[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1492 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
1st Session
S. 1492
To improve the quality of Federal and State data regarding the
availability and quality of broadband services and to promote the
deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of the Nation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 24, 2007
Mr. Inouye (for himself, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Pryor, Ms. Cantwell, Ms.
Klobuchar, and Mr. Kerry) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the quality of Federal and State data regarding the
availability and quality of broadband services and to promote the
deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of the Nation.
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 ``Broadband Data Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The deployment and adoption of broadband technology has
resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety for
communities across the Nation, improved health care and
educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for all
Americans.
(2) Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of
broadband technology is vital to ensuring that our Nation
remains competitive and continues to create business and job
growth.
(3) Improving Federal data on the deployment and adoption
of broadband service will assist in the development of
broadband technology across all regions of the Nation.
(4) The Federal Government should also recognize and
encourage complementary state efforts to improve the quality
and usefulness of broadband data and should encourage and
support the partnership of the public and private sectors in
the continued growth of broadband services and information
technology for the residents and businesses of the Nation.
SEC. 3. IMPROVING FEDERAL DATA ON BROADBAND.
(a) Improving FCC Broadband Data.--Within 120 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall
issue an order in WC docket No. 07-38 which shall, at a minimum--
(1) revise or update, if determined necessary, the existing
definitions of advanced telecommunications capability, or
broadband;
(2) establish a new definition of second generation
broadband to reflect a data rate that is not less than the data
rate required to reliably transmit full-motion, high-definition
video; and
(3) revise its Form 477 reporting requirements to require
filing entities to report broadband connections and second
generation broadband connections by 5-digit postal zip code
plus 4-digit location.
(b) Exception.--The Commission shall exempt an entity from the
reporting requirements of subsection (a)(3) if the Commission
determines that a compliance by that entity with the requirements is
cost prohibitive, as defined by the Commission.
(c) Improving Section 706 Inquiry.--Section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 nt) is amended--
(1) by striking ``regularly'' in subsection (b) and
inserting ``annually'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (e); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Measurement of Extent of Deployment.--In determining under
subsection (b) whether advanced telecommunications capability is being
deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, the
Commission shall consider data collected using 5-digit postal zip code
plus 4-digit location.
``(d) Demographic Information for Unserved Areas.--As part of the
inquiry required by subsection (b), the Commission shall, using 5-digit
postal zip code plus 4-digit location information, compile a list of
geographical areas that are not served by any provider of advanced
telecommunications capability (as defined by section 706(c)(1) of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 nt)) and to the extent
that data from the Census Bureau is available, determine, for each such
unserved area--
``(1) the population;
``(2) the population density; and
``(3) the average per capita income.'';
(4) by inserting ``an evolving level of'' after
``technology,'' in paragraph (1) of subsection (e), as
redesignated.
(d) Improving Census Data on Broadband.--The Secretary of Commerce,
in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission, shall
expand the American Community Survey conducted by the Bureau of the
Census to elicit information for residential households, including
those located on native lands, to determine whether persons at such
households own or use a computer at that address, whether persons at
that address subscribe to Internet service and, if so, whether such
persons subscribe to dial-up or broadband Internet service at that
address.
SEC. 4. STUDY ON ADDITIONAL BROADBAND METRICS AND STANDARDS.
(a) In General.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study to
consider and evaluate additional broadband metrics or standards that
may be used by industry and the Federal Government to provide users
with more accurate information about the cost and capability of their
broadband connection, and to better compare the deployment and
penetration of broadband in the United States with other countries. At
a minimum, such study shall consider potential standards or metrics
that may be used--
(1) to calculate the average price per megabyte of
broadband offerings;
(2) to reflect the average actual speed of broadband
offerings compared to advertised potential speeds;
(3) to compare the availability and quality of broadband
offerings in the United States with the availability and
quality of broadband offerings in other industrialized nations,
including countries that are members of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development; and
(4) to distinguish between complementary and substitutable
broadband offerings in evaluating deployment and penetration.
(b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of
Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on the results of the
study, with recommendations for how industry and the Federal
Communications Commission can use such metrics and comparisons to
improve the quality of broadband data and to better evaluate the
deployment and penetration of comparable broadband service at
comparable rates across all regions of the Nation.
SEC. 5. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND SPEED AND PRICE ON SMALL
BUSINESSES.
(a) In General.--The Small Business Administration Office of
Advocacy shall conduct a study evaluating the impact of broadband speed
and price on small businesses.
(b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Office shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senate Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship, the House of Representatives Committee
on Energy and Commerce, and the House of Representatives Committee on
Small Business on the results of the study, including--
(1) a survey of broadband speeds available to small
businesses;
(2) a survey of the cost of broadband speeds available to
small businesses;
(3) a survey of the type of broadband technology used by
small businesses; and
(4) any policy recommendations that may improve small
businesses access to comparable broadband services at
comparable rates in all regions of the Nation.
SEC. 6. ENCOURAGING STATE INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE BROADBAND.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of any grant under subsection (b) are--
(1) to ensure that all citizens and businesses in a State
have access to affordable and reliable broadband service;
(2) to achieve improved technology literacy, increased
computer ownership, and home broadband use among such citizens
and businesses;
(3) to establish and empower local grassroots technology
teams in each State to plan for improved technology use across
multiple community sectors; and
(4) to establish and sustain an environment ripe for
broadband services and information technology investment.
(b) Establishment of State Broadband Data and Development Grant
Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall award
grants, taking into account the results of the peer review
process under subsection (d), to eligible entities for the
development and implementation of statewide initiatives to
identify and track the availability and adoption of broadband
services within each State.
(2) Competitive basis.--Any grant under subsection (b)
shall be awarded on a competitive basis.
(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (b), an eligible entity shall--
(1) submit an application to the Secretary of Commerce, at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require; and
(2) contribute matching non-Federal funds in an amount
equal to not less than 20 percent of the total amount of the
grant.
(d) Peer Review; Nondisclosure.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall by regulation require
appropriate technical and scientific peer review of
applications made for grants under this section.
(2) Review procedures.--The regulations required under
paragraph (1) shall require that any technical and scientific
peer review group--
(A) be provided a written description of the grant
to be reviewed;
(B) provide the results of any review by such group
to the Secretary of Commerce; and
(C) certify that such group will enter into
voluntary nondisclosure agreements as necessary to
prevent the unauthorized disclosure of confidential and
proprietary information provided by broadband service
providers in connection with projects funded by any
such grant.
(e) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded to an eligible entity under
subsection (b) shall be used--
(1) to provide a baseline assessment of broadband service
deployment in each State;
(2) to identify and track--
(A) areas in each State that have low levels of
broadband service deployment;
(B) the rate at which residential and business
users adopt broadband service and other related
information technology services; and
(C) possible suppliers of such services;
(3) to identify barriers to the adoption by individuals and
businesses of broadband service and related information
technology services, including whether or not--
(A) the demand for such services is absent; and
(B) the supply for such services is capable of
meeting the demand for such services;
(4) to identify the speeds of broadband connections made
available to individuals and businesses within the State, and,
at a minimum, to rely on the data rate benchmarks for broadband
and second generation broadband identified by the Federal
Communications Commission to promote greater consistency of
data among the States;
(5) to create and facilitate in each county or designated
region in a State a local technology planning team--
(A) with members representing a cross section of
the community, including representatives of business,
telecommunications labor organizations, K-12 education,
health care, libraries, higher education, community-
based organizations, local government, tourism, parks
and recreation, and agriculture; and
(B) which shall--
(i) benchmark technology use across
relevant community sectors;
(ii) set goals for improved technology use
within each sector; and
(iii) develop a tactical business plan for
achieving its goals, with specific
recommendations for online application
development and demand creation;
(6) to work collaboratively with broadband service
providers and information technology companies to encourage
deployment and use, especially in unserved and underserved
areas, through the use of local demand aggregation, mapping
analysis, and the creation of market intelligence to improve
the business case for providers to deploy;
(7) to establish programs to improve computer ownership and
Internet access for unserved and underserved populations;
(8) to collect and analyze detailed market data concerning
the use and demand for broadband service and related
information technology services;
(9) to facilitate information exchange regarding the use
and demand for broadband services between public and private
sectors; and
(10) to create within each State a geographic inventory map
of broadband service, and where feasible second generation
broadband service, which shall--
(A) identify gaps in such service through a method
of geographic information system mapping of service
availability at the census block level; and
(B) provide a baseline assessment of statewide
broadband deployment in terms of households with high-
speed availability.
(f) Participation Limit.--For each State, an eligible entity may
not receive a new grant under this section to fund the activities
described in subsection (d) within such State if such organization
obtained prior grant awards under this section to fund the same
activities in that State in each of the previous 4 consecutive years.
(g) Reporting.--The Secretary of Commerce shall--
(1) require each recipient of a grant under subsection (b)
to submit a report on the use of the funds provided by the
grant; and
(2) create a web page on the Department of Commerce web
site that aggregates relevant information made available to the
public by grant recipients, including, where appropriate,
hypertext links to any geographic inventory maps created by
grant recipients under subsection (e)(10).
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible Entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
non-profit organization that is selected by a State to work in
partnership with State agencies and private sector partners in
identifying and tracking the availability and adoption of
broadband services within each State.
(2) Nonprofit Organization.--The term ``nonprofit
organization'' means an organization--
(A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section
501(a) of such Code;
(B) no part of the net earnings of which inures to
the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or
individual;
(C) that has an established competency and proven
record of working with public and private sectors to
accomplish widescale deployment and adoption of
broadband services and information technology; and
(D) the board of directors of which is not composed
of a majority of individuals who are also employed by,
or otherwise associated with, any Federal, State, or
local government or any Federal, State, or local
agency.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $40,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2008 through 2012.
(j) No Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed as giving any public or private entity established or
affected by this Act any regulatory jurisdiction or oversight authority
over providers of broadband services or information technology.
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