[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3487 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3487

  To provide consumers in multitenant buildings with the benefits of 
competition among providers of telecommunications services by ensuring 
  reasonable and nondiscriminatory access to rooftops of multitenant 
 buildings by competitive telecommunications carriers, and promote the 
     development of fixed wireless, local telephony, and broadband 
                infrastructure, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 1999

Mr. Oxley (for himself, Mr. Davis of Virginia, Mr. Boucher, Ms. Eshoo, 
 and Mr. Stupak) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                       the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide consumers in multitenant buildings with the benefits of 
competition among providers of telecommunications services by ensuring 
  reasonable and nondiscriminatory access to rooftops of multitenant 
 buildings by competitive telecommunications carriers, and promote the 
     development of fixed wireless, local telephony, and broadband 
                infrastructure, 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 ``Competitive Broadband 
Telecommunications Rooftop Access Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS TO ROOFTOPS OF MULTITENANT BUILDINGS FOR COMPETITIVE 
              TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.

    Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 338. ACCESS TO ROOFTOPS OF MULTITENANT BUILDINGS FOR COMPETITIVE 
              TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.

    ``(a) Requirement of Owners To Permit Access.--
            ``(1) Access required.--Within 15 days of a 
        telecommunications carrier request, the owner of an occupied 
        multitenant building shall permit a telecommunications carrier 
        reasonable, standardized, and nondiscriminatory access--
                    ``(A) to install, maintain, and operate--
                            ``(i) telecommunications transmission and 
                        reception antennas on top of a multitenant 
                        building; and
                            ``(ii) related receiver equipment in 
                        mechanical rooms or closets; and
                    ``(B) to vertical and horizontal building risers,
        in the manner necessary to provide telecommunications service 
        or information service to a tenant or tenants in the occupied 
        multitenant building.
            ``(2) Nondiscriminatory conditions for access.--An owner is 
        required to permit a telecommunications carrier access under 
        paragraph (1) only if--
                    ``(A) a tenant in the occupied multitenant building 
                requests services from that telecommunications carrier;
                    ``(B) the cost of the installation of facilities is 
                assumed by such telecommunications carrier;
                    ``(C) the telecommunications carrier agrees to 
                indemnify the owner of the multitenant building for any 
                damages caused by the installation or operation of such 
                facilities and agrees not to hold the owner liable for 
                any such damages;
                    ``(D) the telecommunications carrier agrees to 
                comply with all rules of the Commission and the State 
                in which the multitenant building is located relating 
                to such installation;
                    ``(E) the telecommunications carrier has obtained a 
                Federal or State certificate of public convenience and 
                necessity for the provision of facilities-based 
                services;
                    ``(F) transmission antennae for which rooftop space 
                is required are one meter or less in diameter; and
                    ``(G) it is not technically infeasible for the 
                owner of the multitenant building to provide space for 
                the additional telecommunications carrier, but in any 
                event not more than six separate systems.
            ``(3) Permissible conditions of installation.--In the case 
        of any access described in paragraph (1), the owner of an 
        occupied multitenant building may--
                    ``(A) reasonably and in a standardized, 
                nondiscriminatory manner restrict the times during 
                which installation may occur; and
                    ``(B) impose reasonable, standardized, 
                nondiscriminatory conditions on telecommunications 
                carriers reasonably necessary to preserve the safety, 
                security, and condition of the multitenant building and 
                its tenants.
    ``(b) Limitation on Compensation for Access.--The owner of an 
occupied multitenant building may not--
            ``(1) demand or accept payment or any thing of value, 
        except as provided in subsection (c), for permitting a 
        telecommunications carrier to have access described in 
        subsection (a)(1) to the occupied multitenant building; or
            ``(2) discriminate against or otherwise penalize any tenant 
        of the occupied multitenant building in the rental charges or 
        provision of any services the owner provides or controls to 
        such tenant because of the receipt by the tenant, or failure to 
        receive, telecommunications services from any particular 
        telecommunications carrier.
    ``(c) Compensation.--
            ``(1) Owners may receive just compensation.--The owner of 
        an occupied multitenant building may demand and receive just 
        compensation from a telecommunications carrier for the access 
        necessary to permit the installation, operation, and 
        maintenance of facilities and equipment described in subsection 
        (a)(1). Such compensation shall be reasonable and shall be 
        assessed in a nondiscriminatory manner.
            ``(2) Regulations required.--Within 180 days after the 
        enactment of the Competitive Broadband Telecommunications 
        Rooftop Access Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations 
        for determining the level of just compensation owed to an owner 
        of an occupied multitenant building by a telecommunications 
        carrier for the access described in subsection (a)(1) to be 
        used in the event that such owner and telecommunications 
        carrier are unable to mutually agree within 15 days upon the 
        amount of just compensation. The final rule shall be made 
        effective within 210 days after such date of enactment.
            ``(3) Facilities installation pending resolution of 
        compensation dispute.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, the rules promulgated pursuant to paragraph (2) shall 
        permit a telecommunications carrier to install, on the rooftop 
        of any occupied multitenant building, facilities pursuant to 
        subsection (a)(1) pending the resolution of any dispute 
        regarding just compensation for any taking of property related 
        to the installation.
    ``(d) Civil Penalties.--After issuance by the Commission of notice 
to any person that the Commission has determined that such person has 
failed to comply with any provision of subsection (a), (b), or (c), 
such person shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty under section 503 
in the amount of $1,000 for each violation or each day of a continuing 
violation.
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            ``(1) Just compensation.--The term `just compensation' 
        means reasonable fees that are based on the commercial rental 
        value of the space actually used by the telecommunications 
        carrier and that do not discriminate among State-certified 
        telecommunications carriers. Rates paid for space primarily 
        used to provide telecommunications services to those outside 
        the occupied multitenant building shall not be considered in 
        calculating commercial rental value of the space used by the 
        telecommunications carrier.
            ``(2) Occupied multitenant building.--The term `occupied 
        multitenant building' means a structure or part of a structure 
        that is rented, leased, hired out, arranged or designed to be 
        occupied, or is occupied--
                    ``(A) as a residence of ten or more families or 
                individual persons living in separate dwelling units;
                    ``(B) as a place of business of three or more 
                persons, firms, partnerships, associations, 
                corporations, or other entities conducting business 
                independently of each other; or
                    ``(C) by any combination of three or more such 
                families, individual persons, firms, partnerships, 
                associations, corporations, or entities.
        Such term includes office buildings, apartment buildings, 
        condominiums, mixed-use buildings, and hospitals.
            ``(3) Owner.--The term `owner' means, with respect to an 
        occupied multitenant building, the owner or owners, the owners' 
        agent, assign, or successor in interest, or the lessor.
            ``(4) Tenant.--The term `tenant' means, with respect to an 
        occupied multitenant building, any person or entity having a 
        legal right to occupy the building (or portion of a unit 
        thereof).''.
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