[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 696 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 696

    To prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from applying 
spectrum aggregation limits to spectrum assigned by auction after 2000.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 4, 2001

 Mr. Brownback introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from applying 
spectrum aggregation limits to spectrum assigned by auction after 2000.

    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 ``Third-Generation Wireless Internet 
Act.''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Mobile telephony has been one of the fastest growing 
        industries of the telecommunications sector, offering consumers 
        innovative services at affordable rates.
            (2) Demand for mobile telecommunications services has 
        greatly exceeded industry expectations.
            (3) Mobile carriers are poised to bring high-speed Internet 
        access to consumers through wireless telecommunications 
        devices.
            (4) Third Generation mobile systems (hereinafter referred 
        to as ``3G'') are capable of delivering high-speed data 
        services for Internet access and other multimedia applications.
            (5) Advanced wireless services such as 3G may be the most 
        efficient and economic way to provide high-speed Internet 
        access to rural areas of the United States.
            (6) Under the current Federal Communications Commission 
        rules, commercial mobile service providers may not use more 
        than 45 megahertz of combined cellular, broadband Personal 
        Communications Service, and Specialized Mobile Radio spectrum 
        within any geographic area.
            (7) Assignments of additional spectrum may be needed to 
        enable mobile operators to keep pace with the demand for 3G 
        services.
            (8) The application of the current Commission spectrum cap 
        rules to new spectrum auctioned by the FCC would greatly impede 
        the deployment of 3G services.

SEC. 3. WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.

    Section 332(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)) 
is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
            ``(9) Non-Application of Spectrum Aggregation Limits to New 
        Auctions.--
                    ``(A) The Commission may not apply section 20.6(a) 
                of its regulations (47 C.F.R. 20.6(a)) to a license for 
                spectrum assigned by initial auction held after 
                December 31, 2000.
                    ``(B) The Commission may relax or eliminate the 
                spectrum aggregation limits of section 20.6 of its 
                regulations (47 C.F.R. 20.6), but may not lower these 
                limits.''.
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