I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4876 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communica-
tions Commission to conduct an annual inquiry on the availability of 
advanced telecommunications capability in broadband deserts, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2018 
Mr. RUSH (for himself and Ms. CLARKE of New York) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the 
Federal Communications Commission to conduct an an-
nual inquiry on the availability of advanced telecommuni-
cations capability in broadband deserts, 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 ‘‘Connecting Broadband 
Deserts Act of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. ANNUAL INQUIRY ON DEPLOYMENT OF ADVANCED 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
CAPABILITY 
IN 
BROADBAND DESERTS. 
Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 13. ANNUAL INQUIRY ON DEPLOYMENT OF AD-
VANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITY 
IN BROADBAND DESERTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, 
and annually thereafter, initiate a notice of inquiry con-
cerning the availability of advanced telecommunications 
capability in broadband deserts and shall complete the in-
quiry not later than 180 days after its initiation. In the 
inquiry, the Commission shall determine whether ad-
vanced telecommunications capability is being deployed in 
broadband deserts in a reasonable and timely fashion, in-
cluding the extent to which digital redlining is occurring. 
If the Commission determines that advanced telecommuni-
cations capability is not being deployed in broadband 
deserts in a reasonable and timely fashion, it shall take 
immediate action to accelerate deployment of such capa-
bility in broadband deserts by removing barriers to infra-
structure investment and by promoting competition in the 
telecommunications market. 
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‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAPA-
BILITY.—The term ‘advanced telecommunications 
capability’ has the meaning given such term in sec-
tion 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 
U.S.C. 1302). 
‘‘(2) 
BROADBAND
DESERT.—The 
term 
‘broadband desert’ means a census block— 
‘‘(A) that is located in an urban area; and 
‘‘(B) in which fewer than 33 percent of 
end-user premises (as defined by the Commis-
sion for purposes of Form 477) do not have ac-
cess to advanced telecommunications capability. 
‘‘(3) DIGITAL
REDLINING.—The term ‘digital 
redlining’ means a practice whereby a provider of 
advanced telecommunications capability excludes cer-
tain areas when expanding or upgrading service due 
to income or other reasons. 
‘‘(4) URBAN
AREA.—The term ‘urban area’ 
means an urbanized area or urban cluster area with 
a population equal to or greater than 25,000, as de-
termined by the most recent rural-urban classifica-
tion by the Bureau of the Census.’’. 
Æ 
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