[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2418 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2418

     To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate 
regulations that establish a national standard for determining whether 
 mobile and broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably 
         comparable to those services provided in urban areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 13, 2018

Ms. Hassan (for herself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate 
regulations that establish a national standard for determining whether 
 mobile and broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably 
         comparable to those services provided in urban areas.

    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 Reasonable and Comparable 
Wireless Access Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF MOBILE AND BROADBAND SERVICES IN UNDERSERVED 
              RURAL AREAS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
        ``broadband Internet access service''--
                    (A) means a mass-market retail service by wire or 
                radio that provides the capability to transmit data to, 
                and receive data from, all or substantially all 
                Internet endpoints, including any capabilities that are 
                incidental to, and enable the operation of, the 
                communications service;
                    (B) includes any service that the Commission finds 
                to provide a functional equivalent of the service 
                described in subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) does not include dial-up Internet access 
                service.
            (2) Commercial mobile data service.--The term ``commercial 
        mobile data service'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 
        2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401).
            (3) Commercial mobile service.--The term ``commercial 
        mobile service'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        332(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
            (4) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (5) Rural telephone company.--The term ``rural telephone 
        company'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153).
            (6) Service area.--The term ``service area'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 214(e) of the Communications 
        Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(e)).
    (b) Establishment of Standard.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate 
regulations that establish a national standard to determine, with 
respect to access to universal service in rural, insular, and high-cost 
areas under section 254(b)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 254(b)(3)), whether commercial mobile services, commercial 
mobile data services, and broadband Internet access services available 
in rural areas are reasonably comparable to those services provided in 
urban areas.
    (c) Underserved Rural Areas.--The standard established under 
subsection (b) shall--
            (1) define a rural area as any area that is--
                    (A) a rural area, as defined in section 
                54.600(b)(1) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 
                as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; or
                    (B) a service area that is served by a rural 
                telephone company;
            (2) define a rural area as underserved, with respect to a 
        service described in subsection (b), if service that meets or 
        exceeds the standard established under that subsection is not 
        available in the area; and
            (3) provide that a rural area shall be considered 
        underserved, with respect to a service described in subsection 
        (b), if tests show that the service available in the area does 
        not meet or exceed the applicable average determined under 
        subsection (d)(1) with respect to that service.
    (d) Data From Urban Areas.--The Commission shall--
            (1) gather data on the average signal strength and average 
        speed of commercial mobile service and commercial mobile data 
        service, and on the average speed of broadband Internet access 
        service, provided in the 20 most populous metropolitan 
        statistical areas in the United States; and
            (2) specify in the standard established under subsection 
        (b) that--
                    (A) commercial mobile service or commercial mobile 
                data service available in a rural area is reasonably 
                comparable to that service provided in an urban area 
                only if the average signal strength and average speed 
                with respect to the service in the rural area meets or 
                exceeds the average determined under paragraph (1) with 
                respect to that service; and
                    (B) broadband Internet access service available in 
                a rural area is reasonably comparable to that service 
                provided in an urban area only if the average speed 
                with respect to the service in the rural area meets or 
                exceeds the average determined under paragraph (1) with 
                respect to that service.
    (e) Periodic Updating of Data.--The Commission shall periodically 
update the data gathered under subsection (d)(1).
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