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 ‘‘Precision Agriculture 
Connectivity Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Precision agriculture technologies and prac-
tices allow farmers to significantly increase crop 
yields, eliminate overlap in operations, and reduce 
inputs such as seed, fertilizer, pesticides, water, and 
fuel. 
(2) These technologies allow farmers to collect 
data in real time about their fields, automate field 
management, and maximize resources. 
(3) Studies estimate that precision agriculture 
technologies can reduce agricultural operation costs 
by up to 25 dollars per acre and increase farm yields 
by up to 70 percent by 2050. 
(4) The critical cost savings and productivity 
benefits of precision agriculture cannot be realized 
without the availability of reliable broadband Internet 
access service delivered to the agricultural land of the 
United States. 
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(5) The deployment of broadband Internet access 
service to unserved agricultural land is critical to the 
United States economy and to the continued leader-
ship of the United States in global food production. 
(6) Despite the growing demand for broadband 
Internet 
access 
service 
on 
agricultural 
land, 
broadband Internet access service is not consistently 
available where needed for agricultural operations. 
(7) The Federal Communications Commission 
has an important role to play in the deployment of 
broadband Internet access service on unserved agricul-
tural land to promote precision agriculture. 
SEC. 3. TASK FORCE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘broadband Internet access serv-
ice’’— 
(A) means a mass-market retail service by 
wire or radio that provides the capability to 
transmit data to and receive data from all or 
substantially all Internet endpoints, including 
any capabilities that are incidental to and en-
able the operation of the communications service, 
but excluding dial-up Internet access service; and 
(B) also encompasses any service that the 
Commission finds to be providing a functional 
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equivalent of the service described in subpara-
graph (A); 
(2) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 
Communications Commission; 
(3) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart-
ment of Agriculture; 
(4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of 
Agriculture; and 
(5) the term ‘‘Task Force’’ means the Task Force 
for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs 
of Precision Agriculture in the United States estab-
lished under subsection (b). 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall establish 
the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Tech-
nology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. 
(c) DUTIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall consult 
with the Secretary, or a designee of the Secretary, and 
collaborate with public and private stakeholders in 
the agriculture and technology fields to— 
(A) identify and measure current gaps in 
the availability of broadband Internet access 
service on agricultural land; 
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(B) develop policy recommendations to pro-
mote 
the 
rapid, 
expanded 
deployment 
of 
broadband Internet access service on unserved 
agricultural land, with a goal of achieving reli-
able capabilities on 95 percent of agricultural 
land in the United States by 2025; 
(C) promote effective policy and regulatory 
solutions 
that 
encourage 
the 
adoption 
of 
broadband Internet access service on farms and 
ranches and promote precision agriculture; 
(D) recommend specific new rules or 
amendments to existing rules of the Commission 
that the Commission should issue to achieve the 
goals and purposes of the policy recommenda-
tions described in subparagraph (B); 
(E) recommend specific steps that the Com-
mission should take to obtain reliable and stand-
ardized data measurements of the availability of 
broadband Internet access service as may be nec-
essary to target funding support, from future 
programs of the Commission dedicated to the de-
ployment of broadband Internet access service, to 
unserved agricultural land in need of broadband 
Internet access service; and 
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(F) recommend specific steps that the Com-
mission should consider to ensure that the exper-
tise of the Secretary and available farm data are 
reflected in future programs of the Commission 
dedicated to the infrastructure deployment of 
broadband Internet access service and to direct 
available funding to unserved agricultural land 
where needed. 
(2) NO DUPLICATE DATA REPORTING.—In per-
forming the duties of the Commission under para-
graph (1), the Commission shall ensure that no pro-
vider of broadband Internet access service is required 
to report data to the Commission that is, on the day 
before the date of enactment of this Act, required to 
be reported by the provider of broadband Internet ac-
cess service. 
(3) HOLD HARMLESS.—The Task Force and the 
Commission shall not interpret the phrase ‘‘future 
programs of the Commission’’, as used in subpara-
graphs (E) and (F) of paragraph (1), to include the 
universal service programs of the Commission estab-
lished under section 254 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254). 
(4) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary, or a des-
ignee of the Secretary, shall explain and make avail-
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able to the Task Force the expertise, data mapping 
information, and resources of the Department that the 
Department uses to identify cropland, ranchland, and 
other areas with agricultural operations that may be 
helpful in developing the recommendations required 
under paragraph (1). 
(5) LIST
OF
AVAILABLE
FEDERAL
PROGRAMS 
AND RESOURCES.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the 
Commission shall jointly submit to the Task Force a 
list of all Federal programs or resources available for 
the expansion of broadband Internet access service on 
unserved agricultural land to assist the Task Force in 
carrying out the duties of the Task Force. 
(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall be— 
(A) composed of not more than 15 voting 
members who shall— 
(i) be selected by the Chairman of the 
Commission, in consultation with the Sec-
retary; and 
(ii) include— 
(I) agricultural producers rep-
resenting diverse geographic regions 
and farm sizes, including owners and 
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(B) fairly balanced in terms of technologies, 
points of view, and fields represented on the Task 
Force. 
(2) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Task 
Force appointed under paragraph (1)(A) shall 
serve for a single term of 2 years. 
(B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Task 
Force— 
(i) shall not affect the powers of the 
Task Force; and 
(ii) shall be filled in the same manner 
as the original appointment. 
(3) EX-OFFICIO MEMBER.—The Secretary, or a 
designee of the Secretary, shall serve as an ex-officio, 
nonvoting member of the Task Force. 
(e) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
on which the Commission establishes the Task Force, and 
annually thereafter, the Task Force shall submit to the 
Chairman of the Commission a report, which shall be made 
public not later than 30 days after the date on which the 
Chairman receives the report, that details— 
(1) the status of fixed and mobile broadband 
Internet access service coverage of agricultural land; 
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(2) the projected future connectivity needs of ag-
ricultural operations, farmers, and ranchers; and 
(3) the steps being taken to accurately measure 
the availability of broadband Internet access service 
on agricultural land and the limitations of current, 
as of the date of the report, measurement processes. 
(f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall renew the 
Task Force every 2 years until the Task Force terminates 
on January 1, 2025. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to require the 
Federal Communications Commission to establish a task 
force for reviewing the connectivity and technology needs 
of precision agriculture in the United States.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 647 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4881 
[Report No. 115–837] 
A BILL 
To require the Federal Communications Commis-
sion to establish a task force for meeting the 
connectivity and technology needs of precision 
agriculture in the United States. 
JULY 18, 2018 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
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