I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1353 
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules for the 
provision of emergency connectivity service, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2023 
Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio (for himself and Ms. SCHRIER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue 
rules for the provision of emergency connectivity service, 
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 ‘‘Advanced, Local Emer-
gency Response Telecommunications Parity Act’’ or the 
‘‘ALERT Parity Act’’. 
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY CONNECTIVITY SERVICE. 
(a) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
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Commission shall issue rules for the provision of 
emergency connectivity service under which— 
(A) a person may submit to the Commis-
sion an application for approval to provide such 
service to an area— 
(i) that is an unserved area with re-
spect to either or both services described in 
subsection (h)(5)(B); or 
(ii) in the event that such area be-
comes an unserved area with respect to ei-
ther or both such services due to destruc-
tion of infrastructure, a power outage, or 
any other reason; and 
(B) for any period during which such ap-
proval is in effect and such area is an unserved 
area, such person will receive access to electro-
magnetic spectrum in accordance with sub-
section (d) to provide emergency connectivity 
service to such area. 
(2) PROVIDER NOT LICENSEE.—The Commis-
sion shall include in the rules issued under para-
graph (1) language to ensure that approval of an ap-
plication to provide emergency connectivity service 
under such rules does not render the provider of 
such service a licensee (as such term is defined in 
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section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 153)). 
(3) DEADLINE
TO
INITIATE
RULEMAKING.— 
The Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to issue 
the rules required by paragraph (1) not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) CERTIFICATIONS.—In the rules issued under sub-
section (a), the Commission shall require a person who 
submits an application to provide emergency connectivity 
service under such rules, in order for such application to 
be approved, to certify to the Commission the following: 
(1) Such person has a technical proposal de-
scribing how such person plans to provide such serv-
ice and has included in the application evidence dem-
onstrating how the proposal complies with technical 
requirements included in such rules under subsection 
(d)(2). 
(2) Such person will not use any electro-
magnetic spectrum to which access is made available 
under such rules to provide any service other than 
emergency connectivity service, unless the other 
service is provided under a separate authorization to 
use such spectrum held by such person. 
(3) Such service proposed can withstand the 
impact of major natural disasters, such as earth-
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quakes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, blizzards, and 
tornados. 
(4) Such person has the capability to begin pro-
viding such service in a rapid manner— 
(A) in the case of an application to provide 
such service to an area that is an unserved area 
at the time at which the application is sub-
mitted, after the approval of the application; or 
(B) in the case of an application to provide 
such service to an area in the event that such 
area becomes an unserved area due to destruc-
tion of infrastructure, a power outage, or any 
other reason, after such area becomes an 
unserved area. 
(c) PUBLICATION
OF LIST
OF PROVIDERS.—The 
Commission shall publish on the internet website of the 
Commission a list of all providers of emergency 
connectivity service for which an approval is in effect to 
provide such service under the rules issued under sub-
section (a). 
(d) ACCESS
TO ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.— 
The Commission shall include in the rules issued under 
subsection (a) the following: 
(1) In the case of a provider of emergency 
connectivity service that is approved to provide such 
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service to an area under such rules and that seeks 
access to spectrum that another entity is authorized 
to use, access to such spectrum shall be made avail-
able to such provider only if such provider receives 
express, written consent for such access from such 
entity. 
(2) With respect to providers of emergency 
connectivity service that are approved to provide 
such service to an area under such rules, technical 
requirements applicable to such providers that en-
sure that the use of electromagnetic spectrum under 
a relevant approval does not cause harmful inter-
ference to the use of such spectrum by another enti-
ty authorized to provide a service to such area using 
such spectrum. 
(e) AREAS UNSERVED WITH RESPECT
TO BOTH 
SERVICES.—In the case of an area that is an unserved 
area with respect to both services described in subsection 
(h)(5)(B), the rules issued under subsection (a) shall re-
quire that, if a provider approved to provide emergency 
connectivity service to such area under such rules chooses 
to provide emergency connectivity service to such area, 
such provider shall provide both services described in sub-
section (h)(5)(B) to such area. 
(f) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.— 
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(1) TRANSMISSION OF ALERT MESSAGES.—Sec-
tion 602(e)(1) of the Warning, Alert, and Response 
Network Act (47 U.S.C. 1201(e)(1)) shall apply to 
a provider of emergency connectivity service (includ-
ing its officers, directors, employees, vendors, and 
agents) with respect to the provision of such service 
(to the extent such service consists of the provision 
of the service described in subsection (h)(5)(B)(i) of 
this section) in accordance with the rules issued 
under subsection (a) of this section, as if such pro-
vider were a provider of commercial mobile service 
that transmits emergency alerts and meets its obli-
gations under such Act. 
(2) PROVISION OF 9–1–1 SERVICE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Wire-
less Communications and Public Safety Act of 
1999 (47 U.S.C. 615a) is amended— 
(i) in subsection (a)— 
(I) 
by 
inserting 
‘‘emergency 
connectivity service provider,’’ after 
‘‘IP-enabled voice service provider,’’; 
and 
(II) by inserting ‘‘emergency 
connectivity service,’’ after ‘‘emer-
gency services,’’; 
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(ii) in subsection (b)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘IP-enabled voice 
service or’’ and inserting ‘‘IP-enabled 
voice service, emergency connectivity 
service, or’’; and 
(II) by inserting ‘‘emergency 
connectivity service,’’ after ‘‘IP-en-
abled voice service,’’; and 
(iii) in subsection (c), by inserting 
‘‘emergency connectivity service,’’ after 
‘‘IP-enabled voice service,’’ each place it 
appears. 
(B) DEFINITIONS.—Section 7 of the Wire-
less Communications and Public Safety Act of 
1999 (47 U.S.C. 615b) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(11) EMERGENCY CONNECTIVITY SERVICE.— 
The term ‘emergency connectivity service’ has the 
meaning given such term in paragraph (5) of section 
2(h) of the Advanced, Local Emergency Response 
Telecommunications Parity Act, to the extent such 
service consists of the provision of the service de-
scribed in subparagraph (B)(ii) of such paragraph. 
‘‘(12) EMERGENCY
CONNECTIVITY
SERVICE 
PROVIDER.—The term ‘emergency connectivity serv-
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ice provider’ means a person who provides emer-
gency connectivity service in accordance with the 
rules issued under section 2(a) of the Advanced, 
Local Emergency Response Telecommunications 
Parity Act.’’. 
(g) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed to— 
(1) preclude the Commission, before it issues 
rules under subsection (a), from permitting the use 
of electromagnetic spectrum by a person that other-
wise meets the requirements of this section; or 
(2) preclude the Commission from approving an 
application to provide emergency connectivity service 
under the rules issued under subsection (a) that pro-
poses using spectrum in a manner that is incon-
sistent with the Table of Frequency Allocations. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ALERT MESSAGE.—The term ‘‘alert mes-
sage’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
10.10 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
any successor regulation). 
(2) COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE.—The term 
‘‘commercial mobile service’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 332(d) of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)). 
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(3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(4) COVERED DEVICE.—The term ‘‘covered de-
vice’’ means— 
(A) a mobile device; or 
(B) any other device that is capable of— 
(i) receiving alert messages; and 
(ii) providing emergency information 
to a public safety answering point (which 
may include enhanced 9–1–1 service). 
(5) EMERGENCY CONNECTIVITY SERVICE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘emergency 
connectivity service’’ means a service— 
(i) to which covered devices are capa-
ble of connecting— 
(I) without any technical capa-
bility specific to such service; and 
(II) regardless of whether com-
mercial mobile service or any other 
service is initialized on the device; and 
(ii) that consists only of the provision 
of a service described in subparagraph (B) 
to an area that is an unserved area with 
respect to such service. 
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(B) SERVICES DESCRIBED.—The services 
described in this subparagraph are the fol-
lowing: 
(i) Transmitting alert messages to 
covered devices. 
(ii) Providing emergency information 
from a covered device to a public safety 
answering point (which may include en-
hanced 9–1–1 service). 
(6) ENHANCED 9–1–1 SERVICE.—The term ‘‘en-
hanced 9–1–1 service’’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 7 of the Wireless Communications 
and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615b). 
(7) MOBILE
DEVICE.—The term ‘‘mobile de-
vice’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
10.10 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
any successor regulation). 
(8) PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT.—The 
term ‘‘public safety answering point’’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 7 of the Wireless 
Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 
U.S.C. 615b). 
(9) TABLE OF FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS.—The 
term ‘‘table of frequency allocations’’ means the 
United States table of frequency allocations con-
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tained in section 2.106 of title 47, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or any successor regulation). 
(10) UNSERVED
AREA.—The term ‘‘unserved 
area’’ means, with respect to a service described in 
paragraph (5)(B), an area that, due to lack of infra-
structure, destruction of infrastructure, a power out-
age, or any other reason, has no provider of com-
mercial mobile service that is capable of providing 
such service. 
Æ 
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