Telecommunications Supply Chain Diversity Promotion Act
Bill: S.1563 | Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. (R-MS)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Telecommunications Supply Chain Diversity Promotion Act
This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish an applied research open network architecture testbed at its Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, which shall develop and demonstrate network architectures and applications, equipment integration, and interoperability at scale.
In addition, the NTIA must award grants to private sector entities based in the United States to participate in eligible standards-setting bodies (e.g., the Telecommunications Industry Association).

To establish an open network architecture testbed at the Institute for 
   Telecommunication Sciences of the National Telecommunications and 
     Information Administration to develop and demonstrate network 
        architectures and applications, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Telecommunications Supply Chain 
Diversity Promotion Act''.

SEC. 2. OPEN NETWORK ARCHITECTURE.

    (a) Open Network Architecture Testbed.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    (A) the term ``Applied Research Open-RAN testbed'' 
                means the testbed established under paragraph (2);
                    (B) the term ``Assistant Secretary'' means the 
                Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
                Information; and
                    (C) the term ``NTIA'' means the National 
                Telecommunications and Information Administration.
            (2) Establishment.--The Assistant Secretary shall establish 
        an applied research open network architecture testbed at the 
        Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the NTIA to develop 
        and demonstrate network architectures and applications, 
        equipment integration and interoperability at scale, 
        including--
                    (A) Open Radio Access Network (commonly known as 
                ``Open-RAN'') technology;
                    (B) Virtualized Radio Access Network (commonly 
                known as ``vRAN'') technology; and
                    (C) cloud native technologies that replicate 
                telecommunications hardware as software-based virtual 
                network elements and functions.
            (3) Focus; considerations.--In establishing the Applied 
        Research Open-RAN testbed pursuant to this section, the 
        Assistant Secretary shall ensure that such testbed evaluates 
        issues related to deployment and operation of open network 
        architectures in rural areas.
            (4) Cooperative research and development agreements.--The 
        Assistant Secretary shall enter into cooperative research and 
        development agreements as appropriate to obtain equipment, 
        devices, and expertise for the Applied Research Open-RAN 
        testbed, in accordance with section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler 
        Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a).
            (5) Private sector contributions.--The Assistant Secretary 
        may accept private contributions to the Applied Research Open-
        RAN testbed in the form of network equipment or devices for 
        testing purposes.
            (6) Partnership with government entities.--
                    (A) Establishment.--In establishing the Applied 
                Research Open-RAN testbed, the Assistant Secretary 
                shall--
                            (i) consult with the Federal Communications 
                        Commission, including with respect to ongoing 
                        work by the Commission to develop other 
                        testbeds, including private sector testbeds, 
                        related to Open-RAN technologies; and
                            (ii) ensure that the work on the testbed is 
                        coordinated with the responsibilities of the 
                        Assistant Secretary under any relevant 
                        memorandum of understanding with the Federal 
                        Communications Commission and the National 
                        Science Foundation related to spectrum.
                    (B) Operations.--In operating the Applied Research 
                Open-RAN testbed, the Assistant Secretary shall, in 
                consultation with the Federal Communications 
                Commission, partner with--
                            (i) the First Responder Network Authority 
                        of the NTIA (also known as ``FirstNet'') and 
                        the Public Safety Communications Research 
                        Division of the National Institute of Standards 
                        and Technology to examine use cases and 
                        applications for Open-RAN technologies in a 
                        public safety network;
                            (ii) other Federal agencies, as appropriate 
                        to examine use cases and applications for Open-
                        RAN technologies in other areas of interest to 
                        such agencies; and
                            (iii) international partners, as 
                        appropriate.
            (7) Stakeholder input.--The Assistant Secretary shall seek 
        input from stakeholders regarding the establishment and 
        operation of the Applied Research Open-RAN testbed.
            (8) Implementation deadline.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 
        shall--
                    (A) define metrics and parameters for the Applied 
                Research Open-RAN testbed, including functionality, 
                project configuration and capacity, performance, 
                security requirements, and quality assurance;
                    (B) adopt any rules as necessary, in consultation 
                with the Federal Communications Commission; and
                    (C) begin the development of the Applied Research 
                Open-RAN testbed, including seeking stakeholder input 
                as required by paragraph (7).
            (9) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to 
        the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives a report on the findings of the testbed and any 
        recommendations for additional legislative or regulatory 
        actions relating to the work of the testbed.
            (10) Authorization of appropriations.--
                    (A) In general.--There are authorized to be 
                appropriated for the administration of the Applied 
                Research Open-RAN testbed $20,000,000 for fiscal year 
                2022, to remain available until expended.
                    (B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (6) 
                shall be construed to obligate FirstNet or any other 
                Federal entity to pay for the cost of the Applied 
                Research Open-RAN testbed created under this section in 
                the absence of the appropriation of amounts under this 
                paragraph.
                    (C) Authorization for voluntary support.--A Federal 
                entity, including FirstNet, may voluntarily enter into 
                an agreement with NTIA to provide monetary or 
                nonmonetary support for the Applied Research Open-RAN 
                testbed.
    (b) Participation in Standards-Setting Bodies.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this section--
                    (A) the term ``Assistant Secretary'' means the 
                Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
                Information;
                    (B) the term ``eligible standards-setting body''--
                            (i) means a standards-setting body, 
                        participation in which may be funded by a grant 
                        awarded under paragraph (2), as determined by 
                        the Assistant Secretary; and
                            (ii) includes--
                                    (I) the 3rd Generation Partnership 
                                Project (commonly known as ``3GPP'');
                                    (II) the Alliance for 
                                Telecommunications Industry Solutions 
                                (commonly known as ``ATIS'');
                                    (III) the International 
                                Telecommunications Union (commonly 
                                known as ``ITU'');
                                    (IV) the Institute for Electrical 
                                and Electronics Engineers (commonly 
                                known as ``IEEE'');
                                    (V) the World Radiocommunications 
                                Conferences (commonly known as the 
                                ``WRC'') of the ITU;
                                    (VI) the Internet Engineering Task 
                                Force (commonly known as the ``IETF'');
                                    (VII) the International 
                                Organization for Standardization 
                                (commonly known as the ``ISO'') and the 
                                International Electrotechnical 
                                Commission (commonly known as the 
                                ``IEC'');
                                    (VIII) the O-RAN Alliance;
                                    (IX) the Telecommunications 
                                Industry Association (commonly known as 
                                ``TIA''); and
                                    (X) any other standards-setting 
                                body identified under paragraph (4);
                    (C) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
                Commerce; and
                    (D) the term ``standards-setting body'' means an 
                international body that develops the standards for open 
                network architecture technologies.
            (2) Grant program.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary, in collaboration 
                with the Assistant Secretary, shall award grants to 
                private sector entities based in the United States to 
                participate in eligible standards-setting bodies.
                    (B) Prioritization.--The Secretary shall prioritize 
                grants awarded under this section to private sector 
                entities that would not otherwise be able to 
                participate in eligible standards-setting bodies 
                without the grant.
            (3) Grant criteria.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        on which amounts are appropriated under paragraph (5), the 
        Secretary, in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary, shall 
        establish criteria for the grants awarded under paragraph (2).
            (4) Consultation with federal communications commission.--
        The Secretary shall consult with the Federal Communications 
        Commission in--
                    (A) determining criteria for the grants awarded 
                under paragraph (2); and
                    (B) determining which standards-setting bodies, if 
                any, in addition to the standards-setting bodies listed 
                in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) are eligible standards-setting 
                bodies.
            (5) Authorization of appropriations.--
                    (A) In general.--There are authorized to be 
                appropriated for grants under paragraph (2) $30,000,000 
                in total for fiscal years 2022 through 2025, to remain 
                available until expended.
                    (B) Administrative costs.--The Secretary may use 
                not more than 2 percent of any funds appropriated under 
                this paragraph for the administration of the grant 
                program established under this subsection.
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