[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1492 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 441
110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1492

                          [Report No. 110-204]

    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, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Obama, Mr. Carper, 
Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

                            October 24, 2007

                Reported by Mr. Inouye with an amendment
 [Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in 
                                italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Broadband Data Improvement 
Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. IMPROVING FEDERAL DATA ON BROADBAND.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) revise or update, if determined necessary, the 
        existing definitions of advanced telecommunications capability, 
        or broadband;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Improving Section 706 Inquiry.--Section 706 of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 nt) is amended--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking ``regularly'' in subsection (b) 
        and inserting ``annually'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 
        (e); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the 
        following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the population;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the population density; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) the average per capita income.'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) by inserting ``an evolving level of'' after 
        ``technology,'' in paragraph (1) of subsection (e), as 
        redesignated.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. STUDY ON ADDITIONAL BROADBAND METRICS AND 
              STANDARDS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to calculate the average price per megabyte of 
        broadband offerings;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to reflect the average actual speed of 
        broadband offerings compared to advertised potential 
        speeds;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) to distinguish between complementary and 
        substitutable broadband offerings in evaluating deployment and 
        penetration.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND SPEED AND PRICE ON 
              SMALL BUSINESSES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) a survey of broadband speeds available to 
        small businesses;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) a survey of the cost of broadband speeds 
        available to small businesses;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) a survey of the type of broadband technology 
        used by small businesses; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) any policy recommendations that may improve 
        small businesses access to comparable broadband services at 
        comparable rates in all regions of the Nation.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. ENCOURAGING STATE INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE 
              BROADBAND.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Purposes.--The purposes of any grant under subsection 
(b) are--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to ensure that all citizens and businesses in 
        a State have access to affordable and reliable broadband 
        service;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to achieve improved technology literacy, 
        increased computer ownership, and home broadband use among such 
        citizens and businesses;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) to establish and empower local grassroots 
        technology teams in each State to plan for improved technology 
        use across multiple community sectors; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) to establish and sustain an environment ripe 
        for broadband services and information technology 
        investment.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Establishment of State Broadband Data and Development 
Grant Program.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Competitive basis.--Any grant under subsection 
        (b) shall be awarded on a competitive basis.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (b), an eligible entity shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) contribute matching non-Federal funds in an 
        amount equal to not less than 20 percent of the total amount of 
        the grant.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Peer Review; Nondisclosure.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall by regulation 
        require appropriate technical and scientific peer review of 
        applications made for grants under this section.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Review procedures.--The regulations required 
        under paragraph (1) shall require that any technical and 
        scientific peer review group--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) be provided a written description of 
                the grant to be reviewed;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) provide the results of any review by 
                such group to the Secretary of Commerce; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded to an eligible entity 
under subsection (b) shall be used--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to provide a baseline assessment of broadband 
        service deployment in each State;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to identify and track--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) areas in each State that have low 
                levels of broadband service deployment;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the rate at which residential and 
                business users adopt broadband service and other 
                related information technology services; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) possible suppliers of such 
                services;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) to identify barriers to the adoption by 
        individuals and businesses of broadband service and related 
        information technology services, including whether or not--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the demand for such services is 
                absent; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the supply for such services is 
                capable of meeting the demand for such 
                services;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) to create and facilitate in each county or 
        designated region in a State a local technology planning team--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) which shall--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) benchmark technology use 
                        across relevant community sectors;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) set goals for improved 
                        technology use within each sector; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) develop a tactical business 
                        plan for achieving its goals, with specific 
                        recommendations for online application 
                        development and demand creation;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) to establish programs to improve computer 
        ownership and Internet access for unserved and underserved 
        populations;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) to collect and analyze detailed market data 
        concerning the use and demand for broadband service and related 
        information technology services;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) to facilitate information exchange regarding 
        the use and demand for broadband services between public and 
        private sectors; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) to create within each State a geographic 
        inventory map of broadband service, and where feasible second 
        generation broadband service, which shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) identify gaps in such service through 
                a method of geographic information system mapping of 
                service availability at the census block level; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) provide a baseline assessment of 
                statewide broadband deployment in terms of households 
                with high-speed availability.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (g) Reporting.--The Secretary of Commerce shall--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (h) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Nonprofit Organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
        organization'' means an organization--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) no part of the net earnings of which 
                inures to the benefit of any member, founder, 
                contributor, or individual;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

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) identify tiers of broadband service, among those used 
        by the Commission in collecting Form 477 data, in which a 
        substantial majority of the connections in such tier provide 
        consumers with an information transfer rate capable of reliably 
        transmitting full-motion, high definition video; and
            (3) revise its Form 477 reporting requirements as necessary 
        to enable the Commission to identify actual numbers of 
        broadband connections subscribed to by residential and business 
        customers, separately, either within a relevant census tract 
        from the most recent decennial census, a 9-digit postal zip 
        code, or a 5-digit postal zip code, as the Commission deems 
        appropriate.
    (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);
            (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 through Form 477 reporting 
requirements.
    ``(d) Demographic Information for Unserved Areas.--As part of the 
inquiry required by subsection (b), the Commission shall 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.''; and
            (4) by inserting ``an evolving level of'' after 
        ``technology, as'' 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 megabit per second 
        of broadband offerings;
            (2) to reflect the average actual speed of broadband 
        offerings compared to advertised potential speeds and to 
        consider factors affecting speed that may be outside the 
        control of a broadband provider;
            (3) to compare, using comparable metrics and standards, 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;
            (2) contribute matching non-Federal funds in an amount 
        equal to not less than 20 percent of the total amount of the 
        grant; and
            (3) agree to comply with confidentiality requirements in 
        subsection (h)(2) of this section.
    (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; and
                    (B) provide the results of any review by such group 
                to the Secretary of Commerce.
                    (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 
        service utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed 
        tiers, including information transfer rates identified under 
        section 3(a)(2) of this Act, 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 areas and areas in 
        which broadband penetration is significantly below the national 
        average, 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 areas and areas in which broadband 
        penetration is significantly below the national average;
            (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, including the availability of broadband 
        service connections meeting information transfer rates 
        identified by the Commission under section 3(a)(2) of this Act, 
        which shall--
                    (A) identify gaps in such service through a method 
                of geographic information system mapping of service 
                availability at the census block level among 
                residential or business customers; 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) Access to Aggregate Data.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Commission 
        shall provide eligible entities access, in electronic form, to 
        aggregate data collected by the Commission based on the Form 
        477 submissions of broadband service providers.
            (2) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any provision of Federal 
        or State law to the contrary, an eligible entity shall treat 
        any matter that is a trade secret, commercial or financial 
        information, or privileged or confidential, as a record not 
        subject to public disclosure except as otherwise mutually 
        agreed to by the broadband service provider and the eligible 
        entity. This paragraph applies only to information submitted by 
        the Commission or a broadband provider to carry out the 
        provisions of this Act and shall not otherwise limit or affect 
        the rules governing public disclosure of information collected 
        by any Federal or State entity under any other Federal or State 
        law or regulation.
    (i) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (2) 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.
            (3) 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;
                    (D) that has a board of directors a majority of 
                which is not composed of individuals who are also 
                employed by, or otherwise associated with, any Federal, 
                State, or local government or any Federal, State, or 
                local agency; and
                    (E) that has a board of directors which does not 
                include any member that is employed either by a 
                broadband service provider or by any other company in 
                which a broadband service provider owns a controlling 
                or attributable interest.
    (j) 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.
    (k) 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.
                                                       Calendar No. 441

110th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1492

                          [Report No. 110-204]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            October 24, 2007

                       Reported with an amendment