[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3516 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3516

 To encourage spectrum licensees to make unused spectrum available for 
use by rural and smaller carriers in order to expand wireless coverage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2012

   Ms. Snowe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To encourage spectrum licensees to make unused spectrum available for 
use by rural and smaller carriers in order to expand wireless coverage.

    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 ``Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 
2012''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF LICENSES.

    Section 307 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 307) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Extension of Licenses.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `rural area' means any area other 
                than--
                            ``(i) an area described in clause (i) or 
                        (ii) of section 343(a)(13)(A) of the 
                        Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 
                        U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)); and
                            ``(ii) a city, town, or incorporated area 
                        that has a population of greater than 20,000 
                        inhabitants; and
                    ``(B) the term `small carrier' means a carrier with 
                annual revenue less than $500,000,000 or that provides 
                wireless service to less than 1,500,000 customers.
            ``(2) Establishment of program.--Not later than 90 days 
        after the date of enactment of Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act 
        of 2012, the Commission shall establish a program under which a 
        carrier that receives a license under this section may 
        partition or disaggregate the license in order to make unused 
        spectrum available to small carriers or carriers serving a 
        rural area.
            ``(3) Extension of license term.--Any carrier that receives 
        a license under this section and participates in the program 
        established under paragraph (2) shall receive a 3-year 
        extension of the license granted under this section.''.
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