113 S1776 IS: Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 2013 U.S. Senate 2013-11-21 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II113th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 1776IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESNovember 21, 2013Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mrs. Fischer) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationA BILLTo encourage spectrum licensees to make unused spectrum available for use by rural and smaller carriers in order to expand wireless coverage.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 2013.

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

(A)

In general

For purposes of this subsection—(i)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(ii)the term small carrier means a carrier with not more than 1,500 employees.(B)

Calculation of number of employees

For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), the number of employees of a carrier shall be determined in accordance with section 121.106 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto.(2)

Establishment of program

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 2013, 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..