tracking and communications systems and to promote 
the establishment of standards regarding underground 
communications to protect miners in the United States. 
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 ‘‘Mine Communications 
Technology Innovation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The failure of miner tracking and commu-
nications devices or lack thereof in mines severely 
hampers rescue efforts in the event of emergencies. 
(2) Mines, particularly underground mines, have 
properties that present unique technical challenges for 
the integration of currently available tracking and 
communications systems. These properties include the 
lack of a clear path or open air which is required for 
radio signals and WiFi. Additionally, because coal is 
an absorptive material, less than 10 percent of the 
radio spectrum that is used above ground can be used 
underground. A fraction of that (only about 1 per-
cent) radio spectrum is actually allocated for commer-
cial communications purposes. As a consequence, the 
availability of miner communication equipment is se-
verely limited. 
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(3) Research and experience have shown that 
communications and tracking systems may not work 
equally well in every mine or in every emergency sit-
uation, and therefore several different systems may be 
necessary for development and integration. 
(4) Because of the serious challenges of the mine 
environment and the limited market provided by the 
mining industry, much needed technology has not yet 
been developed by the private sector or is not commer-
cially available in the United States. 
(5) Furthermore, due to the regulatory structure 
of the industry and the lengthy approval process for 
mine tracking and communications systems, research 
must be accelerated so that next generation technology 
can be quickly and efficiently integrated into mines 
to protect the safety of miners. 
(6) The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology is well positioned to help accelerate the de-
velopment of mining tracking and communications 
technology. The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology has a long history of working in conjunc-
tion with industry to invest in longer-term, high-risk 
research which yields national benefits far beyond 
private payoff. Further, the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology builds partnerships with 
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industry to leverage existing research and develop-
ment to drive next generation technology. 
(7) The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology is well-positioned to accelerate develop-
ment of consensus mining communications standards 
given the extensive work that the organization has 
done in the field of emergency communications to de-
velop standards and technologies for interoperable 
wireless telecommunications and information systems. 
(8) In developing such standards, the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology should work in 
cooperation with the National Institute for Occupa-
tional Safety and Health and the Mine Safety and 
Health Administration, and other relevant public and 
private stakeholders, to build on existing technology 
and knowledge regarding mine communications sys-
tems. 
SEC. 3. MINE COMMUNICATIONS AND TRACKING RESEARCH 
AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AUTHORIZA-
TION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology shall provide for the 
establishment of a program of research, development, and 
demonstration that includes the establishment of best prac-
tices, adaptation of existing technology, and efforts to accel-
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erate the development of next generation technology and 
tracking systems for mine communications. 
(b) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 
Director shall coordinate with relevant Federal agencies 
and industry to evaluate areas of research and development 
and best practices that will be most promising in protecting 
miner safety. 
(c) OPTIONAL FOCUS.—In establishing this program, 
the Director may focus on the following communications 
and tracking system characteristics: 
(1) Systems that are likely to work in emergency 
situations. 
(2) Systems that work in coal mines, with spe-
cial attention paid to deep underground coal mines. 
(3) Systems that provide coverage throughout all 
areas of the mine. 
(4) Hybrid systems that use both wireless and 
infrastructure based systems. 
(5) Functionality for 2-way and voice commu-
nications. 
(6) Systems that serve emergency and routine 
communications needs. 
(7) The ability to work with existing legacy sys-
tems and to be quickly integrated. 
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(8) Propagation environment characterization, 
performance metrics, and independently derived vali-
dation tests to verify performance for standards devel-
opment. 
SEC. 4. STANDARDS REGARDING UNDERGROUND COMMU-
NICATIONS. 
The Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology shall work with industry and relevant Fed-
eral agencies to develop consensus industry standards for 
communications in underground mines. The Director shall 
also develop and provide any needed measurement services 
to support implementation of these standards. In their ef-
forts to help develop these standards and related measure-
ment services, the following issues should be addressed: 
(1) The appropriate use of frequency bands and 
power levels. 
(2) Matters related to interoperability of systems, 
applications, and devices. 
(3) Technology to prevent interference. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director 
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology such 
sums as are necessary for carrying out this Act for fiscal 
years 2009 and 2010, to be derived from amounts author-
ized under section 3001 of the America COMPETES Act. 
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