[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1695 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1695

     To require accurate disclosures to consumers of the terms and 
 conditions of 4G service and other advanced wireless mobile broadband 
                                service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 12, 2011

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Franken) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require accurate disclosures to consumers of the terms and 
 conditions of 4G service and other advanced wireless mobile broadband 
                                service.

    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 ``Next Generation Wireless Disclosure 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2011, the President set a goal of bringing next 
        generation wireless broadband Internet access service to not 
        less than 98 percent of people in the United States within 5 
        years.
            (2) The Federal Communications Commission's National 
        Broadband Plan sets a minimum target of delivering universal, 
        affordable broadband Internet access service with actual 
        download speeds of not less than 4 megabits per second and 
        actual upload speeds of not less than 1 megabit per second.
            (3) The 4 largest wireless service providers advertise 4G 
        service using different wireless mobile broadband technologies.
            (4) Although the International Telecommunication Union has 
        expanded its definition of 4G service to include these 
        technologies, theoretical peak speeds and actual speeds 
        experienced by consumers vary widely across technologies and 
        service providers.
            (5) In 2010, the United States wireless industry generated 
        almost $160,000,000,000 in revenue, with approximately 
        $50,000,000,000 of this total derived from wireless data.
            (6) Consumers need accurate information before selecting a 
        provider of wireless mobile broadband service.
            (7) Providers and other sellers of advanced wireless mobile 
        broadband service should be required to make accurate and 
        reasonable disclosures of the terms and conditions of such 
        service in order to give consumers the necessary information to 
        make informed decisions about such service and to promote 
        greater transparency in the market.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) 4G service.--The term ``4G service'' includes wireless 
        mobile broadband service that utilizes technologies that 
        fulfill the requirements set forth in the International Mobile 
        Telecommunications Advanced standard promulgated by the 
        International Telecommunication Union, any forerunner 
        technologies for which the designation ``4G'' has been approved 
        by the International Telecommunication Union, and any 
        technologies that are broadly marketed as ``4G'' service.
            (2) Advanced wireless mobile broadband service.--The term 
        ``advanced wireless mobile broadband service'' means 4G service 
        or any wireless mobile broadband service that utilizes a 
        successor technology to 4G technology.
            (3) Best-effort delivery.--The term ``best-effort 
        delivery'' means the common Internet protocol network model in 
        which a network service routes Internet protocol packets on a 
        first-in, first-out basis and does not distinguish based on the 
        source, type, or other unique characteristics of the Internet 
        protocol packets for the purpose of establishing different 
        levels of delivery priority.
            (4) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (5) On-network host.--The term ``on-network host'' means 
        any networking routing equipment owned, operated, or within the 
        control of a wireless mobile broadband service provider that 
        transmits or receives Internet protocol packets or any points 
        in a network before a subscriber's data traffic travels to a 
        centralized routing facility that interconnects at an exchange 
        point with broadband service providers that are not affiliated 
        with such wireless mobile broadband service provider.
            (6) Postpaid.--The term ``postpaid'' means, with respect to 
        advanced wireless mobile broadband service, that the service is 
        not prepaid.
            (7) Prepaid.--The term ``prepaid'' means, with respect to 
        advanced wireless mobile broadband service, that the consumer 
        of such service pays for a specified quantity of service 
        (whether measured by volume of data transferred, amount of time 
        the service is in use, or otherwise) before gaining access to 
        such service and must affirmatively purchase any additional 
        quantities of service before gaining access to such additional 
        quantities.

SEC. 4. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ADVANCED 
              WIRELESS MOBILE BROADBAND SERVICE.

    (a) Sale to Consumers.--
            (1) In general.--A person who sells advanced wireless 
        mobile broadband service directly to a consumer shall 
        accurately disclose the terms and conditions of such service by 
        displaying such terms and conditions consistently, clearly, and 
        prominently in all marketing materials for such service, at the 
        point of sale of such service, and (in the case of postpaid 
        advanced wireless mobile broadband service) in all bills for 
        such service. The terms and conditions disclosed shall include 
        the information described in subsection (c).
            (2) Special rules for prepaid service.--
                    (A) Off-the-shelf transactions.--Paragraph (1) does 
                not apply in the case of a transaction in which both--
                            (i) the consumer receives a device that 
                        allows the consumer to access a specified 
                        quantity of prepaid advanced wireless mobile 
                        broadband service; and
                            (ii) the consumer's interaction with the 
                        agents of the person from whom the consumer 
                        makes the purchase is such that the average 
                        consumer would not expect such agents to have 
                        expertise regarding the terms and conditions of 
                        such service.
                    (B) Packagers of prepaid service.--A person who 
                packages prepaid advanced wireless mobile broadband 
                service for ultimate sale to a consumer in a 
                transaction described in subparagraph (A) shall 
                accurately disclose the terms and conditions of such 
                service by displaying such terms and conditions 
                consistently, clearly, and prominently in all marketing 
                materials for such service and on the packaging of the 
                device described in subpargraph (A)(i). The terms and 
                conditions disclosed shall include the information 
                described in subsection (c).
    (b) Sale to Resellers.--A person who sells advanced wireless mobile 
broadband service wholesale to another person for ultimate sale to 
consumers shall disclose to such other person the information necessary 
to permit such other person to comply with subsection (a).
    (c) Information Described.--The information described in this 
subsection is the following:
            (1) The guaranteed minimum transmit and receive data rates 
        for Internet protocol packets to and from on-network hosts for 
        the service, expressed in megabits per second. For purposes of 
        the preceding sentence, a minimum data rate is not guaranteed 
        unless it is available for a percentage of the time in a 
        calendar month to be established by the Commission.
            (2) The reliability rating of the service. The Commission 
        shall establish a standard method that shall be used to 
        calculate the reliability rating of the service, which shall be 
        based on the data session start success percentage (network 
        accessibility) and the data session completion success 
        percentage (network retainability) of the service.
            (3) The price of the service stated in terms of--
                    (A) in the case of service that is priced based on 
                the volume of data sent or received, the price per unit 
                of data sent or received; or
                    (B) in the case of service for which a flat rate is 
                charged for service over a given time period--
                            (i) the flat rate; and
                            (ii) a detailed description of any limits 
                        on the use of such service over such time 
                        period, by volume of data sent or received or 
                        otherwise.
            (4) Any other charges that the consumer of the service will 
        incur that are not included in the price as stated pursuant to 
        paragraph (3).
            (5) The network management policies of the service with 
        respect to Internet protocol packets to and from on-network 
        hosts, including the following:
                    (A) Any business practices or technical mechanisms 
                employed by the service provider, other than standard 
                best-effort delivery, that allocate capacity or 
                prioritize traffic differently on the basis of the 
                source of the applications, content, or services.
                    (B) Any limits or prohibitions on the use of 
                certain applications or services.
                    (C) Any traffic shaping or throttling mechanisms 
                that affect the service as a result of exceeding 
                certain usage limits.
            (6) The technology used to provide the service.
            (7) The uniform resource locator of a website (together 
        with a brief description of the contents of the website) on 
        which is located the following:
                    (A) The complete terms of service, acceptable use 
                policy, and any other documentation related to the 
                network management policies of the service provider.
                    (B) A map of the coverage area of the service. If 
                different technologies are used to provide the service 
                in different geographic areas, the map shall indicate 
                the technology used in each area.
    (d) Manner and Form of Disclosures.--The Commission may prescribe 
the manner and form of the disclosures required by this section.
    (e) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate 
        regulations implementing this section.
            (2) Coverage area defined.--For purposes of this section, 
        the term ``coverage area'' shall have the meaning given the 
        term by the Commission. The Commission shall set minimum signal 
        strength and data rate requirements in order for a location to 
        be considered to be within the coverage area of an advanced 
        wireless mobile broadband service.

SEC. 5. STUDY BY FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION.

    (a) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall complete a 
study evaluating the speed and pricing of advanced wireless mobile 
broadband service offered in the United States by the 10 largest 
providers of such service, as measured by the number of consumers to 
whom a provider provides such service in coverage areas that include 
any part of the United States.
    (b) Initial Report to Congress.--Not later than 10 days after 
completing the initial study required by subsection (a), the Commission 
shall submit to Congress a report on the results of such study.
    (c) Inclusion in Annual CMRS Competition Reports.--The Commission 
shall include the results of each study conducted under subsection (a) 
in the next report on the findings of the review required by section 
332(c)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(1)(C)) 
that is adopted after the completion of such study.
                                 <all>