[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 137 (Monday, August 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5603-S5604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2178. Mr. WICKER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 2137 proposed by Mr. Schumer (for Ms. Sinema (for herself, 
Mr. Portman, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Cassidy, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
Tester, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Romney)) to the bill H.R. 
3684, to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety 
programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place in division F, insert the 
     following:

     SEC. _____. OPEN NETWORK ARCHITECTURE.

       (a) Open Network Architecture Testbed.--
       (1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
       (A) the term ``Applied Research Open-RAN testbed'' means 
     the testbed established under paragraph (2);
       (B) the term ``Assistant Secretary'' means the Assistant 
     Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information; and
       (C) the term ``NTIA'' means the National Telecommunications 
     and Information Administration.
       (2) Establishment.--The Assistant Secretary shall establish 
     an applied research open network architecture testbed at the 
     Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the NTIA to 
     develop and demonstrate network architectures and 
     applications, equipment integration and interoperability at 
     scale, including--
       (A) Open Radio Access Network (commonly known as ``Open-
     RAN'') technology;
       (B) Virtualized Radio Access Network (commonly known as 
     ``vRAN'') technology; and
       (C) cloud native technologies that replicate 
     telecommunications hardware as software-based virtual network 
     elements and functions.
       (3) Focus; considerations.--In establishing the Applied 
     Research Open-RAN testbed pursuant to this subsection, the 
     Assistant Secretary shall ensure that such testbed evaluates 
     issues related to deployment and operation of open network 
     architectures in rural areas.
       (4) Cooperative research and development agreements.--The 
     Assistant Secretary shall enter into cooperative research and 
     development agreements as appropriate to obtain equipment, 
     devices, and expertise for the Applied Research Open-RAN 
     testbed, in accordance with section 12 of the Stevenson-
     Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a).
       (5) Private sector contributions.--The Assistant Secretary 
     may accept private contributions to the Applied Research 
     Open-RAN testbed in the form of network equipment or devices 
     for testing purposes.

[[Page S5604]]

       (6) Partnership with government entities.--
       (A) Establishment.--In establishing the Applied Research 
     Open-RAN testbed, the Assistant Secretary shall--
       (i) consult with the Federal Communications Commission, 
     including with respect to ongoing work by the Commission to 
     develop other testbeds, including private sector testbeds, 
     related to Open-RAN technologies; and
       (ii) ensure that the work on the testbed is coordinated 
     with the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary under 
     any relevant memorandum of understanding with the Federal 
     Communications Commission and the National Science Foundation 
     related to spectrum.
       (B) Operations.--In operating the Applied Research Open-RAN 
     testbed, the Assistant Secretary shall, in consultation with 
     the Federal Communications Commission, partner with--
       (i) the First Responder Network Authority of the NTIA (also 
     known as ``FirstNet'') and the Public Safety Communications 
     Research Division of the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology to examine use cases and applications for Open-RAN 
     technologies in a public safety network;
       (ii) other Federal agencies, as appropriate to examine use 
     cases and applications for Open-RAN technologies in other 
     areas of interest to such agencies; and
       (iii) international partners, as appropriate.
       (7) Stakeholder input.--The Assistant Secretary shall seek 
     input from stakeholders regarding the establishment and 
     operation of the Applied Research Open-RAN testbed.
       (8) Implementation deadline.--Not later than 180 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 
     shall--
       (A) define metrics and parameters for the Applied Research 
     Open-RAN testbed, including functionality, project 
     configuration and capacity, performance, security 
     requirements, and quality assurance;
       (B) adopt any rules as necessary, in consultation with the 
     Federal Communications Commission; and
       (C) begin the development of the Applied Research Open-RAN 
     testbed, including seeking stakeholder input as required by 
     paragraph (7).
       (9) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall submit 
     to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
     House of Representatives a report on the findings of the 
     testbed and any recommendations for additional legislative or 
     regulatory actions relating to the work of the testbed.
       (10) Authorization of appropriations.--
       (A) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     for the administration of the Applied Research Open-RAN 
     testbed $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, to remain available 
     until expended.
       (B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (6) shall 
     be construed to obligate FirstNet or any other Federal entity 
     to pay for the cost of the Applied Research Open-RAN testbed 
     established under this subsection in the absence of the 
     appropriation of amounts under this paragraph.
       (C) Authorization for voluntary support.--A Federal entity, 
     including FirstNet, may voluntarily enter into an agreement 
     with NTIA to provide monetary or nonmonetary support for the 
     Applied Research Open-RAN testbed.
       (b) Participation in Standards-setting Bodies.--
       (1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
       (A) the term ``Assistant Secretary'' means the Assistant 
     Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information;
       (B) the term ``eligible standards-setting body''--
       (i) means a standards-setting body, participation in which 
     may be funded by a grant awarded under paragraph (2), as 
     determined by the Assistant Secretary; and
       (ii) includes--

       (I) the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (commonly known 
     as ``3GPP'');
       (II) the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions 
     (commonly known as ``ATIS'');
       (III) the International Telecommunications Union (commonly 
     known as ``ITU'');
       (IV) the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers 
     (commonly known as ``IEEE'');
       (V) the World Radiocommunications Conferences (commonly 
     known as the ``WRC'') of the ITU;
       (VI) the Internet Engineering Task Force (commonly known as 
     the ``IETF'');
       (VII) the International Organization for Standardization 
     (commonly known as the ``ISO'') and the International 
     Electrotechnical Commission (commonly known as the ``IEC'');
       (VIII) the O-RAN Alliance;
       (IX) the Telecommunications Industry Association (commonly 
     known as ``TIA''); and
       (X) any other standards-setting body identified under 
     paragraph (4);

       (C) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce; 
     and
       (D) the term ``standards-setting body'' means an 
     international body that develops the standards for open 
     network architecture technologies.
       (2) Grant program.--
       (A) In general.--The Secretary, in collaboration with the 
     Assistant Secretary, shall award grants to private sector 
     entities based in the United States to participate in 
     eligible standards-setting bodies.
       (B) Prioritization.--The Secretary shall prioritize grants 
     awarded under this subsection to private sector entities that 
     would not otherwise be able to participate in eligible 
     standards-setting bodies without the grant.
       (3) Grant criteria.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     on which amounts are appropriated under paragraph (5), the 
     Secretary, in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary, 
     shall establish criteria for the grants awarded under 
     paragraph (2).
       (4) Consultation with federal communications commission.--
     The Secretary shall consult with the Federal Communications 
     Commission in--
       (A) determining criteria for the grants awarded under 
     paragraph (2); and
       (B) determining which standards-setting bodies, if any, in 
     addition to the standards-setting bodies listed in paragraph 
     (1)(B)(ii) are eligible standards-setting bodies.
       (5) Authorization of appropriations.--
       (A) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     for grants under paragraph (2) $30,000,000 in total for 
     fiscal years 2022 through 2025, to remain available until 
     expended.
       (B) Administrative costs.--The Secretary may use not more 
     than 2 percent of any funds appropriated under this paragraph 
     for the administration of the grant program established under 
     this subsection.
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