[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3909 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3909

To require the Federal Communications Commission to auction spectrum in 
   the band between 1.3 gigahertz and 13.2 gigahertz, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2024

 Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Thune, and Mrs. Blackburn) 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 auction spectrum in 
   the band between 1.3 gigahertz and 13.2 gigahertz, 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 ``Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION OF SPECTRUM FOR REALLOCATION AND AUCTION.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives.
            (2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
        means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications 
        and Information.
            (3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (4) Covered band.--The term ``covered band'' means the band 
        of frequencies between 1.3 gigahertz and 13.2 gigahertz.
            (5) Federal entity.--The term ``Federal entity'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 113(l) of the National 
        Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization 
        Act (47 U.S.C. 923(l)).
            (6) Full-power commercial licensed use cases.--The term 
        ``full-power commercial licensed use cases'' means flexible use 
        wireless broadband services with base station power levels 
        sufficient for high-power, high-density, and wide-area 
        commercial mobile services, consistent with the service rules 
        under part 27 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 
        successor regulations, for wireless broadband deployments 
        throughout the covered band.
    (b) Identification for Reallocation.--
            (1) In general.--The Assistant Secretary, in consultation 
        with the Commission, shall identify not less than 2500 
        megahertz of spectrum in the covered band, that as of the date 
        of enactment of this Act is allocated for Federal use or for 
        shared Federal and non-Federal use, for reallocation for non-
        Federal use, shared Federal and non-Federal use, or a 
        combination thereof, including not less than 1250 megahertz for 
        full-power commercial licensed use cases.
            (2) Schedule.--The Assistant Secretary shall identify the 
        spectrum under paragraph (1) according to the following 
        schedule:
                    (A) Not later than 2 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall 
                identify not less than 1250 megahertz of spectrum.
                    (B) Not later than 5 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall 
                identify any remaining spectrum required to be 
                identified under paragraph (1) after compliance with 
                subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
    (c) Auctions.--
            (1) In general.--With respect to the spectrum identified 
        for reallocation under subsection (b) for commercial licensed 
        use, the Commission shall grant licenses through systems of 
        competitive bidding for not less than 1250 megahertz of the 
        spectrum for full-power commercial licensed use cases.
            (2) Schedule.--The Commission shall auction the spectrum 
        under paragraph (1) according to the following schedule:
                    (A) Not later than 3 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, the Commission shall complete 1 
                or more systems of competitive bidding for not less 
                than 600 megahertz of the spectrum.
                    (B) Not later than 6 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, the Commission shall complete 1 
                or more systems of competitive bidding for any 
                remaining spectrum required to be auctioned under 
                paragraph (1) after compliance with subparagraph (A) of 
                this paragraph.
    (d) Unlicensed Use.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make available on an 
unlicensed basis not less than 125 megahertz of the spectrum in the 
covered band.
    (e) Licensed or Unlicensed Use.--Not later than 8 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make available for 
use on a licensed or unlicensed basis any remaining spectrum that is--
            (1) identified under subsection (b); and
            (2) not--
                    (A) auctioned under subsection (c); or
                    (B) made available on an unlicensed basis under 
                subsection (d).
    (f) Auction Proceeds To Cover 110 Percent of Federal Relocation or 
Sharing Costs.--Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
relieve the Commission from the requirements under section 
309(j)(16)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
309(j)(16)(B)).
    (g) Auction Authority.--Section 309(j)(11) of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(11)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``grant a license or permit under this 
        subsection shall expire March 9, 2023'' and inserting 
        ``complete a system of competitive bidding under this 
        subsection shall expire September 30, 2027'';
            (2) by striking ``and with respect to'' and inserting 
        ``with respect to''; and
            (3) by inserting before the period at the end the 
        following: ``, and with respect to the electromagnetic spectrum 
        in the covered band (as defined in section 2(a) of the Spectrum 
        Pipeline Act of 2024), such authority shall expire on the date 
        that is 8 years after the date of enactment of that Act''.
    (h) Reporting Requirements and Quarterly Briefings.--
            (1) NTIA progress report on spectrum identification.--
                    (A) In general.--On each date as of which the 
                Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the 
                Commission, has identified the quantity of spectrum 
                required under subparagraph (A) or (B), respectively, 
                of subsection (b)(2), the Assistant Secretary shall 
                submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
                report detailing the findings and conclusions that the 
                Assistant Secretary used to support the identification.
                    (B) Contents.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
                include in each report submitted under subparagraph 
                (A)--
                            (i) an analysis of the spectrum identified; 
                        and
                            (ii) the Federal entities with which the 
                        Assistant Secretary coordinated regarding the 
                        spectrum identified.
                    (C) Form of report.--Each report required under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified 
                form, but may contain a classified annex.
            (2) NTIA and fcc reports on reallocation of spectrum 
        identified.--
                    (A) Initial progress report.--Not later than 1 year 
                after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant 
                Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, shall 
                submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
                report on the progress of the Assistant Secretary in 
                identifying spectrum in the covered band for 
                reallocation under subsection (b) that includes--
                            (i) an assessment of the operations of the 
                        Federal entities and non-Federal entities that 
                        operate in the spectrum in the covered band; 
                        and
                            (ii) a preliminary analysis of which 
                        portions of the covered band are being 
                        considered for reallocation in accordance with 
                        subsection (b)(1).
                    (B) Reports on 2 tranches of identified spectrum.--
                Not later than 60 days after each date as of which the 
                Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the 
                Commission, has identified the quantity of spectrum 
                required under subparagraph (A) or (B), respectively, 
                of subsection (b)(2), the Assistant Secretary, in 
                consultation with the Commission, shall submit to the 
                appropriate committees of Congress a report that 
                includes--
                            (i) an assessment of the operations of the 
                        Federal entities and non-Federal entities that 
                        operate in the applicable spectrum, current as 
                        of the date of the submission of the report;
                            (ii) the steps the President has taken to 
                        begin the process of withdrawing or modifying 
                        the assignments of Federal entities in the 
                        covered band as necessary for the Commission to 
                        begin and complete the systems of competitive 
                        bidding under subsection (c);
                            (iii) an estimate of the funding required 
                        for the relocation or sharing costs (as defined 
                        in section 923(g)(3) of the National 
                        Telecommunications and Information 
                        Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 
                        923(g)(3))) expected to be incurred by the 
                        Federal entities described in clause (ii) in 
                        connection with the reallocation of the 
                        applicable spectrum; and
                            (iv) steps the Assistant Secretary is 
                        taking to ensure global harmonization with the 
                        spectrum to be reallocated.
                    (C) Form of report.--Each report required under 
                this paragraph shall be submitted in unclassified form, 
                but may contain a classified annex.
            (3) Annual briefings.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 
                until the date that is 10 years after such date of 
                enactment, the Assistant Secretary and the Chairman of 
                the Commission shall provide the appropriate committees 
                of Congress with a briefing on the progress of the 
                Assistant Secretary and the Chairman in complying with 
                the requirements of this section.
                    (B) Contents.--The Assistant Secretary and the 
                Chairman of the Commission shall include in each 
                briefing under subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) an update on the specific frequencies 
                        of spectrum under consideration or that have 
                        been identified to meet the requirements of 
                        subsection (b);
                            (ii) an explanation of the Federal entities 
                        and non-Federal entities that operate on the 
                        frequencies described in clause (i) and the 
                        specific services or systems utilized by those 
                        entities on those frequencies;
                            (iii) the extent to which Federal entities 
                        are cooperating with the efforts of the 
                        Assistant Secretary and the Chairman of the 
                        Commission to comply with the requirements of 
                        this Act;
                            (iv) an update on the progress of the 
                        systems of competitive bidding required by 
                        subsection (c); and
                            (v) any additional information related to 
                        compliance with this Act by the Assistant 
                        Secretary and the Chairman.
                    (C) Form of briefing.--Any classified information 
                that would otherwise be provided in a briefing under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be provided in a separate 
                classified briefing.

SEC. 3. SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND MODERNIZATION.

    (a) Congressional Notification Timelines.--Section 118 of the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization 
Act (47 U.S.C. 928) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``30 days'' 
                and inserting ``15 days''; and
                    (B) in the matter following subparagraph (C), by 
                striking ``30 days'' and inserting ``15 days'';
            (2) in subsection (f)(2)(B)(iv), by striking ``30 days'' 
        and inserting ``15 days''; and
            (3) in subsection (g)(2)(D)(ii), by striking ``60 days'' 
        and inserting ``15 days''.
    (b) Comparable Capability.--Section 113(g)(3) of the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 
U.S.C. 923(g)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) in clause (iv), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) in clause (v), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(vi) the costs associated with replacing 
                        systems and equipment with state-of-the-art 
                        systems and equipment, including systems and 
                        equipment with additional functions, only if 
                        the state-of-the-art systems and equipment 
                        allow for the reallocation of significantly 
                        more valuable spectrum frequencies from Federal 
                        use to exclusive non-Federal use or to shared 
                        Federal and non-Federal use than would be 
                        reallocated if systems and equipment were 
                        replaced with comparable systems and equipment 
                        or systems and equipment with incidental 
                        increases in functionality, provided the costs 
                        would not jeopardize the ability of the 
                        Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the 
                        Chair of the Commission, to reallocate eligible 
                        spectrum frequencies from Federal use to 
                        exclusive non-Federal use or to shared use.''; 
                        and
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``incidental''.
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