Title: Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2017
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2017
This bill directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop regulations that would establish a national standard for determining whether mobile service, mobile data service, and broadband service in rural areas are reasonably comparable to the services provided in urban areas.
The FCC shall gather data about the average signal strengths and speeds of mobile services and the average speeds of broadband Internet services from the 20 most-populated urban areas. The services provided in rural areas shall be deemed reasonably comparable to urban area if the signal strengths and/or speeds meet or exceed the averages in the most-populated areas.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2903 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2903

     To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate 
regulations that establish a national standard for determining whether 
 mobile and broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably 
         comparable to those services provided in urban areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2017

Mr. McKinley (for himself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate 
regulations that establish a national standard for determining whether 
 mobile and broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably 
         comparable to those services provided in urban areas.

    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 ``Rural Reasonable and Comparable 
Wireless Access Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF MOBILE AND BROADBAND SERVICES IN UNDERSERVED 
              RURAL AREAS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations that 
establish a national standard for determining, for purposes of rural, 
insular, and high cost universal service support pursuant to subsection 
(b)(3) of section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
254), whether commercial mobile service, commercial mobile data 
service, and broadband internet access service available in rural areas 
are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas.
    (b) Underserved Rural Areas.--The standard established under 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) define a ``rural area'' as any area that is either--
                    (A) a rural area (as defined in paragraph (1) of 
                section 54.600(b) of title 47, Code of Federal 
                Regulations); or
                    (B) a service area (as defined in section 214(e) of 
                the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(e))) 
                served by a rural telephone company (as defined in 
                section 3 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 153));
            (2) define a rural area as ``underserved'', with respect to 
        a service described in subsection (a), if service that meets or 
        exceeds the standard established under such subsection is not 
        available in the area; and
            (3) provide that a rural area will be considered 
        ``underserved'', with respect to a service described in 
        subsection (a), if tests show that the service available in the 
        area does not meet or exceed the applicable averages determined 
        under subsection (c)(1).
    (c) Data From Urban Areas.--The Commission shall--
            (1) gather data on average signal strengths and average 
        speeds of commercial mobile service and commercial mobile data 
        service, and on average speeds of broadband internet access 
        service, provided in the 20 most populous metropolitan 
        statistical areas; and
            (2) specify in the standard established under subsection 
        (a) that--
                    (A) commercial mobile service or commercial mobile 
                data service available in rural areas is reasonably 
                comparable to that service provided in urban areas only 
                if the average signal strengths and average speeds meet 
                or exceed the averages determined under paragraph (1) 
                for such service; and
                    (B) broadband internet access service available in 
                rural areas is reasonably comparable to that service 
                provided in urban areas only if the average speeds meet 
                or exceed the averages determined under paragraph (1) 
                for such service.
    (d) Periodic Updating of Data.--The Commission shall periodically 
update the data gathered under subsection (c)(1).
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
        ``broadband internet access service'' 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 enable the operation of the communications 
        service, but excluding dial-up internet access service. Such 
        term includes any service that the Commission finds to be 
        providing a functional equivalent of the service described in 
        the previous sentence.
            (2) Commercial mobile service.--The term ``commercial 
        mobile service'' has the meaning given such term in section 332 
        of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332).
            (3) Commercial mobile data service.--The term ``commercial 
        mobile data service'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation 
        Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401).
            (4) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
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