1.This Act may be cited as the
Next Generation Wireless Disclosure
Act
.
2.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.
3.In this Act:
(1)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 serviceThe term advanced
wireless mobile broadband service means 4G service or any wireless
mobile broadband service that utilizes a successor technology to 4G
technology.
(3)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)The
term Commission means the Federal Communications
Commission.
(5)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)The term postpaid means, with
respect to advanced wireless mobile broadband service, that the service is not
prepaid.
(7)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.
4.Required
disclosures of terms and conditions of advanced wireless mobile broadband
service
(a)
(1)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
transactionsParagraph (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 serviceA 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)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)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 disclosuresThe Commission may prescribe the manner and form
of the disclosures required by this section.
(e)
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations implementing this
section.
(2)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.
5.Study by Federal
Communications Commission
(a)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 CongressNot 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 reportsThe 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.