such facility, 150 days 
after the date on which the 
complete request is received 
by the government or instru-
mentality; and 
‘‘(bb) in the case of a small 
personal wireless service facil-
ity— 
‘‘(AA) if the request is 
for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify such fa-
cility on an eligible support 
structure, including in an 
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pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
area that has not previously 
been 
zoned 
for 
personal 
wireless service facilities, 60 
days after the date on which 
the complete request is re-
ceived by the government or 
instrumentality; or 
‘‘(BB) if the request is 
for any other action relating 
to such facility, 90 days 
after the date on which the 
complete request is received 
by the government or instru-
mentality. 
‘‘(II) TREATMENT OF BATCHED 
REQUESTS.—In the case of complete 
requests described in subclause (I) 
that are submitted as part of a single 
batch and received by the government 
or instrumentality on the same day, 
the applicable timeframe under such 
subclause for each request in the 
batch shall be the longest timeframe 
under such subclause that would be 
applicable to any request in the batch 
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if such requests were submitted sepa-
rately. 
‘‘(III) APPLICABILITY.—The ap-
plicable timeframe under subclause (I) 
shall apply collectively to all pro-
ceedings required by a State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof 
for the approval of the request. 
‘‘(IV) NO
TOLLING.—A time-
frame under subclause (I) may not be 
tolled by any moratorium, whether ex-
press or de facto, imposed by a State 
or local government or instrumentality 
thereof on the consideration of any re-
quest for authorization to place, con-
struct, or modify a personal wireless 
service facility. 
‘‘(V) TEMPORARY WAIVER.—The 
Commission may temporarily waive 
the applicability of subclause (I) for 
not longer than a single 30-day period 
for any complete request upon a dem-
onstration by a State or local govern-
ment or instrumentality thereof that 
the waiver would be consistent with 
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pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
the public interest, convenience, and 
necessity. 
‘‘(iv) DEEMED GRANTED.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If a State or 
local government or instrumentality 
thereof has neither granted nor denied 
a complete request within the applica-
ble timeframe under subclause (I) of 
clause (iii), including any temporary 
waiver granted under subclause (V) of 
such clause, the request shall be 
deemed granted on the date on which 
the government or instrumentality re-
ceives a written notice of the failure 
from the requesting party. 
‘‘(II) 
RULE
OF
CONSTRUC-
TION.—In the case of a request that 
is deemed granted under subclause 
(I), the placement, construction, or 
modification requested in the request 
shall be considered to be authorized, 
without any further action by the gov-
ernment or instrumentality, beginning 
on the date on which the request is 
deemed granted under such subclause. 
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pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(v) 
WRITTEN
DECISION
AND 
RECORD.—Any decision by a State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof to 
deny a request for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify a personal wireless 
service facility shall be— 
‘‘(I) in writing; and 
‘‘(II) supported by substantial 
evidence 
contained 
in 
a 
written 
record. 
‘‘(vi) ENVIRONMENTAL
EFFECTS
OF 
RADIO FREQUENCY EMISSIONS.—No State 
or local government or instrumentality 
thereof may regulate the placement, con-
struction, or modification of personal wire-
less service facilities on the basis of the en-
vironmental effects of radio frequency 
emissions to the extent that such facilities 
comply with the Commission’s regulations 
concerning such emissions. 
‘‘(vii) FEES.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, a State or local gov-
ernment or instrumentality thereof may 
charge a fee to consider a request for au-
thorization to place, construct, or modify a 
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pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
personal wireless service facility, or a fee 
for use of a right-of-way or a facility in a 
right-of-way owned or managed by the gov-
ernment or instrumentality for the place-
ment, construction, or modification of a 
personal wireless service facility, if the fee 
is— 
‘‘(I) competitively neutral, tech-
nology 
neutral, 
and 
nondiscrim-
inatory; 
‘‘(II) publicly disclosed; 
‘‘(III) calculated— 
‘‘(aa) based on actual and 
direct costs, such as costs for— 
‘‘(AA) review and proc-
essing of requests; and 
‘‘(BB) repairs and re-
placement 
of 
components 
and materials resulting from 
and affected by the installa-
tion or improvement of per-
sonal wireless service facili-
ties, or repairs and replace-
ment of equipment that fa-
cilitates the installation or 
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improvement of such facili-
ties; and 
‘‘(bb) using, for purposes of 
item (aa), only costs that are ob-
jectively reasonable; and 
‘‘(IV) described to a requesting 
party in a manner that distinguishes 
between— 
‘‘(aa) nonrecurring fees and 
recurring fees; and 
‘‘(bb) the use of facilities on 
which personal wireless service 
facilities are already located and 
those on which there are no per-
sonal wireless service facilities as 
of the date on which the complete 
request is received by the govern-
ment or instrumentality. 
‘‘(C) JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE RE-
VIEW.— 
‘‘(i) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person 
adversely affected by any final action or 
failure to act by a State or local govern-
ment or any instrumentality thereof that is 
inconsistent with this paragraph may, 
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