Union Calendar No. 51
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 851
[Report No. 106–79, Part I]
A BILL
To require the Federal Communications Commis-
sion to establish improved predictive models for
determining the availability of television broad-
cast signals.
APRIL 16, 1999
Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the
Union and ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 51
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 851
[Report No. 106–79, Part I]
To require the Federal Communications Commission to establish improved
predictive models for determining the availability of television broadcast
signals.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 25, 1999
Mr. TAUZIN (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. DINGELL, Mr.
OXLEY, Mr. UPTON, Mr. GILLMOR, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. STEARNS, Mr.
LARGENT, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. HILL of Mon-
tana, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr. JOHN, Mr. GOSS, and
Mr. BOEHLERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judi-
ciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
APRIL 7, 1999
Reported from the Committee on Commerce with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
APRIL 7, 1999
Referral to the Committee on the Judicary extended for a period ending not
later than April 16, 1999
APRIL 16, 1999
Additional sponsors: Mr. SANDERS, Mr. EWING, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. TAYLOR
of North Carolina, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. BEREUTER, Mrs.
WILSON, Mr. TURNER, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr.
MCHUGH, Mr. SAWYER, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr.
BASS, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. HUTCHINSON,
Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. COLLINS, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr.
OLVER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. EHRLICH, Mr. WALSH, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. SMITH
of Michigan, Mr. REYES, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. LAMPSON,
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. CASTLE, Mr.
DEAL of Georgia, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. DICKEY, Mr.
MOORE, Mr. PETRI, Mr. NEY, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CALVERT,
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr.
MINGE, Mr. TRAFICANT, and Mr. HINCHEY
APRIL 16, 1999
Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
A BILL
To require the Federal Communications Commission to es-
tablish improved predictive models for determining the
availability of television broadcast signals.
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 ‘‘Save Our Satellites
Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION RULE-
MAKING REQUIRED.
Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 is amend-
ed by inserting after section 11 (47 U.S.C. 161) the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘SEC. 12. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION RULE-
MAKING REQUIRED.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF IMPROVED PREDICTIVE
MODELS REQUIRED.—Within 90 days after the date of
enactment of this section, the Commission shall establish
different predictive models for making determinations of
the boundaries of areas within the predicted Grade B Con-
tour of television broadcast stations for purposes of this
Act and for purposes of other Federal statutes and regula-
tions. Such models shall include a model based on one of
the models described in the Commission’s report and order
adopted February 2, 1999 (CS Docket 98–201).
‘‘(b) TREATMENT AS UNSERVED HOUSEHOLD.—Any
subscriber who on February 24, 1999, is receiving from
a satellite carrier for private home viewing secondary
transmissions of programming contained in a primary
transmission made by a network station shall, during the
period beginning February 24, 1999, and until the Com-
mission completes the action required by subsection (a),
be treated as residing in an unserved household for pur-
poses of section 119 of title 17, United States Code.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—The terms used in this section
have the meanings provided by section 119(d) of title 17,
United States Code.’’.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Satellite Competition
and Consumer Protection Act’’.
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE
COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934
SEC. 101. RETRANSMISSION CONSENT.
Section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended—
(1) by amending paragraphs (1) and (2) to read
as follows:
‘‘(b)(1) No cable system or other multichannel video
programming distributor shall retransmit the signal of a
television broadcast station, or any part thereof, except—
‘‘(A) with the express authority of the origi-
nating station;
‘‘(B) pursuant to section 614, in the case of a
station electing, in accordance with this subsection, to
assert the right to carriage under such section; or
‘‘(C) pursuant to section 338, in the case of a
station electing, in accordance with this subsection, to
assert the right to carriage under such section.
‘‘(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not
apply—
‘‘(A) to retransmission of the signal of a non-
commercial television broadcast station;
‘‘(B) to retransmission of the signal of a tele-
vision broadcast station outside the station’s local
market by a satellite carrier directly to its sub-
scribers, if—
‘‘(i) such station was a superstation on May
1, 1991;
‘‘(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was
retransmitted by a satellite carrier under the
compulsory license of section 119 of title 17,
United States Code; and
‘‘(iii) the satellite carrier complies with all
network nonduplication, syndicated exclusivity,
and sports blackout rules adopted by the Com-
mission pursuant to section 712 of this Act;
‘‘(C) until 7 months after the date of enactment
of the Satellite Competition and Consumer Protection
Act, to retransmission of the signal of a television net-
work station directly to a satellite antenna, if the sub-
scriber receiving the signal is located in an area out-
side the local market of such station; or
‘‘(D) to retransmission by a cable operator or
other multichannel video provider, other than a sat-
ellite carrier, of the signal of a television broadcast
station outside the station’s local market if such sig-
nal was obtained from a satellite carrier and—
‘‘(i) the originating station was a supersta-
tion on May 1, 1991; and
‘‘(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was
retransmitted by a satellite carrier under the
compulsory license of section 119 of title 17,
United States Code.’’;
(2) by adding at the end of paragraph (3) the
following new subparagraph:
‘‘(C) Within 45 days after the date of enactment of
the Satellite Competition and Consumer Protection Act, the
Commission shall commence a rulemaking proceeding to re-
vise the regulations governing the exercise by television
broadcast stations of the right to grant retransmission con-
sent under this subsection, and such other regulations as
are necessary to administer the limitations contained in
paragraph (2). The Commission shall complete all actions
necessary to prescribe such regulations within one year
after such date of enactment. Such regulations shall—
‘‘(i) establish election time periods that cor-
respond with those regulations adopted under sub-
paragraph (B) of this paragraph; and
‘‘(ii) prohibit television broadcast stations that
provide retransmission consent from engaging in dis-
criminatory practices, understandings, arrangements,
and activities, including exclusive contracts for car-
riage, that prevent a satellite carrier from obtaining
retransmission consent from such stations.’’;
(3) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the
following new sentence: ‘‘If an originating television
station elects under paragraph (3)(C) to exercise its
right to grant retransmission consent under this sub-
section with respect to a satellite carrier, the provi-
sions of section 338 shall not apply to the carriage of
the signal of such station by such satellite carrier.’’;
(4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘614 or 615’’
and inserting ‘‘338, 614, or 615’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘tele-
vision broadcast station’ means an over-the-air commercial
or noncommercial television broadcast station licensed by
the Commission under subpart E of part 73 of title 47, Code
of Federal Regulations, except that such term does not in-
clude a low-power or translator television station.’’.
SEC. 102. MUST-CARRY FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS RE-
TRANSMITTING TELEVISION BROADCAST SIG-
NALS.
Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 is amend-
ed by inserting after section 337 (47 U.S.C. 337) the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘SEC. 338. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS BY
SATELLITE CARRIERS.
‘‘(a) CARRIAGE OBLIGATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limitations of
subparagraph (2), each satellite carrier providing sec-
ondary transmissions to subscribers located within the
local market of a television broadcast station of a pri-
mary transmission made by that station shall carry
upon request all television broadcast stations located
within that local market, subject to section 325(b), by
retransmitting the signal or signals of such stations
that are identified by Commission regulations for
purposes of this section.
‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—No satellite carrier shall
be required to carry local television broadcast stations
under paragraph (1) until January 1, 2002.
‘‘(b) GOOD SIGNAL REQUIRED.—
‘‘(1) COSTS.—A television broadcast station as-
serting its right to carriage under subsection (a) shall
be required to bear the costs associated with delivering
a good quality signal to the designated local receive
facility of the satellite carrier or to another facility
that is acceptable to at least one-half the stations as-
serting the right to carriage in the local market.
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The regulations issued
under subsection (g) shall set forth the obligations
necessary to carry out this subsection.
‘‘(c) DUPLICATION NOT REQUIRED.—
‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL
STATIONS.—Notwithstanding
subsection (a), a satellite carrier shall not be required
to carry upon request the signal of any local commer-
cial television broadcast station that substantially du-
plicates the signal of another local commercial tele-
vision broadcast station which is secondarily trans-
mitted by the satellite carrier within the same local
market, or to carry upon request the signals of more
than 1 local commercial television broadcast station
in a single local market that is affiliated with a par-
ticular television network.
‘‘(2) NONCOMMERCIAL STATIONS.—The Commis-
sion shall prescribe regulations limiting the carriage
requirements under subsection (a) of satellite carriers
with respect to the carriage of multiple local non-
commercial television broadcast stations. To the ex-
tent possible, such regulations shall provide the same
degree of carriage by satellite carriers of such mul-
tiple stations as is provided by cable systems under
section 615.
‘‘(d) CHANNEL POSITIONING.—No satellite carrier
shall be required to provide the signal of a local television
broadcast station to subscribers in that station’s local mar-
ket on any particular channel number or to provide the
signals in any particular order, except that the satellite car-
rier shall retransmit the signal of the local television broad-
cast stations to subscribers in the stations’ local market on
contiguous channels and provide access to such station’s sig-
nals at a nondiscriminatory price and in a nondiscrim-
inatory manner on any navigational device, on-screen pro-
gram guide, or menu.
‘‘(e) COMPENSATION FOR CARRIAGE.—A satellite car-
rier shall not accept or request monetary payment or other
valuable consideration in exchange either for carriage of
local television broadcast stations in fulfillment of the re-
quirements of this section or for channel positioning rights
provided to such stations under this section, except that any
such station may be required to bear the costs associated
with delivering a good quality signal to the local receive
facility of the satellite carrier.
‘‘(f) REMEDIES.—
‘‘(1) COMPLAINTS
BY
BROADCAST
STATIONS.—
Whenever a local television broadcast station believes
that a satellite carrier has failed to meet its obliga-
tions under this section, such station shall notify the
carrier, in writing, of the alleged failure and identify
its reasons for believing that the satellite carrier is ob-
ligated to carry upon request the signal of such sta-
tion or has otherwise failed to comply with other re-
quirements of this section. The satellite carrier shall,
within 30 days of such written notification, respond
in writing to such notification and either begin car-
rying the signal of such station in accordance with
the terms requested or state its reasons for believing
that it is not obligated to carry such signal or is in
compliance with other requirements of this section, as
the case may be. A local television broadcast station
that is denied carriage in accordance with this section
by a satellite carrier or is otherwise harmed by a re-
sponse by a satellite carrier that it is in compliance
with other requirements of this section may obtain re-
view of such denial or response by filing a complaint
with the Commission. Such complaint shall allege the
manner in which such satellite carrier has failed to
meet its obligations and the basis for such allegations.
‘‘(2) OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND.—The Commis-
sion shall afford the satellite carrier against which a
complaint is filed under subparagraph (A) an oppor-
tunity to present data and arguments to establish
that there has been no failure to meet its obligations
under this section.
‘‘(3) REMEDIAL
ACTIONS; DISMISSAL.—Within
120 days after the date a complaint is filed under
subparagraph (A), the Commission shall determine
whether the satellite carrier has met its obligations
under this chapter. If the Commission determines that
the satellite carrier has failed to meet such obliga-
tions, the Commission shall order the satellite carrier,
in the case of an obligation to carry a station, to
begin carriage of the station and to continue such
carriage for at least 12 months, or, in the case of the
failure to meet other obligations under this section,
shall take other appropriate remedial action. If the
Commission determines that the satellite carrier has
fully met the requirements of this chapter, the Com-
mission shall dismiss the complaint.
‘‘(g) REGULATIONS
BY COMMISSION.—Within 180
days after the date of enactment of this section, the Commis-
sion shall, following a rulemaking proceeding, issue regula-
tions implementing this section.
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
‘‘(1) SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘subscriber’ means
an entity that receives a secondary transmission serv-
ice by means of a secondary transmission from a sat-
ellite and pays a fee for the service, directly or indi-
rectly, to the satellite carrier or to a distributor.
‘‘(2) 
DISTRIBUTOR.—The 
term 
‘distributor’
means an entity which contracts to distribute sec-
ondary transmissions from a satellite carrier and, ei-
ther as a single channel or in a package with other
programming, provides the secondary transmission
either directly to individual subscribers or indirectly
through other program distribution entities.
‘‘(3) LOCAL RECEIVE FACILITY.—The term ‘local
receive facility’ means the reception point in each
local market which a satellite carrier designates for
delivery of the signal of the station for purposes of re-
transmission.
‘‘(4) TELEVISION
BROADCAST
STATION.—The
term ‘television broadcast station’ has the meaning
given such term in section 325(b)(7).
‘‘(5) SECONDARY TRANSMISSION.—The term ‘sec-
ondary transmission’ has the meaning given such
term in section 119(c) of title 17, United States
Code.’’.
SEC. 103. NONDUPLICATION OF PROGRAMMING BROAD-
CAST BY LOCAL STATIONS.
Section 712 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 612) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 712. NONDUPLICATION OF PROGRAMMING BROAD-
CAST BY LOCAL STATIONS.
‘‘(a) EXTENSION OF NETWORK NONDUPLICATION, SYN-
DICATED EXCLUSIVITY, AND SPORTS BLACKOUT TO SAT-
ELLITE RETRANSMISSION.—Within 45 days after the date
of enactment of the Satellite Competition and Consumer
Protection Act, the Commission shall commence a single
rulemaking proceeding to establish regulations that apply
network nonduplication protection, syndicated exclusivity
protection, and sports blackout protection to the retrans-
mission of broadcast signals by satellite carriers to sub-
scribers. To the extent possible consistent with subsection
(b), such regulations shall provide the same degree of protec-
tion against retransmission of broadcast signals as is pro-
vided by the network nonduplication (47 C.F.R. 76.92),
syndicated exclusivity (47 C.F.R. 151), and sports blackout
(47 C.F.R. 76.67) rules applicable to cable television sys-
tems. The Commission shall complete all actions necessary
to prescribe regulations required by this section so that the
regulations shall become effective within 1 year after such
date of enactment.
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NETWORK NONDUPLICATION
BOUNDARIES.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SIGNAL STANDARD FOR
NETWORK
NONDUPLICATION
REQUIRED.—The Com-
mission shall establish a signal intensity standard for
purposes of determining the network nonduplication
rights of local television broadcast stations. Until re-
vised pursuant to subsection (c), such standard shall
be the Grade B field strength standard prescribed by
the Commission in section 73.683 of the Commission’s
regulations (47 C.F.R. 73.683). For purposes of this
section, the standard established under this paragraph
is referred to as the ‘Network Nonduplication Signal
Standard’.
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVED PREDICTIVE
MODEL REQUIRED.—Within 180 days after the date
of enactment of the Satellite Competition and Con-
sumer Protection Act, the Commission shall take all
actions necessary, including any reconsideration, to
develop and prescribe by rule a point-to-point pre-
dictive model for reliably and presumptively deter-
mining the ability of individual locations to receive
signals in accordance with the Network Nonduplica-
tion Signal Standard. In prescribing such model, the
Commission shall ensure that such model takes into
account terrain, building structures, and other land
cover variations. The Commission shall establish pro-
cedures for the continued refinement in the applica-
tion of the model by the use of additional data as it
becomes available. For purposes of this section, such
model is referred to as the ‘Network Nonduplication
Reception Model’, and the area encompassing loca-
tions that are predicted to have the ability to receive
such a signal of a particular broadcast station is re-
ferred to as that station’s ‘Reception Model Area’.
‘‘(3) NETWORK NONDUPLICATION.—The network
nonduplication regulations required under subsection
(a) shall allow a television network station to assert
nonduplication rights as follows:
‘‘(A) If a satellite carrier is retransmitting
that station, or any other television broadcast
stations located in the same local market, to sub-
scribers located in that station’s local market, the
television network station may assert non-
duplication rights against the satellite carrier
throughout the area within which that station
may assert such rights under the rules applicable
to cable television systems (47 C.F.R. 76.92), ex-
cept as provided in subparagraph (C).
‘‘(B) If a satellite carrier is not retransmit-
ting any television broadcast stations located in
the television network station’s local market to
subscribers located in such market, the television
network station may assert nonduplication
rights against the satellite carrier in the geo-
graphic area that is within such station’s Recep-
tion Model Area, but such geographic area shall
not extend beyond the local market of such sta-
tion.
‘‘(C) If there are 2 or more television net-
work stations that are each affiliates of a single
television network within the same local market,
neither such station may assert under subpara-
graph (A) nonduplication rights against a sat-
ellite carrier in an area that is outside the Re-
ception Model Area of that station.
‘‘(4) WAIVERS.—The network nonduplication
protection described in paragraph (3) shall not apply
to a subscriber who files with the satellite carrier a
written waiver with respect to that subscriber ob-
tained from a television network station allowing the
subscriber to receive satellite retransmission of an-
other network station affiliated with that same net-
work. The television network station shall accept or
reject a subscriber’s request for a waiver within 30
days after receipt of the request. The television net-
work station and the satellite carrier shall maintain
a file available to the public that contains such waiv-
er requests and the acceptances and rejections thereof.
‘‘(5) OBJECTIVE VERIFICATION.—If a subscriber
submits a petition to the Commission or an entity
designated by the Commission by rule—
‘‘(A) that alleges that such subscriber does
not receive a signal that meets or exceeds the
Network Nonduplication Signal Standard; and
‘‘(B) includes a processing fee in an amount
prescribed by regulation to recover the cost of ad-
ministering the provisions of this paragraph;
the network nonduplication rights described in para-
graph (3) shall not apply to that subscriber unless
such station submits to the Commission or such entity
and to the subscriber the written findings and conclu-
sions of a test conducted in accordance with the pro-
visions of section 73.686(d) of title 47, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations, or any successor regulation, dem-
onstrating that the subscriber receives a signal that
meets or exceeds the Network Nonduplication Signal
Standard. A subscriber is required to file a waiver re-
quest under paragraph (4) before filing a petition
under this paragraph. A subscriber may not be re-
quired to bear any portion of the cost of such test.
‘‘(6) RECREATIONAL VEHICLE LOCATION.—In the
case of a subscriber to a satellite carrier who has in-
stalled satellite reception equipment in a recreational
vehicle, and who has permitted any television network
station seeking to assert network nonduplication
rights to verify the motor vehicle registration, license,
and proof of ownership of such vehicle, the subscriber
shall be considered to be outside the local market and
Reception Model Area of such station. For purposes of
this paragraph, the term ‘recreational vehicle’ does
not include any residential manufactured home, as
defined in section 603(6) of the National Manufac-
tured Housing Construction and Safety Standards
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402(6)).
‘‘(c) REVIEW
AND REVISION
OF STANDARDS
AND
MODEL.—
‘‘(1) ONGOING
INQUIRY
REQUIRED.—Not later
than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Sat-
ellite Competition and Consumer Protection Act, the
Commission shall conduct an inquiry of the extent to
which the Network Nonduplication Signal Standard,
the Network Nonduplication Reception Model, and the
Reception Model Areas of television stations are ade-
quate to reliably measure the ability of consumers to
receive an acceptable over-the-air television broadcast
signal.
‘‘(2) DATA TO BE CONSIDERED.—In conducting
the inquiry required by paragraph (1), the Commis-
sion shall consider as evidence that consumers are not
receiving a signal of the quality described in such
paragraph—
‘‘(A) the number of subscribers requesting
waivers under subsection (b)(4), and the number
of waivers that are denied;
‘‘(B) the number of subscribers submitting
petitions under subsection (b)(5), and the num-
ber of such petitions that are granted;
‘‘(C) the results of any consumer research
study that may be undertaken to carry out the
purposes of this section; and
‘‘(D) the extent to which consumers are not
legally entitled to install broadcast reception de-
vices assumed in the Commission’s standard.
‘‘(3) REPORT
AND
ACTION.—The Commission
shall submit to the Congress a report on the inquiry
required by this subsection not later than the end of
the 2-year period described in paragraph (1). The
Commission shall complete any actions necessary to
revise the Network Nonduplication Signal Standard,
the Network Nonduplication Reception Model, and the
Reception Model Areas of television stations in ac-
cordance with the findings of such inquiry not later
than 6 months after the end of such 2-year period.
‘‘(4) DATA SUBMISSION.—The Commission shall
prescribe by rule the data required to be submitted by
television broadcast stations and by satellite carriers
to the Commission or such designated entity to carry
out this subsection, and the format for submission of
such data.’’.
SEC. 104. CONSENT OF MEMBERSHIP TO RETRANSMISSION
OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE SAT-
ELLITE FEED.
Section 396 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 396) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(n) The Public Broadcasting Service shall certify to
the Board on an annual basis that a majority of its mem-
bership supports or does not support the secondary trans-
mission of the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed,
and provide notice to each satellite carrier carrying such
feed of such certification.’’.
SEC. 105. INQUIRY ON RURAL SERVICE REQUIRED.
(a) INQUIRY REQUIRED.—Within 180 days after the
enactment of this section, the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration shall complete an inquiry
into the availability of local television broadcast signals in
small and rural markets as part of a service that competes
with, or supplements, video programming delivered by sat-
ellite carriers or cable operators. The Administration shall
submit to the Committee on Commerce of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of such
inquiry.
(b) ANALYSIS REQUIRED.—The inquiry under sub-
section (a) shall include an analysis of—
(1) the technological capability of dual satellite
dish technology to receive effectively over-the-air
broadcast transmissions from the local market, the
availability of such capability in small and rural
markets and the affordability of such capability;
(2) the technological capability (including inter-
ference), availability, and affordability of wireless
cable (or terrestrial wireless) delivery of local broad-
cast stations, including the feasibility and desir-
ability of the expedited licensing of such competitive
wireless technologies for rural and small markets; and
(3) the technological capability, availability, and
affordability of a broadcast-only basic tier of cable
service.
SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS.
Section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 153) is amended—
(1) by redesignating—
(A) paragraphs (49) through (52) as para-
graphs (52) through (55), respectively;
(B) paragraphs (39) through (48) as para-
graphs (41) through (50), respectively; and
(C) paragraphs (27) through (38) as para-
graph (28) through (39), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (26) the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(27) LOCAL MARKET.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘local mar-
ket’, in the case of both commercial and non-
commercial television broadcast stations, means
the designated market area in which a station is
located, and—
‘‘(i) in the case of a commercial tele-
vision broadcast station, all commercial tel-
evision broadcast stations licensed to a com-
munity within the same designated market
area are within the same local market; and
‘‘(ii) in the case of a noncommercial
educational television broadcast station, the
market includes any station that is licensed
to a community within the same designated
market area as the noncommercial edu-
cational television broadcast station.
‘‘(B) COUNTY OF LICENSE.—In addition to
the area described in subparagraph (A), a sta-
tion’s local market includes the county in which
the station’s community of license is located.
‘‘(C) DESIGNATED
MARKET
AREA.—For
purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘des-
ignated market area’ means a designated market
area, as determined by Nielsen Media Research
and published in the DMA Market and Demo-
graphic Report.’’;
(3) by inserting after paragraph (39) (as redes-
ignated by paragraph (1) of this section) the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(40) SATELLITE CARRIER.—The term ‘satellite
carrier’ means an entity that uses the facilities of a
satellite or satellite service licensed by the Commis-
sion, and operates in the Fixed-Satellite Service
under part 25 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regu-
lations or the Direct Broadcast Satellite Service
under part 100 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Reg-
ulations, to establish and operate a channel of com-
munications for point-to-multipoint distribution of
television station signals, and that owns or leases a
capacity or service on a satellite in order to provide
such point-to-multipoint distribution, except to the
extent that such entity provides such distribution pur-
suant to tariff under this Act.’’; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (50) (as redes-
ignated by paragraph (1) of this section) the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(51) TELEVISION NETWORK; TELEVISION NET-
WORK STATION.—
‘‘(A) TELEVISION NETWORK.—The term ‘tel-
evision network’ means a television network in
the United States which offers an interconnected
program service on a regular basis for 15 or
more hours per week to at least 25 affiliated
broadcast stations in 10 or more States.
‘‘(B) TELEVISION NETWORK STATION.—The
term ‘television network station’ means a tele-
vision broadcast station that is owned or oper-
ated by, or affiliated with, a television network.’’.
SEC. 107. COMPLETION OF BIENNIAL REGULATORY REVIEW.
Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Commission shall complete the biennial review re-
quired by section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of
1996.
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO
TITLE 17, UNITED STATES CODE
SEC. 201. LIMITATIONS ON EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS; SEC-
ONDARY TRANSMISSIONS BY SATELLITE CAR-
RIERS WITHIN LOCAL MARKETS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 119 of title 17, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 119. Limitations on exclusive rights; Secondary
transmissions by satellite carriers
‘‘(a) SECONDARY
TRANSMISSIONS
OF
TELEVISION
BROADCAST STATIONS BY SATELLITE CARRIERS.—
‘‘(1) STATUTORY LICENSE.—Subject to the provi-
sions of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) of this sub-
section and section 114(d), a secondary transmission
that is in compliance with the rules, regulations, and
authorizations of the Federal Communications Com-
mission of a primary transmission made by a tele-
vision broadcast station and embodying a perform-
ance or display of a work may have a statutory li-
cense under this section if the satellite carrier makes
a direct or indirect charge to subscribers for the sec-
ondary transmission or to a distributor that has con-
tracted with the satellite carrier for direct or indirect
delivery of the secondary transmission. For purposes
of this section, the Public Broadcasting Service sat-
ellite feed shall be considered a primary transmission
made by a television broadcast station that is in com-
pliance with the rules, regulations, and authorizations
of the Federal Communications Commission, except
that subsequent to—
‘‘(A) the date when a majority of sub-
scribers to satellite carriers are able to receive the
signal of at least one noncommercial educational
television broadcast station from their satellite
carrier within such stations’ local market, or
‘‘(B) 2 years after the effective date of the
Satellite Competition and Consumer Protection
Act,
whichever is earlier, the statutory license created by
this section with respect to such satellite feed shall be
conditioned on the annual certification of support
under section 396(n) of the Communications Act of
1934.
‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF SUBSCRIBER LISTS.—(A) A
satellite carrier that makes secondary transmissions
of a primary transmission of a television broadcast
station under paragraph (1) shall, within 90 days
after commencing such secondary transmissions, sub-
mit to that station a list identifying all subscribers
to which the satellite carrier currently makes sec-
ondary transmissions of that primary transmission.
Such list shall be organized by State, identifying all
subscribers by name (including street address, county,
and 9-digit zip code) in that State that receive sec-
ondary transmissions of that primary transmission.
‘‘(B) After the list is submitted under subpara-
graph (A), the satellite carrier shall, on the 15th of
each month, submit to the television broadcast station
a list identifying by State the names (including street
address, county, and 9-digit zip code) of any sub-
scribers who have been added or dropped as sub-
scribers since the last submission under this para-
graph.
‘‘(C) Subscriber information submitted by a sat-
ellite carrier under this paragraph may be used only
for purposes of monitoring compliance by the satellite
carrier with the statutory license created by this sec-
tion. The submission of subscriber lists is only re-
quired for those television broadcast stations that
place on file with the Register of Copyrights a docu-
ment identifying the name and address of the person
to whom such submissions are to be made. The Reg-
ister shall maintain for public inspection a file of all
such documents.
‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE
WITH
REPORTING
AND
PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS.—Notwithstanding the pro-
visions of paragraph (1), the willful or repeated sec-
ondary transmission to the public that is in compli-
ance with the rules, regulations, and authorizations of
the Federal Communications Commission by a sat-
ellite carrier of a primary transmission made by a
television broadcast station and embodying a per-
formance or display of a work is actionable as an act
of infringement under section 501, and is fully subject
to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506
and 509, if the satellite carrier has not deposited the
statement of account and royalty fees required by sub-
section (b).
‘‘(4) WILLFUL
ALTERATIONS.—Notwithstanding
the provisions of paragraph (1), the secondary trans-
mission to the public that is in compliance with the
rules, regulations, and authorizations of the Federal
Communications Commission by a satellite carrier of
a primary transmission made by a television broad-
cast station and embodying a performance or display
of a work is actionable as an act of infringement
under section 501, and is fully subject to the remedies
provided by sections 502 through 506 and sections
509 and 510, if the content of the particular program
in which the performance or display is embodied, or
any commercial advertising or station announcement
transmitted by a primary transmitter during, or im-
mediately before or after the transmission of such pro-
gram, is in any way willfully altered by the satellite
carrier through changes, deletions, or additions, or is
combined with programming from any other broad-
cast signal.
‘‘(5) DISCRIMINATION BY SATELLITE CARRIER.—
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), the
willful or repeated secondary transmission to the pub-
lic that is in compliance with the rules, regulations,
and authorizations of the Federal Communications
Commission by a satellite carrier of a primary trans-
mission made by a television broadcast station and
embodying the performance or display of a work is
actionable as an act of infringement under section
501, and is fully subject to the remedies provided by
sections 502 through 506 and 509, if the satellite car-
rier unlawfully discriminates against a distributor.
‘‘(6) GEOGRAPHIC
LIMITATION
ON
SECONDARY
TRANSMISSIONS.—The statutory license created by
this section shall apply only to secondary trans-
missions to subscribers located in the United States.
‘‘(b) STATUTORY LICENSE FOR SECONDARY TRANS-
MISSIONS OF TELEVISION BROADCAST STATIONS.—
‘‘(1) DEPOSITS WITH THE REGISTER OF COPY-
RIGHTS.—A satellite carrier whose secondary trans-
missions are subject to statutory licensing under sub-
section (a) shall, on a semiannual basis, deposit with
the Register of Copyrights, in accordance with the re-
quirements that the Register shall prescribe by
regulation—
‘‘(A) a statement of account, covering the
preceding 6-month period, specifying the names
and locations of all television broadcast stations
whose signals were retransmitted at any time
during that period to subscribers, the total num-
ber of subscribers that received such secondary
transmissions, and such other data as the Reg-
ister of Copyrights may from time to time pre-
scribe by regulation, and
‘‘(B) a royalty fee for that 6-month period,
computed as follows:
‘‘(i) For each television network station
that is retransmitted to subscribers located
outside the local market of that station, by
multiplying the total number of subscribers
receiving such secondary transmission dur-
ing each calendar month by the royalty fee
prescribed in section 258.3(b)(2) of title 37,
Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on
January 1, 1998.
‘‘(ii) For each superstation that is re-
transmitted to subscribers located outside
the local market of that station, by multi-
plying the total number of subscribers re-
ceiving such secondary transmission during
each calendar month by the royalty fee pre-
scribed in section 258.3(b)(1) of title 37,
Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on
January 1, 1998.
‘‘(iii) By adding together the totals
computed under clauses (i) and (ii).
For secondary transmissions of a television broadcast
station to subscribers who reside within the local mar-
ket of that station, there shall be no royalty fee.
‘‘(2) INVESTMENT
OF
FEES.—The Register of
Copyrights shall receive all fees deposited under this
section and, after deducting the reasonable costs in-
curred by the Copyright Office under this section
(other than the costs deducted under paragraph (4)),
shall deposit the balance in the Treasury of the
United States, in such manner as the Secretary of the
Treasury directs. Any funds held by the Secretary of
the Treasury shall be invested in interest bearing se-
curities of the United States for later distribution
with interest by the Librarian of Congress as pro-
vided by this title. The Register may, in the Register’s
discretion, at any time after four years have elapsed
since the close of any calendar year, close out the roy-
alty payments account for that calendar year, and
may treat any funds remaining in such account and
any subsequent deposits that would otherwise be at-
tributable to that calendar year as attributable to the
succeeding calendar year.
‘‘(3) PERSONS
TO
WHOM
FEES
ARE
DISTRIB-
UTED.—The royalty fees deposited under paragraph
(2) shall, in accordance with the procedures provided
by paragraph (4), be distributed to those copyright
owners whose works were included in a secondary
transmission to the public made by a satellite carrier
during the applicable 6-month accounting period and
who file a claim with the Librarian of Congress under
paragraph (4). For purposes of section 802 of this
title, with respect to royalty fees paid by satellite car-
riers for retransmitting the Public Broadcasting Serv-
ice satellite feed, the Public Broadcasting Service
shall be agent for all public television copyright
claimants and all Public Broadcasting Service mem-
ber stations.
‘‘(4) PROCEDURES
FOR
DISTRIBUTION.—The
royalty fees deposited under paragraph (2) shall be
distributed in accordance with the following proce-
dures:
‘‘(A) FILING OF CLAIMS FOR FEES.—Dur-
ing the month of July in each year, each person
claiming to be entitled to statutory license fees
for secondary transmissions under this section
shall file a claim with the Librarian of Congress,
in accordance with requirements that the Librar-
ian shall prescribe by regulation. For purposes of
this paragraph, any claimants may agree among
themselves as to the proportionate division of
statutory license fees among them, may lump
their claims together and file them jointly or as
a single claim, or may designate a common
agent to receive payment on their behalf.
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION
OF
CONTROVERSY;
DISTRIBUTIONS.—After the first day of August of
each year, the Librarian of Congress shall deter-
mine whether there exists a controversy con-
cerning the distribution of royalty fees. If the Li-
brarian determines that no such controversy ex-
ists, the Librarian shall, after deducting reason-
able administrative costs under this paragraph,
distribute such fees to the copyright owners enti-
tled to receive them, or to their designated
agents. If the Librarian finds the existence of a
controversy, the Librarian shall, pursuant to
chapter 8 of this title, convene a copyright arbi-
tration royalty panel to determine the distribu-
tion of fees.
‘‘(C) WITHHOLDING OF FEES DURING CON-
TROVERSY.—During the pendency of any pro-
ceeding under this subsection, the Librarian of
Congress shall withhold from distribution an
amount sufficient to satisfy all claims with re-
spect to which a controversy exists, but shall
have discretion to proceed to distribute any
amounts that are not in controversy.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—
‘‘(1) 
DISTRIBUTOR.—The 
term 
‘distributor’
means any entity which contracts to distribute sec-
ondary transmissions from a satellite carrier and, ei-
ther as a single channel or in a package with other
programming, provides the secondary transmission
either directly to individual subscribers or indirectly
through other program distribution entities.
‘‘(2) LOCAL MARKET.—The term ‘local market’ of
a television broadcast station has the meaning given
that term section 3 of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 153) as interpreted under the rules,
regulations, and authorizations of the Federal Com-
munications Commission relating to carriage of tele-
vision broadcast signals by satellite carriers.
‘‘(3) PRIMARY
TRANSMISSION.—The term ‘pri-
mary transmission’ has the meaning given that term
in section 111(f) of this title.
‘‘(4) PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE SATELLITE
FEED.—The term ‘Public Broadcasting Service sat-
ellite feed’ means the national satellite feed distrib-
uted by the Public Broadcasting Service for purposes
of this section consisting of educational and informa-
tional programming, to which the Public Broad-
casting Service holds national terrestrial broadcast
rights.
‘‘(5) SATELLITE CARRIER.—The term ‘satellite
carrier’ has the meaning given that term in section
3 of the Communications Act of 1934.
‘‘(6) SECONDARY TRANSMISSION.—The term ‘sec-
ondary transmission’ has the meaning given that
term in section 111(f) of this title.
‘‘(7) SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘subscriber’ means
an entity that receives a secondary transmission serv-
ice by means of a secondary transmission from a sat-
ellite and pays a fee for the service, directly or indi-
rectly, to the satellite carrier or a distributor.
‘‘(8) SUPERSTATION.—The term ‘superstation’
means a television broadcast station, other than a tel-
evision network station, licensed by the Federal Com-
munications Commission that is secondarily trans-
mitted by a satellite carrier, and includes the Public
Broadcasting Service satellite feed.
‘‘(9) TELEVISION
BROADCAST
STATION.—The
term ‘television broadcast station’ has the meaning
given that term in section 325(b)(7) of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934.
‘‘(10) TELEVISION
NETWORK
STATION.—The
term ‘television network station’ means—
‘‘(A) a television network station (as defined
in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934);
or
‘‘(B) a noncommercial educational broad-
cast station (as defined in section 397 of such
Act).
‘‘(d) EXCLUSIVITY OF THIS SECTION WITH RESPECT
TO SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF TELEVISION BROAD-
CAST STATIONS BY SATELLITE TO MEMBERS OF THE PUB-
LIC.—No provision of section 111 of this title or any other
law (other than this section) shall be construed to contain
any authorization, exemption, or license through which sec-
ondary transmissions by satellite carriers of programming
contained in a primary transmission may be made without
obtaining the consent of the copyright owner.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of sections
for chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended by striking the item relating to section 119
and inserting the following:
‘‘119.
Limitation on exclusive rights: Secondary transmissions by satellite car-
riers.’’.
(2) STANDING.—Subsection (e) of section 501 of
title 17, United States Code, is repealed.
SEC. 202. REDUCTION IN ROYALTY FEES.
The royalty fee prescribed in section 119(b)(1)(B)(i)
of title 17, United States Code, as amended by section
201(a) of this Act, is reduced by 45 percent, effective upon
July 1, 1999. The royalty fee prescribed in section
119(b)(1)(B)(ii) of such title, as so amended, is reduced by
30 percent, effective upon July 1, 1999.