[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4560 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4560

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
          the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two


                                 An Act


 
To eliminate the deadlines for spectrum auctions of spectrum previously 
                  allocated to television broadcasting.

    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 ``Auction Reform Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
        (1) Circumstances in the telecommunications market have changed 
    dramatically since the auctioning of spectrum in the 700 megahertz 
    band was originally mandated by Congress in 1997, raising serious 
    questions as to whether the original deadlines, or the subsequent 
    revision of the deadlines, are consistent with sound 
    telecommunications policy and spectrum management principles.
        (2) No comprehensive plan yet exists for allocating additional 
    spectrum for third-generation wireless and other advanced 
    communications services. The Federal Communications Commission 
    should have the flexibility to auction frequencies in the 700 
    megahertz band for such purposes.
        (3) The study being conducted by the National 
    Telecommunications and Information Administration in consultation 
    with the Department of Defense to determine whether the Department 
    of Defense can share or relinquish additional spectrum for third 
    generation wireless and other advanced communications services will 
    not be completed until after the June 19th auction date for the 
    upper 700 megahertz band, and long after the applications must be 
    filed to participate in the auction, thereby creating further 
    uncertainty as to whether the frequencies in the 700 megahertz band 
    will be put to their highest and best use for the benefit of 
    consumers.
        (4) The Federal Communications Commission is also in the 
    process of determining how to resolve the interference problems 
    that exist in the 800 megahertz band, especially for public safety. 
    One option being considered for the 800 megahertz band would 
    involve the 700 megahertz band. The Commission should not hold the 
    700 megahertz auction before the 800 megahertz interference issues 
    are resolved or a tenable plan has been conceived.
        (5) The 700 megahertz band is currently occupied by television 
    broadcasters, and will be so until the transfer to digital 
    television is completed. This situation creates a tremendous amount 
    of uncertainty concerning when the spectrum will be available and 
    reduces the value placed on the spectrum by potential bidders. The 
    encumbrance of the 700 megahertz band reduces both the amount of 
    money that the auction would be likely to produce and the 
    probability that the spectrum would be purchased by the entities 
    that valued the spectrum the most and would put the spectrum to its 
    most productive use.
        (6) The Commission's rules governing voluntary mechanisms for 
    vacating the 700 megahertz band by broadcast stations--
            (A) produced no certainty that the band would be available 
        for advanced mobile communications services, public safety 
        operations, or other wireless services any earlier than the 
        existing statutory framework provides; and
            (B) should advance the transition of digital television and 
        must not result in the unjust enrichment of any incumbent 
        licensee.

SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF STATUTORY DEADLINES FOR SPECTRUM AUCTIONS.

    (a) FCC To Determine Timing of Auctions.--Section 309(j) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph:
        ``(15) Commission to determine timing of auctions.--
            ``(A) Commission authority.--Subject to the provisions of 
        this subsection (including paragraph (11)), but notwithstanding 
        any other provision of law, the Commission shall determine the 
        timing of and deadlines for the conduct of competitive bidding 
        under this subsection, including the timing of and deadlines 
        for qualifying for bidding; conducting auctions; collecting, 
        depositing, and reporting revenues; and completing licensing 
        processes and assigning licenses.
            ``(B) Termination of portions of auctions 31 and 44.--
        Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the Commission shall 
        not commence or conduct auctions 31 and 44 on June 19, 2002, as 
        specified in the public notices of March 19, 2002, and March 
        20, 2002 (DA 02-659 and DA 02-563).
            ``(C) Exception.--
                ``(i) Blocks excepted.--Subparagraph (B) shall not 
            apply to the auction of--

                    ``(I) the C-block of licenses on the bands of 
                frequencies located at 710-716 megahertz, and 740-746 
                megahertz; or
                    ``(II) the D-block of licenses on the bands of 
                frequencies located at 716-722 megahertz.

                ``(ii) Eligible bidders.--The entities that shall be 
            eligible to bid in the auction of the C-block and D-block 
            licenses described in clause (i) shall be those entities 
            that were qualified entities, and that submitted 
            applications to participate in auction 44, by May 8, 2002, 
            as part of the original auction 44 short form filing 
            deadline.
                ``(iii) Auction deadlines for excepted blocks.--
            Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), the auction of the C-
            block and D-block licenses described in clause (i) shall be 
            commenced no earlier than August 19, 2002, and no later 
            than September 19, 2002, and the proceeds of such auction 
            shall be deposited in accordance with paragraph (8) not 
            later than December 31, 2002.
                ``(iv) Report.--Within one year after the date of 
            enactment of this paragraph, the Commission shall submit a 
            report to Congress--

                    ``(I) specifying when the Commission intends to 
                reschedule auctions 31 and 44 (other than the blocks 
                excepted by clause (i)); and
                    ``(II) describing the progress made by the 
                Commission in the digital television transition and in 
                the assignment and allocation of additional spectrum 
                for advanced mobile communications services that 
                warrants the scheduling of such auctions.

            ``(D) Return of payments.--Within one month after the date 
        of enactment of this paragraph, the Commission shall return to 
        the bidders for licenses in the A-block, B-block, and E-block 
        of auction 44 the full amount of all upfront payments made by 
        such bidders for such licenses.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
        (1) Communications act of 1934.--Section 309(j)(14)(C)(ii) of 
    the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(14)(C)(ii)) is 
    amended by striking the second sentence.
        (2) Balanced budget act of 1997.--Section 3007 of the Balanced 
    Budget Act of 1997 (111 Stat. 269) is repealed.
        (3) Consolidated appropriations act.--Paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
    section 213(a) of H.R. 3425 of the 106th Congress, as enacted into 
    law by section 1000(a)(5) of An Act making consolidated 
    appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, and 
    for other purposes (Public Law 106-113; 113 Stat. 1501A-295), are 
    repealed.

SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH AUCTION AUTHORITY.

    The Federal Communications Commission shall conduct rescheduled 
auctions 31 and 44 prior to the expiration of the auction authority 
under section 309(j)(11) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
309(j)(11)).

SEC. 5. PRESERVATION OF BROADCASTER OBLIGATIONS.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to relieve television 
broadcast station licensees of the obligation to complete the digital 
television service conversion as required by section 309(j)(14) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(14)).

SEC. 6. INTERFERENCE PROTECTION.

    (a) Interference Waivers.--In granting a request by a television 
broadcast station licensee assigned to any of channels 52-69 to utilize 
any channel of channels 2-51 that is assigned for digital broadcasting 
in order to continue analog broadcasting during the transition to 
digital broadcasting, the Federal Communications Commission may not, 
either at the time of the grant or thereafter, waive or otherwise 
reduce--
        (1) the spacing requirements provided for analog broadcasting 
    licensees within channels 2-51 as required by section 73.610 of the 
    Commission's rules (and the table contained therein) (47 CFR 
    73.610), or
        (2) the interference standards provided for digital 
    broadcasting licensees within channels 2-51 as required by sections 
    73.622 and 73.623 of such rules (47 CFR 73.622, 73.623),
if such waiver or reduction will result in any degradation in or loss 
of service, or an increased level of interference, to any television 
household except as the Commission's rules would otherwise expressly 
permit, exclusive of any waivers previously granted.
    (b) Exception for Public Safety Channel Clearing.--The restrictions 
in subsection (a) shall not apply to a station licensee that is seeking 
authority (either by waiver or otherwise) to vacate the frequencies 
that constitute television channel 63, 64, 68, or 69 in order to make 
such frequencies available for public safety purposes pursuant to the 
provisions of section 337 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
337).

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.