II 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3439 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 25, 2012 Ms. Snowe (for herself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend title 40, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of General Services to install Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless neutral host systems in all Federal buildings in order to improve in-building wireless communications coverage and commercial network capacity by offloading wireless traffic onto wireline broadband networks.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Federal Wi-Net Act.

2.

Installation of femtocells in all Federal buildings

(a)

In general

Subchapter V of chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

594.

Installation of femtocells in all Federal buildings

(a)

Definitions

In this section: (1)

Administrator

The term Administrator means the Administrator of General Services. (2)

Wi-Fi hotspot

The term Wi-Fi hotspot means a site or area in which the public can access the Internet via a wireless connection. (3)

Wireless neutral host system

The term wireless neutral host system means a small cellular communications base station and related antenna, such as a femtocell, picocell, or similar device or apparatus, that is connected to a broadband service to provide— (A)improved cellular coverage within a building; and (B)increased network capacity. (b)

Installation of femtocells

The Administrator shall— (1)install Wi-Fi hotspots in all publicly accessible Federal buildings constructed after the date of enactment of this section; (2)allow for the installation of wireless neutral host systems by any eligible carriers upon request in all publicly accessible Federal buildings; and (3)in a manner consistent with sound management principles, retrofit all Federal buildings constructed prior to the date of enactment of this section on a timetable that reflects the importance of wireless communication to the Federal functions being performed by the occupants of those buildings, except that all of those buildings shall be retrofitted not later than December 31, 2015. (c)

Funding

(1)

In general

There shall be made available from the Federal Buildings Fund established under section 592 $15,000,000 to carry out this section. (2)

Derivation; availability

Amounts made available under paragraph (1) shall— (A)be derived from the unobligated balance of amounts made available from the Federal Buildings Fund for fiscal year 2013, and prior fiscal years, for repairs and alterations and other activities (excluding amounts made available for the energy program); and (B)remain available until expended.

. (b)

Table of sections

The table of sections for chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to subchapter V the following: 594. Installation of femtocells in all Federal buildings. .