I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2929 
To require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a program 
to promote the availability and sustainability of robust rural broadband 
networks in high cost rural areas, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2019 
Mr. MULLIN (for himself and Mr. PETERSON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To require the Federal Communications Commission to es-
tablish a program to promote the availability and sus-
tainability of robust rural broadband networks in high 
cost rural areas, 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 ‘‘Rural Broadband Net-
work Advancement Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Internet data demands are increasing, and 
video streaming services represent a significant por-
tion of the growth of internet traffic today. 
(2) Broadband network operators must invest 
in additional capacity to accommodate that data and 
other traffic generated by third-party online services 
leveraging underlying broadband networks. 
(3) These edge providers depend upon the avail-
ability of such robust underlying network capacity to 
deliver their services to users. 
(4) The costs associated with broadband infra-
structure upgrades are significant and growing to 
keep pace with the online services that depend on 
these underlying networks. 
(5) The challenges of investing in and maintain-
ing such robust network capacity are even greater in 
rural areas due to the significant distances over 
which networks must be built and operated and the 
limited densities of the rural communities to be 
served. 
(6) All persons and entities that utilize and le-
verage networks should share equitably in sup-
porting the availability and sustainability of rural 
broadband networks. 
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SEC. 3. PROMOTING AND SUSTAINING ROBUST RURAL 
BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion shall complete a rulemaking that establishes a 
program under which each edge provider, except 
those described under paragraph (3), that has data 
transported across the network of a rural broadband 
provider in a high cost rural area shall pay a net-
work user fee on an equitable and nondiscriminatory 
basis to advance and sustain broadband-capable net-
works and broadband internet service in high cost 
rural areas. 
(2) SINGLE EFFECTIVE DATE FOR PAYMENTS 
MADE.—Any rule adopted pursuant to paragraph (1) 
shall have the same effective date for payments 
made to each rural broadband provider. 
(3) EXEMPTIONS.—The following edge pro-
viders are exempt from the requirement to pay a 
network user fee described in paragraph (1): 
(A) DE MINIMIS AMOUNTS.—An edge pro-
vider or class of edge providers whose assess-
ment of network user fees is determined to be 
de minimis by the Commission. 
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(B) GENERAL
EXEMPTIONS.—Any State, 
local, or Tribal government, elementary school 
or secondary school (as such terms are defined 
in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801)), library, hospital, or individual. 
(C) SMALL BUSINESS.—Any small business 
concern, as described in section 3 of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 
(b) CALCULATION OF LIMITED COSTS, COLLECTION 
OF NETWORK USER FEES, AND DISTRIBUTION OF NET-
WORK USER FEES.— 
(1) CALCULATION OF NETWORK USER FEES.— 
(A) CALCULATION OF LIMITED COSTS.— 
The rulemaking under subsection (a) shall in-
clude a calculation of costs associated with 
transmission by a rural broadband provider of 
edge provider data that are not already recov-
ered through user rates that are reasonably 
comparable to those in urban areas, Federal or 
State universal service support, or other Fed-
eral or State programs aimed at promoting 
rural broadband deployment or sustaining rural 
broadband networks. 
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(B) COSTS
DESCRIBED.—The costs de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) include the fol-
lowing: 
(i) Costs associated with the initial 
deployment of a rural broadband network. 
(ii) Costs associated with ongoing op-
eration and maintenance of such network. 
(iii) Costs associated with the ongoing 
delivery of services to users via that net-
work (including costs of transit and trans-
port between rural service areas and urban 
or suburban interconnection points). 
(C) UPDATE
OF
COSTS.—Not less fre-
quently than every 2 years after the date on 
which the rulemaking is completed under sub-
section (a)(1), the calculation of costs under 
subparagraph (A) shall be updated. 
(2) COLLECTION OF NETWORK USER FEES.— 
The rulemaking under subsection (a) shall include a 
mechanism through which the costs calculated under 
paragraph (1) are collected from edge providers 
under the program on a quarterly basis. The Com-
mission shall ensure that the assessment of network 
user fees on each edge provider is reasonably reflec-
tive of the relative proportion of that edge provider’s 
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data transmitted on eligible rural broadband pro-
viders’ networks serving high cost rural areas. 
(3) DISTRIBUTION OF NETWORK USER FEES.— 
The rulemaking under subsection (a) shall provide 
for distribution on an equitable and nondiscrim-
inatory basis to rural broadband providers of net-
work user fees collected from edge providers under 
the program on a quarterly basis. The Commission 
shall ensure that the distribution of network user 
fees to each rural broadband provider is reasonably 
reflective of the relative proportion of edge provider 
data as measured and transmitted on that rural 
broadband provider’s network and by considering 
other factors such as regional cost disparities, nat-
ural disasters, and Federal emergencies. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY
FOR COMPENSATION.—The rule-
making under subsection (a) shall include the following: 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for receipt of 
network user fees collected and distributed under the 
program, an entity— 
(A) shall be a rural broadband provider; 
and 
(B) shall submit any other information 
reasonably prescribed by the Commission as 
needed to determine the appropriate level of 
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network user fees to be collected and the equi-
table distribution of such collected amounts as 
compensation. 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A rural broadband pro-
vider that receives compensation through network 
user fees may only use such funds in connection 
with any of the following: 
(A) The deployment of a rural broadband 
network. 
(B) Ongoing operation and maintenance of 
a rural broadband network. 
(C) The delivery of broadband internet 
services to users in a high cost rural area. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(2) EDGE
PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘edge pro-
vider’’ means a provider that— 
(A) provides a service over the internet— 
(i) for which the provider requires the 
user to subscribe or establish an account in 
order to use the service; 
(ii) that the user purchases from the 
provider of the service without a subscrip-
tion or account; 
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