[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1822 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1822
To require the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules
relating to the collection of data with respect to the availability of
broadband services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 12, 2019
Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Peters, Mr. Thune, and Ms. Klobuchar)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules
relating to the collection of data with respect to the availability of
broadband services, and for other purposes.
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 ``Broadband Deployment Accuracy and
Technological Availability Act'' or the ``Broadband DATA Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Broadband internet access service.--The term
``broadband internet access service'' has the meaning given the
term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(2) Cell edge probability.--The term ``cell edge
probability'' means the likelihood that the minimum threshold
download and upload speeds with respect to broadband internet
access service will be met or exceeded at a distance from a
base station that is intended to indicate the ultimate edge of
the coverage area of a cell.
(3) Cell loading.--The term ``cell loading'' means the
percentage of the available air interface resources of a base
station that are used by consumers with respect to broadband
internet access service.
(4) Clutter.--The term ``clutter'' means a natural or man-
made surface feature that affects the propagation of a signal
from a base station.
(5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(6) Fabric.--The term ``Fabric'' means the Broadband
Serviceable Location Fabric established under section
3(b)(1)(B).
(7) Form 477.--The term ``Form 477'' means Form 477 of the
Commission relating to local telephone competition and
broadband reporting.
(8) Mobility fund phase ii.--The term ``Mobility Fund Phase
II'' means the second phase of the proceeding to provide
universal service support from the Mobility Fund (WC Docket No.
10-90; WT Docket No. 10-208).
(9) Propagation model.--The term ``propagation model''
means a mathematical formulation for the characterization of
radio wave propagation as a function of frequency, distance,
and other conditions.
(10) Provider.--The term ``provider'' means a provider of
fixed or mobile broadband internet access service.
(11) Shapefile.--The term ``shapefile'' means a digital
storage format containing geospatial or location-based data and
attribute information--
(A) regarding the availability of broadband
internet access service; and
(B) that can viewed, edited, and mapped in
geographic information system software.
(12) Standard broadband installation.--The term ``standard
broadband installation''--
(A) means the initiation by a provider of new fixed
broadband internet access service with no charges or
delays attributable to the extension of the network of
the provider; and
(B) includes the initiation of fixed broadband
internet access service through routine installation
that can be completed not later than 10 business days
after the date on which the service request is
submitted.
SEC. 3. BROADBAND MAPS.
(a) Rules.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue final rules
that shall--
(A) allow for the collection by the Commission of
granular data--
(i) relating to the availability of
terrestrial fixed, fixed wireless, satellite,
and mobile broadband internet access service;
and
(ii) that the Commission shall use to
compile maps that depict the availability
described in clause (i) (referred to in this
section as ``coverage maps''), which the
Commission shall make publicly available; and
(B) establish the challenge process described in
subsection (b)(4).
(2) Other data.--In issuing the rules under paragraph (1),
the Commission shall consider whether to collect verified
coverage data from--
(A) State, local, and Tribal governmental entities
that are primarily responsible for mapping or tracking
broadband internet access service coverage for a State,
unit of local government, or Indian Tribe, as
applicable; and
(B) other sources.
(3) Updates.--The Commission shall revise the rules issued
under paragraph (1) to--
(A) reflect changes in technology;
(B) ensure the accuracy of propagation models; or
(C) verify the accuracy of data submitted under
subsection (b)(2).
(b) Content of Rules.--
(1) Establishment of a serviceable location fabric
regarding fixed broadband.--The rules issued by the Commission
under subsection (a)(1) shall--
(A) require the Commission to engage with an entity
with expertise with respect to geographic information
systems (referred to in this subsection as ``GIS'') to
create a common dataset of all locations in the United
States where fixed broadband internet access service
can be installed, as determined by the Commission;
(B) establish the Broadband Serviceable Location
Fabric, which shall--
(i) subject to subparagraph (C), contain
geocoded information for each location
identified under clause (i);
(ii) serve as the foundation upon which all
data relating to the availability of fixed
broadband internet access service collected
under paragraph (2)(A) shall be overlaid;
(iii) be compatible with commonly used GIS
software; and
(iv) at a minimum, be updated annually by
the Commission to ensure that GIS location data
is continuously improved and current; and
(C) prioritize implementing the Fabric for rural
areas of the United States before implementing the
Fabric for urban and suburban areas of the United
States.
(2) Collection of information.--The rules issued by the
Commission under subsection (a)(1) shall provide that the
Commission shall collect--
(A) from each provider of terrestrial fixed, fixed
wireless, or satellite broadband internet access
service, data that--
(i) allows for an understanding of where a
standard broadband installation can occur;
(ii) includes information regarding the
download and upload speeds with respect to
broadband internet access service that the
provider makes available;
(iii) can be georeferenced to the GIS data
in the Fabric regarding the service area of the
provider; and
(iv) the provider shall report as--
(I) with respect to providers of
fixed wireless broadband internet
access service--
(aa) propagation maps and
propagation model details
that--
(AA) satisfy
standards that are
similar to those
applicable to providers
of mobile broadband
internet access service
under subparagraph (B)
with respect to
propagation maps and
propagation model
details; and
(BB) reflect the
actual speeds and
latency asserted by the
provider; or
(bb) a list of addresses or
locations that constitute the
service area of the provider,
except that the Commission may
only permit, and not require, a
provider to report the data
using that means of reporting;
and
(II) with respect to providers of
terrestrial fixed and satellite
broadband internet access service--
(aa) polygon shapefiles; or
(bb) a list of addresses or
locations that constitute the
service area of the provider,
except that the Commission may
only permit, and not require, a
provider to report the data
using that means of reporting;
and
(B) from each provider of mobile broadband internet
access service, propagation maps and propagation model
details that--
(i) indicate the current (as of the date on
which the information is collected) mobile
broadband internet access service coverage of
the provider, taking into consideration the
effect of clutter; and
(ii) satisfy minimum standards relating to
speed, cell edge probability, and cell loading
that exceed the standards that providers of
mobile broadband internet access service were
required to satisfy when making submissions
under the Mobility Fund Phase II information
collection.
(3) Certification.--With respect to a provider that submits
information to the Commission under paragraph (2)--
(A) the provider shall include in each submission a
certification from a senior executive of the provider
that the senior executive has examined the information
contained in the submission and that, to the best of
the executive's knowledge, information, and belief, all
statements of fact contained in the submission are true
and correct; and
(B) the Commission shall verify the accuracy of the
information in accordance with measures established by
the Commission.
(4) Challenge process.--
(A) In general.--In the rules issued under
subsection (a), and subject to subparagraph (B), the
Commission shall establish a user-friendly challenge
process through which consumers, State, local, and
Tribal governmental entities, and other entities may
submit coverage data to the Commission to challenge the
coverage maps.
(B) Considerations; verification; response to
challenges.--In establishing the challenge process
required under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall--
(i) consider--
(I) the information that an entity
submitting a challenge under that
process should be permitted to provide
to the Commission;
(II) the appropriate level of
granularity with respect to the
information submitted by an entity
described in subclause (I);
(III) the time and expense incurred
by consumers and providers in
challenging the accuracy of a coverage
map; and
(IV) the costs to consumers and
providers resulting from a
misallocation of funds for a period of
more than 1 year because of a reliance
on outdated or otherwise inaccurate
information;
(ii) include a process for verifying the
data submitted through the challenge process in
order to ensure the reliability of that data;
and
(iii) allow providers to respond to
challenges submitted through the challenge
process.
(C) Use of challenges.--The Commission shall use
data submitted through the challenge process
established under subparagraph (A) to evaluate the
accuracy of the coverage maps and update the maps as
the Commission adjudicates challenges brought through
that process.
(5) Reform of form 477 process.--Not later than 180 days
after the date on which the rules issued under subsection (a)
take effect, the Commission shall reform--
(A) the Form 477 broadband deployment service
availability collection process of the Commission; and
(B) duplicative reporting requirements and
procedures regarding the availability of broadband
internet access service that, as of that date, are in
effect.
(c) Maps.--The Commission shall--
(1) compile--
(A) a map that depicts the availability of fixed
broadband internet access service, which shall reflect
data collected by the Commission from providers under
subsection (b)(2)(A), as refined and modified through
the adjudication of challenges submitted under
subsection (b)(4); and
(B) a map that depicts the availability of mobile
broadband internet access service, which shall reflect
data collected by the Commission from providers under
subsection (b)(2)(B), as refined and modified through
the adjudication of challenges submitted under
subsection (b)(4);
(2) use the coverage maps--
(A) to determine the areas in which broadband
internet access service is and is not available; and
(B) before making any award of funding with respect
to the deployment of broadband internet access service;
and
(3) update the coverage maps not less frequently than
annually using the most recent data collected from providers
under subsection (b)(2).
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) In General.--It shall be unlawful for a person to willfully and
knowingly submit information or data under this Act that is inaccurate
with respect to the availability of broadband internet access service.
(b) Penalty.--Any person that violates subsection (a) shall be
subject to an appropriate penalty, as determined by the Commission,
under--
(1) the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.),
including section 501 of that Act (47 U.S.C. 501); and
(2) the rules of the Commission.
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