[Senate Report 115-4]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 17
115th Congress } { REPORT
1st Session } SENATE { 115-4
_______________________________________________________________________
MAKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BROADBAND INVESTMENT AND LIMITING EXCESSIVE
AND NEEDLESS OBSTACLES TO WIRELESS ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 19
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
March 21, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
___________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2017
________________________________________________________________________
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred fifteenth congress
first session
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida
ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
TED CRUZ, Texas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
JERRY MORAN, Kansas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska ED MARKEY, Massachusetts
DEAN HELLER, Nevada CORY BOOKER, New Jersey
JIM INHOFE, Oklahoma TOM UDALL, New Mexico
MIKE LEE, Utah GARY PETERS, Michigan
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
Virginia
CORY GARDNER, Colorado MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
TODD YOUNG, Indiana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
Nick Rossi, Staff Director
Adrian Arnakis, Deputy Staff Director
Jason Van Beek, General Counsel
Kim Lipsky, Democratic Staff Director
Christopher Day, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
___________________________________________________________________________
Calendar No. 17
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-4
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MAKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BROADBAND INVESTMENT AND LIMITING EXCESSIVE
AND NEEDLESS OBSTACLES TO WIRELESS ACT
_______
March 21, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thune, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 19]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 19) to provide opportunities
for broadband investment, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and recommends that
the bill (as amended) do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of S. 19, the Making Opportunities for
Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless
Obstacles to Wireless Act (MOBILE NOW Act), is to help secure
continued U.S. mobile and fixed broadband leadership by
ensuring additional licensed and unlicensed spectrum are made
available for wireless broadband use, by reducing barriers to
investment and innovation, and by facilitating deployment of
broadband services, especially in rural areas, and for other
purposes.
Background and Needs
``High-speed broadband enables Americans to use the
Internet in new ways, expands access to health services and
education, increases the productivity of businesses, and drives
innovation throughout the digital ecosystem.''\1\ Wireless
services and connectivity have transformed American daily life
- changing everything from the way we work to the way we relax
- and have become an essential part of the Nation's
infrastructure. Last year 198.5 million people in the United
States owned smartphones,\2\ and smartphones comprised at least
77 percent of the traffic on wireless networks.\3\ Americans
access the Internet on mobile devices more often than on
computers,\4\ and the number of American adults who rely solely
on their smartphones for Internet access at home is increasing
- as of 2015, 13 percent of adults were ``smartphone-only,''
with no home broadband subscription.\5\
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\1\President Barack Obama, ``Presidential Memorandum-Expanding
Broadband Deployment and Adoption by Addressing Regulatory Barriers and
Encouraging Investment and Training,'' March 23, 2015, at https://
obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/23/presidential-
memorandum-expanding-broadband-deployment-and-adoption-addr.
\2\``comScore Reports January 2016 U.S. Smartphone Subscriber
Market Share,'' comScore, March 4, 2016, at http://www.comscore.com/
Insights/Rankings/comScore-Reports-January-2016-US-Smartphone-
Subscriber-Market-Share.
\3\INFOGRAPHIC: Smartphones Comprise 77 Percent of Traffic on
Wireless Networks, Cellular Telecommunications Information Agency
(CTIA), June 26, 2015, at http://www.ctia.org/resource-library/facts-
and-infographics/archive/infographic-smartphones-comprise-77-percent-
of-traffic-on-wireless-networks; see also VNI Mobile Forecast
Highlights, 2015-2020, Cisco, at http://www.cisco.com/assets/sol/sp/
vni/forecast_highlights_mobile/index.html.
\4\Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Bayers (KPCB), ``KPCB Internet
Trends 2015,'' May 27, 2015, at http://www.kpcb.com/file/kpcb-internet-
trends-2015.
\5\John Horrigan and Maeve Duggan, Home Broadband 2015, Pew
Research Center Dec. 21, 2015, at http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/12/
21/1-home-broadband-adoption-modest-decline-from-2013-to-2015/.
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As President Obama noted in 2010, ``America's future
competitiveness and global technology leadership depend, in
part, upon the availability of additional spectrum. The world
is going wireless, and we must not fall behind.''\6\ In
particular, next-generation gigabit wireless networks,
including fifth generation (5G) mobile technologies, ``will be
a revolutionary leap forward in wireless capability that will
reshape the world around us and fundamentally change how we
interact with that world.''\7\ The benefits of leading the
world in the development of a gigabit wireless future can only
be secured if the country acts now to identify the spectrum and
facilitate the deployment of the infrastructure on which
technologies like 5G will depend; the higher frequencies on
which 5G and other gigabit wireless systems will in part be
deployed will require increased spectral efficiency and much
greater density of cell deployment than current cell
technology.\8\
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\6\Unleashing the Wireless Broadband Revolution, Presidential
Memorandum, June 28, 2010, 75 FR 38387.
\7\Remarks of Chairman John Thune, February 9, 2016, at http://
www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/speeches?ID=016478D3-0C39-
4D7C-B65E-CE422C335E4.
\8\See, e.g., Use of Spectrum Bands Above 24 GHz for Mobile Radio
Services, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,
31 FCC Received (Rcd.) 8014, 8053, FCC 16-89, para. 96.
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In addition to facilitating the way that most Americans
communicate, wireless spectrum is a major economic driver.
Spectrum licensed to U.S. wireless carriers generates more than
$400 billion annually in economic activity, and wireless
technologies also enable other sectors of the economy; for
instance, mobile entertainment generated an estimated $9
billion in revenues in 2014, and it has been estimated that the
U.S. telehealth market will grow from $240 million in revenues
in 2013 to $1.9 billion by 2018.\9\
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\9\Coleman Bazelon and Giulia McHenry, Mobile Broadband Spectrum: A
Vital Resource for the U.S. Economy, The Brattle Group, 2, May 11,
2015, at http://www.ctia.org/docs/default-source/default-document-
library/brattle_spectrum_051115.pdf.
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Despite extraordinary innovation and investment in wired
and wireless broadband, an estimated $1.5 trillion since
1996,\10\ the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or
Commission) has found that advanced telecommunications
capability is not being deployed to all Americans in a
reasonable and timely fashion and that there is ``a significant
disparity of access to advanced telecommunications capability
across America with more than 39 percent of Americans living in
rural areas lacking access to advanced telecommunications
capability, as compared to 4 percent of Americans living in
urban areas, and approximately 41 percent of Americans living
on tribal lands lacking access to advanced telecommunications
capability.''\11\
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\10\U.S. Telecom, ``Broadband Investment,'' at https://
www.ustelecom.org/broadband-industry/broadband-industry-stats/
investment.
\11\Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 16-6, paragraph 4.
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On June 28, 2010, President Obama issued a Presidential
Memorandum establishing a goal of making a total of 500
megahertz of spectrum available by 2020 for both mobile and
fixed wireless broadband use,\12\ and Congress has already
taken several steps consistent with that goal. In sections 6401
and 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of
2012, Congress did the following: (i) directed the Commission
and the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) to identify, reallocate, auction, and
license certain spectrum for commercial Advanced Wireless
Services use;\13\ and (ii) directed the Commission to conduct
an incentive auction of broadcast television spectrum in which
broadcast television licensees could voluntarily relinquish
their spectrum usage rights in order to permit the assignment
by auction of new flexible-use licenses.\14\ Further, in the
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Congress directed the NTIA and
the Commission to identify, reallocate from Federal use to non-
Federal or shared Federal and non-Federal use, and auction 30
megahertz of spectrum.\15\
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\12\President Barack Obama, ``Presidential Memorandum-Unleashing
the Wireless Broadband Revolution,'' Presidential Memorandum, June 28,
2010, at https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/
presidential-memorandum-unleashing-wireless-broadband-revolution.
\13\Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L.
No. 112-96, 126 Stat. 156, 222 (2012) (47 U.S.C. Sec. 1451).
\14\Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L.
No. 112-96, 126 Stat. 156, 225 (2012) (47 U.S.C. Sec. 1452).
\15\Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Pub. L. 114-974, 129 Stat. 585,
Sec. Sec. 1001-1008.
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However, more spectrum is needed to meet the 500 megahertz
goal set forth by the previous President and the expanding
requirements of our wireless ecosystem. Increasing use of data-
intensive applications, such as video and Internet access, has
created additional demand for carrier networks, and this demand
for spectrum is already outpacing availability. Cisco reports
that, between 2015 and 2020, U.S. mobile data traffic will grow
six-fold, twice as fast as U.S. fixed IP traffic, and the
number of connected devices in personal, household, or
commercial settings will nearly double.\16\ Even taking into
account the spectrum the Commission is newly making available,
the United States is facing a significant projected spectrum
deficit. To meet America's demand for mobile broadband, the
wireless industry will need more than 350 megahertz of new
licensed spectrum alone by 2019.\17\ The MOBILE NOW Act would
build upon Congress' past efforts by ensuring that additional
capacity is available to meet Americans' needs and to allow the
wireless sector to continue to be a critical economic stimulant
for the entire economy.
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\16\Cisco Visual Networking Index Mobile Forecast (2015-2020),
United States - 2020 Forecast Highlights, at http://www.cisco.com/c/
dam/m/en_us/solutions/service-provider/vni-forecast-highlights/pdf/
United_States_2020_Forecast_Highlights.pdf.
\17\Coleman Bazelon and Giulia McHenry, Substantial Licensed
Spectrum Deficit (2015-2019): Updating the FCC's Mobile Data Demand
Projections, The Brattle Group, 1, May 11, 2015, at http://
www.brattle.com/system/news/pdfs/000/000/891/original/
Substantial_Licensed_Spectrum_Deficit_(2015-2019)_-
_Updating_the_FCC's_Mobile_Data_Demand_Projections.pdf?1435613076.
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Moreover, a thriving wireless broadband environment
requires both licensed and unlicensed spectrum. Deploying a
wireless network is a lengthy, resource-intensive process, and
licensed spectrum helps guarantee reliable service and
encourages greater investment and technical innovation by
providing carriers with needed certainty. Similarly, unlicensed
spectrum guarantees industries and entrepreneurs the spectrum
they need for the advancement of unlicensed services and
technologies. Both are necessary to support the growing
wireless ecosystem, and the MOBILE NOW Act would require that
the Commission will satisfy requirements for both.
Specifically, the MOBILE NOW Act would require the Commission
to designate at least 100 megahertz of the newly available
spectrum for licensed use and at least 100 megahertz for
unlicensed use.
The time to act is now. It can take years to identify
spectrum that can be made available for commercial use,
allocate the spectrum, create service rules, develop auction
rules for spectrum to be auctioned, conduct an auction, and
relocate incumbent operations, all before beginning to deploy
the networks providing service to American consumers. The NTIA
estimated that it would take 10 years and cost $18 billion to
clear and repurpose 95 megahertz of spectrum in the 1755 to
1850 megahertz band.\18\ Much of this process must be
undertaken before industry can have the reasonable certainty
that is necessary to undertake massive investment in new
technology. A case in point: as noted above, Congress in 2012
authorized the Commission to conduct an incentive auction of
broadcast television spectrum in which broadcast television
licensees could voluntarily relinquish their spectrum usage
rights in order to permit the assignment by auction of new
flexible-use licenses. The Commission did not have final rules
for the admittedly complex auction of that spectrum until July
2015, and as of the date of this bill's committee
consideration, the Commission had not yet completed the auction
of the spectrum or begun the 39-month transition and spectrum
repacking process to make the spectrum available for flexible
use.\19\
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\18\U.S. Department of Commerce, An Assessment of the Viability of
Accommodating Wireless Broadband in the 1755 - 1850 MHz Band, March,
2012, at iv, at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/
ntia_1755_1850_mhz_report_march2012.pdf.
\19\See Transition Broadcasters After the Auctions, at https://
www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/fcc-initiatives/incentive-auctions/post-auction-
transition.
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In order to facilitate deployment of both fixed and mobile
networks, the MOBILE NOW Act would address a number of barriers
to deployment. At the Committee's October 7, 2015, hearing on
``Removing Barriers to Wireless Broadband Deployment,''
witnesses identified a number of steps Congress could take to
enable faster and more efficient deployment of advanced
telecommunications services. Noting ``[t]he myriad of processes
and procedures among different [F]ederal agencies often poses
insurmountable obstacles to siting wireless infrastructure on
[F]ederal property,''\20\ witnesses recommended requiring
agencies to do the following: use master templates;\21\
streamline disparate agency processes;\22\ establish a shot-
clock for Federal agency consideration of leases;\23\ establish
``dig-once'' procedures to reduce the cost and disruption of
deployments;\24\ and establish a database of key information
regarding Federal properties, with appropriate protections for
national security.\25\ The MOBILE NOW Act would address each of
these matters.
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\20\Testimony of Hon. Jonathan S. Adelstein, President & CEO, PCIA
- The Wireless Infrastructure Association, Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, ``Removing Barriers to Wireless
Broadband Deployment,'' October 7, 2015, at https://
www.commerce.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/776a69e3-5891-476f-85fb-
945ba3ed518a/56E37595DFA44623573E920E7E04A421.adelstein-qfr-
responses.pdf.
\21\Testimony of Mr. Douglas Kinkopf, Associate Administrator,
Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, ``Removing Barriers
to Wireless Broadband Deployment,'' October 7, 2015, at https://
www.commerce.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/776a69e3-5891-476f-85fb-
945ba3ed518a/56E37595DFA44623573E920E7E04A421.adelstein-qfr-
responses.pdf.
\22\Testimony of Mr. Bruce Morrison, Vice President, Operations and
Network Build, Region North America, Ericsson, Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, ``Removing Barriers to Wireless
Broadband Deployment,'' October 7, 2015, at http://
www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=D7B621C5-BEB5-
418D-B814-AEBFF10FFC.
\23\Ibid. See also Testimony of Hon. Gary Resnick, Mayor of Wilton
Manors, Florida, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, ``Removing Barriers to Wireless Broadband Deployment,''
October 7, 2015, at http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/
hearings?ID=D7B621C5-BEB5-418D-B814-AEBFF10FFC21.
\24\Testimony of Hon. Jonathan S. Adelstein, President & CEO, PCIA
- The Wireless Infrastructure Association, Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, ``Removing Barriers to Wireless
Broadband Deployment,'' October 7, 2015, at http://
www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=D7B621C5-BEB5-
418D-B814-AEBFF10FFC21.
\25\Testimony of Mr. Douglas Kinkopf, Associate Administrator,
Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, NTIA, Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, ``Removing Barriers
to Wireless Broadband Deployment,'' October 7, 2015, at http://
www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=D7B621C5-BEB5-
418D-B814-AEBFF10FFC21.
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The MOBILE NOW Act is an essential first step in making
more spectrum available and promoting more deployment of
broadband infrastructure, both of which are necessary to secure
American leadership for the next generation of communications
technologies like 5G and other gigabit wireless services.
Summary of Provisions
To facilitate deployment of advanced telecommunications
capability, the MOBILE NOW Act would make more spectrum
available for fixed and mobile broadband and would facilitate
deployment of the infrastructure essential for the future of
advanced telecommunications capability.
The MOBILE NOW Act would do the following, among other
things:
Require that 255 megahertz of spectrum be made
available for fixed and mobile wireless broadband use by 2020.
At least 100 megahertz would be available on an unlicensed
basis, and at least 100 megahertz on an exclusive, licensed
basis.
Direct the NTIA to study the impact of allowing
fixed or mobile operations in certain spectrum bands with
existing Federal users, and subsequently direct the FCC to
publish a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding service rules
for mobile or fixed wireless operation in those bands, if
feasible, and in additional bands.
Require the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to
evaluate and report to Congress on the feasibility of allowing
commercial wireless services in the spectrum band between 3100
and 3500 megahertz, and require the Commission to do the same
regarding the spectrum band between 3700 to 4200 megahertz.
Streamline the process of applying for easements,
rights of way, and leases for federally-managed property.
Establish a National Broadband Facilities Asset
Database of Federal property, and make the database available
to entities that construct or operate communications
facilities. States would be encouraged to include State
information in the database as well.
Direct the Secretary to prepare a report of
legislative and regulatory proposals, including use of the
auction proceeds, to provide incentives to Federal entities to
relinquish or share spectrum with Federal and non-Federal
users.
Require the FCC to study the best means of providing
Federal entities intermittent access to non-Federal spectrum,
for example during emergencies.
Require the FCC to adopt rules regarding unlicensed
operations in designated guard bands.
Require the FCC to conduct a rulemaking regarding
the partitioning and disaggregation of spectrum licenses, and
other measures to promote availability of advanced
telecommunications services in rural areas.
Require the FCC to develop a national plan for
making additional radio frequency bands available for
unlicensed operations.
Legislative History
S. 19, the MOBILE NOW Act was introduced on January 3,
2017, by Senator Thune and Senator Nelson and was referred to
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate. On January 24, 2017, the Committee met in open
Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 19 to be
reported favorably with an amendment (in the nature of a
substitute). A substitute amendment was offered by Senators
Thune and Nelson with an amendment by Senator Heller to require
that specified NTIA recommendations related to a report
required by the underlying bill include a recommendation on
policies that would prioritize or streamline a permit for
construction in a previously-disturbed right-of-way.
The bill as amended is substantially similar to legislation
previously reported favorably by the Committee, S. 2555, in the
114th Congress. On March 3, 2016, the Committee held an
Executive Session during which S. 2555 was approved
unanimously, by voice vote, and was ordered to be favorably
reported with an amendment (in the nature of a substitute).
On July 29, 2015, the Committee held a hearing on
``Wireless Broadband and the Future of Spectrum Policy,''
during which the Committee received testimony regarding the
need to provide incentives to free more spectrum for commercial
use and the need to assess the suitability of millimeter wave
spectrum. On October 7, 2015, the Committee held a hearing on
``Removing Barriers to Wireless Broadband Deployment,'' during
which the Committee received testimony regarding the importance
of fixed and mobile wireless service to the U.S. economy, the
need for additional spectrum to meet consumer demand, the need
to streamline the process for deploying and densifying wireless
networks, the technology gap facing rural America, and the role
of local governments in deployment of wireless infrastructure.
Estimated Costs
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
S. 19--Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting
Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act
Summary: S. 19 would authorize federal agencies to
implement various programs and measures related to management
of the electromagnetic spectrum. It would direct federal
agencies to prepare reports, develop information for firms that
provide telecommunications services, award prizes for advanced
technologies, and ensure that certain radio frequencies are
made available for commercial uses.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 19 would increase net direct
spending by $141 million over the 2018-2027 period, primarily
as a result of provisions that would accelerate spending
related to making federal spectrum available for commercial
use. CBO also estimates that implementing the bill would cost
$88 million over the 2018-2022 period, subject to the
appropriation of the necessary amounts, mainly to develop new
data systems and carry out spectrum management activities.
Because enacting the bill would affect direct spending,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting S. 19 would not affect
revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not
increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits by more than
$5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods
beginning in 2028.
S. 19 would impose intergovernmental mandates as defined in
the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act (UMRA) by preempting state and
local tax laws related to wireless telecommunication services
and by preempting the jurisdiction of state and local courts in
some cases. CBO estimates that the costs of the mandates,
mostly in the form of foregone revenue to state and local
governments, would not exceed the threshold established in UMRA
($78 million in 2017, adjusted annually for inflation).
If the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) increases
annual fee collections to offset the costs of implementing the
bill, doing so would increase the cost of an existing private-
sector mandate on some commercial entities regulated by the
agency. Based on information from the FCC, CBO estimates that
the incremental cost of the mandate would be small, and fall
well below the annual threshold established in UMRA for
private-sector mandates ($156 million in 2017, adjusted
annually for inflation).
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary effect of S. 19 is shown in the following table. The
costs of this legislation fall within several budget functions,
including 370 (commerce and housing credit) and 800 (general
government).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2018-2022 2018-2027
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INCREASES IN DIRECT SPENDING
Estimated Budget Authority........................ 8 8 8 11 8 4 2 57 35 0 66 141
Estimated Outlays................................. 8 8 8 11 8 4 2 57 35 0 43 141
INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated Authorization Level..................... 8 29 25 24 23 3 3 4 4 4 109 127
Estimated Outlays................................. 7 13 20 25 23 18 9 4 4 4 88 127
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Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the
bill will be enacted near the end of fiscal year 2017 and that
the estimated amounts will be appropriated each year. Outlay
estimates are based on historical spending patterns for the
affected programs.
Direct Spending
CBO estimates that enacting S. 19 would increase direct
spending by $141 million over the 2018-2027 period, primarily
as a result of provisions that would accelerate spending from
the Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF). Most of those costs would
be offset by lower spending after 2027.
Spectrum Relocation Fund. Current law authorizes federal
agencies to spend a portion of the proceeds from spectrum
auctions, without further appropriation, to cover the costs
they incur to make federal frequencies available for new
commercial uses. Under current law, such spending cannot begin
until after the FCC awards licenses to the winning bidders and
deposits the proceeds into the SRF. S. 19 would authorize the
Office of Management and Budget to borrow funds from the
Treasury immediately after an auction closes and to deposit
those amounts in the SRF. Making SRF funds available
immediately following the end of a spectrum auction would
accelerate spending from the fund. Because major relocation
efforts typically take several years to complete, CBO estimates
that enacting this provision would shift some outlays that
otherwise would have occurred after 2027 into the 2018-2027
period. On balance, CBO estimates that this shift in the timing
of outlays would increase net direct spending by $97 million
over the 2018-2027 period, primarily reflecting faster spending
for costs associated with an auction that is expected to be
completed in 2025.
S. 19 also would allow agencies to spend SRF funds sooner
to plan for relocation efforts. Agencies currently may spend a
portion of the funds in the SRF to develop relocation plans for
auctions that are expected to occur within five years; this
bill would authorize that spending to occur for auctions that
may be scheduled within eight years. Based on an analysis of
information from agencies involved in relocation efforts, CBO
estimates that this change would increase net direct spending
by about $20 million over the 2018-2027 period and reduce
outlays by corresponding amounts after 2027.
Fees for telecommunications leases. Under current law, fees
that agencies charge to grant easements and rights-of-way for
siting communications facilities on federal property may only
cover the agencies' direct costs related to granting such
easements and rights-of-way. Furthermore, those fees may not be
spent without further appropriation. S. 19 would apply those
same conditions to leases that are issued for siting private
communication facilities on federal property.
The budgetary effects of applying those restrictions to
leases would depend on the disposition of leasing proceeds
under current law. For example, some agencies are allowed to
spend the income from communications leases without further
appropriation. CBO expects that reducing the amount collected
in those instances would have no net effect on direct spending
(because the loss of receipts would be offset by lower
spending) but would increase costs needing to be covered by
appropriations. By contrast, reducing fees that currently
cannot be spent without further appropriation would reduce the
amount of income that otherwise would have been deposited in
the Treasury as offsetting receipts (which are recorded in the
budget as reductions in direct spending).
CBO estimates that enacting this provision would primarily
affect leasing fees deposited in the Federal Buildings Fund
(FBF) by the General Services Administration (GSA), which may
be spent only as provided in appropriation acts. According to
GSA, the agency deposited $2 million and $3 million from
communications leases into the FBF in 2014 and 2015,
respectively. Based on an analysis of the value of fees charged
for cost recovery by other agencies for granting
telecommunications rights-of-ways and easements, CBO estimates
that proceeds from GSA's new and renewed leases would be at
least 90 percent lower than the market-based fees for leases
collected under current law. In addition, CBO anticipates that
such fees would be paid once, at the time of application,
whereas leasing fees are paid annually over the life of the
lease, which may be in effect for up to 20 years. On balance,
CBO estimates that implementing this change would reduce net
offsetting receipts (which increase direct spending) by $24
million over the 2018-2027 period.
Other provisions. CBO estimates that other provisions in
the bill would have no significant net effect on direct
spending. For example, S. 19 would direct the FCC and NTIA to
make 255 megaherz of spectrum available for new commercial uses
by 2020 on a licensed and unlicensed basis. CBO estimates that
those requirements would have no significant net effect on
projected proceeds from the FCC's auctions because CBO
anticipates that the FCC would auction licenses to use similar
amounts of spectrum under its existing auction authority.
Spending subject to appropriation
CBO estimates that implementing S. 19 would cost $88
million over the 2018-2022 period, assuming appropriation of
the necessary amounts. That estimate is net of fees that would
be collected by the FCC to offset the agency's administrative
costs under the bill.
Database of Federal property for telecommunications uses.
Under S. 19, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
would be required to establish a single database of information
about federal real property that could be used as sites for
telecommunications equipment owned and operated by nonfederal
entities. Subject to certain restrictions, the database would
be available to firms that construct or operate such facilities
as well as to firms that provide communication services. The
bill would direct OSTP to include any data provided voluntarily
by state of local governments related to the availability of
real property under their purview that could be used as sites
for such equipment.
The federal government currently maintains extensive
information on its real property holdings--which include nearly
39 million acres of land and more than 275,000 buildings--but
those databases do not indicate whether those properties would
be appropriate sites for telecommunications equipment. CBO
anticipates that more than 20 federal agencies would need to
review the suitability of their property holdings for this
purpose, which may involve assessing environmental and historic
features as well as considering national security and public
safety.
The cost to prepare such an inventory would vary
significantly depending on the level of detail included. Based
on an analysis of information from affected agencies and the
cost of creating other federal databases, CBO estimates that
preparing this data would cost those federal agencies $58
million over the 2018-2022 period, an average of about $4
million per agency over a four year period. In addition, CBO
estimates that creating and maintaining the database would cost
about $3 million annually. Thus, CBO estimates that the cost of
implementing this effort would total $74 million over the 2018-
2022 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Those costs could be higher if OSTP integrates information from
state and local governments; alternatively, costs could be
lower if agencies do less analysis of the suitability of
specific properties for private communications equipment.
Spectrum management. S. 19 would direct the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and
the FCC to conduct various studies and regulatory proceedings
related to radio frequencies that may become available in the
future for new uses. For example, the bill would require NTIA
to study whether certain spectrum bands currently used by
federal agencies could be used by nonfederal entities.
Following that report, the FCC would need to undertake a
rulemaking process on the possibility of reallocating those and
other frequencies for new commercial uses. In addition, both
agencies would be required to assist OSTP in developing the
database of federal property and to develop plans for making
spectrum available on either a licensed or an unlicensed
basis.\1\
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\1\The FCC awards most licenses to use the electromagnetic spectrum
through competitive auctions. Those licenses give entities an exclusive
right to use specific frequencies, subject to certain conditions.
Spectrum made available on an unlicensed basis usually is available to
any user, subject to restrictions aimed at preventing interference with
other users.
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Based on an analysis of information from those agencies,
CBO estimates that the spectrum management activities required
by the bill would cost the NTIA $8 million over the 2018-2022
period. Implementing the bill also would cost the FCC $6
million over the 2018-2022 period. However, under current law
the FCC is authorized to collect fees sufficient to offset the
cost of its regulatory activities each year; therefore, CB0
estimates that the net effect on discretionary spending for
those activities would be negligible, assuming appropriation
actions consistent with that authority.
Technology prize. S. 19 would establish a prize competition
aimed at spurring the commercialization of more efficient and
cost-effective technologies for using the electromagnetic
spectrum. The competition would be administered by the
Secretary of Commerce in collaboration with other federal
agencies. The bill would authorize the appropriation of $5
million for prize awards and such sums as may be necessary to
administer the program. Based on the historical costs of
administering other federal prize competitions, CBO estimates
that implementing this program would cost a total of $6
million, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or
revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2017-2022 2017-2027
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET INCREASE IN THE DEFICIT
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact............ 0 8 8 8 11 8 4 2 57 35 0 43 141
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Increase in long-term direct spending and deficits: CBO
estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion
in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in
2028.
Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments:
S. 19 would impose intergovernmental mandates as defined in
UMRA by preempting state and local tax laws related to wireless
telecommunication services. The language of section 20 is
circular in nature and consequently it is difficult to clearly
determine when state or local taxing authority would be allowed
and when it would be preempted. For the purposes of this
estimate, CBO has assumed that the bill would prohibit state
and local governments from collecting taxes on
telecommunication services that are bundled with prepaid phones
(or sold subsequently to reload wireless minutes) unless those
taxes are levied on the retail seller of the prepaid phone or
minutes. For instance, a state could not collect taxes from the
company that provides minutes for a prepaid phone if those
minutes are sold by a separate retailer that does not provide
the minutes directly to the user; instead, the state would need
to collect the tax from the retailer.
Most states that levy telecommunications taxes on the sale
of prepaid phones or minutes collect the taxes from retailers.
CBO could identify only two states with laws that would allow
taxes to be collected for prepaid wireless minutes from
telecommunication providers that did not sell the phones
directly. The revenues those states collect from such
transactions total about $7.5 million annually. While such
taxes would clearly be prohibited by section 20, the language
in the bill is written generally and is not explicitly limited
to the taxation of telecommunication services associated with
prepaid phones. Even so, CBO could identify no other likely
case in which section 20 would prohibit the collection of state
taxes. Consequently, CBO estimates that the cost to state and
local governments in the form of forgone revenues would fall
well below the threshold established in UMRA ($78 million in
2017, adjusted annually for inflation). The bill also would
preempt the authority of state and local courts to assert
jurisdiction in cases that involve such taxation. That
preemption also would be a mandate as defined in UMRA, but it
would impose no significant costs in and of itself.
Finally, the bill would require states that receive federal
highway aid to meet new requirements to facilitate the
installation of broadband infrastructure. Such requirements
would be conditions of assistance and thus not
intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA.
Estimated impact on the private sector: If the FCC
increases annual fee collections to offset the costs of
implementing the bill, doing so would increase the cost of an
existing private-sector mandate on some commercial entities
regulated by the agency. The FCC is authorized to collect fees
sufficient to offset its regulatory costs each year, subject to
its annual appropriation. Based on information from the FCC,
CBO estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would be
small--no more than about $6 million over the 2017-2021
period--and fall well below the annual threshold established in
UMRA for private-sector mandates ($156 million in 2017,
adjusted annually for inflation).
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Stephen Rabent (FCC,
NTIA) and Kathleen Gramp (spectrum relocation); Impact on
State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Rachel Austin; Impact on
the Private Sector: Logan Smith.
Estimate approved by: H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
number of persons covered
States and local jurisdictions would be covered by the
bill's provision dealing with the collection of taxes, fees, or
surcharges related to wireless telecommunications services.
Otherwise, the number of persons covered by this legislation
would be consistent with current levels.
economic impact
The legislation would promote more efficient use of
spectrum and the efficient deployment of fixed and mobile
broadband throughout the United States, allowing the Nation to
extend its technology leadership to the next generation of
communications technology and extending to more Americans the
benefits of advanced telecommunications capability. The
legislation would remove barriers to deployment of broadband
communications networks and maximize the value of America's
spectrum resources for the American consumer in a sector that
generates hundreds of billions of dollars of economic activity
annually and is responsible for an estimated $1.5 trillion in
network investment since 1996.
privacy
The bill would not have any adverse impact on the personal
privacy of individuals.
paperwork
The Committee does not anticipate a major increase in
paperwork burdens resulting from the passage of this
legislation.
Congressionally Directed Spending
In accordance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following identification of congressionally directed spending
items contained in the bill, as reported:
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title; table of contents.
This section would provide that the short title of the bill
would be ``Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and
Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act'' or
the ``MOBILE NOW Act.'' This section would further provide a
table of contents for the bill.
Section 2. Definitions.
This section would provide definitions for various terms
used throughout the bill.
Section 3. Making 500 megahertz available.
Section 3(a)(1) would direct the Secretary, through the
NTIA, and the Commission to make at least 255 additional
megahertz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum below the
frequency of 6000 megahertz available for mobile and fixed
wireless broadband use by December 31, 2020.
By directing the NTIA and the Commission to make spectrum
available below 6000 megahertz, the Committee recognizes that
technology in those bands is currently the most mature for
mobile and fixed deployment and can best be used to meet
immediate and medium-term requirements. Lower band spectrum,
below 3000 megahertz, is particularly valuable for licensed
mobile wireless use because of its propagation characteristics
and proximity to other spectrum already being used in licensed
commercial mobile networks. The NTIA and the Commission should
prioritize that spectrum for mobile wireless use and designate
higher band spectrum for shared unlicensed use.
Section 3(a)(2) would provide additional direction to the
Commission on how the 255 megahertz of spectrum under section
3(a)(1) should be made available. In particular, section
3(a)(2)(A) would specify that the Commission must make at least
100 megahertz available on an unlicensed basis. Section
3(a)(2)(B) would require the Commission to make 100 megahertz
of spectrum available on an exclusive, licensed basis for
commercial mobile use, pursuant to the Commission's authority
to implement such licensing in a flexible manner, and subject
to potential continued use of such spectrum by incumbent
Federal entities in designated geographic areas indefinitely or
for such length of time stipulated in transition plans approved
by the Technical Panel under section 113(h) of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization
Act (47 U.S.C. 923(h)) for those incumbent entities to be
relocated to alternate spectrum. The section would leave to the
Commission's discretion, based on its assessment of needs, the
designation of the remaining 55 megahertz of spectrum that this
section would require the Commission and the Secretary to make
available.
The Committee intends that the 100 megahertz of unlicensed
spectrum referenced in section 3(a)(2)(A) be available for
shared use by non-Federal and Federal users. Unlicensed
spectrum can be deployed on a shared basis and can accommodate
the type of use contemplated by that section.
By stating that 100 megahertz of spectrum must be made
available for exclusive, licensed use, the Committee intends
that this spectrum not be generally shared between non-Federal
and Federal users. Nevertheless, the Committee recognizes the
great success that has been achieved by Federal entities
cooperating with winners of the AWS-3 auction. AWS-3 licensees
must protect Federal entities in that spectrum, and the
Commission has required AWS-3 licensees and Federal entities to
work together to share information about their systems, agree
to appropriate interference methodologies, and communicate
results so as to facilitate commercial use of the band. The
Commission and the NTIA have jointly issued guidance for
licensees and Federal entities regarding the coordination
process.\26\ Accordingly, section 3(a)(2)(B)(ii) would allow
the Commission to replicate the AWS-3 success by allowing
incumbent Federal licensees in the 100 megahertz of spectrum
available for exclusive, licensed commercial use to continue to
operate indefinitely or for as long as specified in the
Transition Plan a Federal entity submits in connection with the
auction of that spectrum. While that section would recognize
the Commission's ability to license exclusive spectrum for
commercial use while retaining incumbent Federal operations,
the Committee encourages the Secretary and the Commission to,
as it has in the AWS-3 spectrum, plan for the ultimate
relocation of incumbent Federal operations out of spectrum that
has been designated for licensed, exclusive use. Similarly, the
Secretary and the Commission should ensure that the designated
geographic areas in which incumbent Federal users may continue
to operate permit the maximum use possible of the spectrum by
licensed, exclusive users.
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\26\FCC, NTIA; The Federal Communications Commission and the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration:
Coordination Procedures in the 1675-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz Bands,
Public Notice, GN Docket No. 13-185, 10-11 (rel. Jul. 18, 2014).
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By stating that the spectrum specified in section
3(a)(2)(B) should be licensed in a flexible manner, the
Committee intends that the Commission permit licensees to offer
services of their choice, fixed or mobile, consistent with the
Commission's Table of Allocations under the regulatory scheme,
common carrier or non-common carrier, appropriate to those
services. This flexibility is consistent with the Commission's
recent approach to licensing mobile wireless spectrum.
The remaining 55 megahertz of spectrum may be available for
either licensed exclusive use or shared use, whether on a
licensed or unlicensed basis.
Under section 3(a)(3), the Commission and the Secretary
would not be permitted to consider the following spectrum in
determining which frequencies to make available: (i) the
frequencies between 1695 and 1710 megahertz; (ii) the
frequencies between 1755 and 1780 megahertz; (iii) the
frequencies between 2155 and 2180 megahertz; (iv) the
frequencies between 3550 and 3700 megahertz; and (v) any
spectrum that the Commission determines had more than de
minimis mobile or fixed wireless broadband operations within
the band on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
The Commission has taken steps in recent years to make more
spectrum available for mobile use. The spectrum specified in
section 3(a)(3) has either already been auctioned or the
Commission has already taken steps to permit its use.\27\ Thus,
to ensure that the Commission and NTIA make available new
frequencies, section 3(a)(3) prevents the Commission and the
NTIA from considering the spectrum specified above. In
addition, section 3(a)(3)(E) clarifies that even where spectrum
is not listed in section 3(a)(3)(A)-(D), if the Commission has
already permitted the use of that spectrum, it should not be
counted toward the 255 megahertz requirement imposed by this
section.
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\27\ See Amendment of the Commission's Rules with Regard to
Commercial Operations in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-
2180 MHz Bands, Report and Order, 29 FCC Rcd. 4610, para. 1, 2014,
(providing for the auction of spectrum in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780
MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz bands - the Advanced Wireless Service, or ``AWS-
3,'' bands); Amendment of the Commission's Rules with Regard to
Commercial Operations in the 3550-3650 MHz Band, Report and Order, 30
FCC Rcd. 3959, para.para. 63-64, 72, 2015, (establishing the Citizens
Broadband Radio Service in the frequencies between 3550 and 3700
megahertz; providing that a maximum of 70 megahertz of this spectrum
will be available on a licensed basis with the licenses assigned via
auction, and the remainder will be available on a license-by-rule
basis; and providing that where the licensed portion of this spectrum
is not being used by licensees, other parties may operate
opportunistically on the spectrum on a license-by-rule basis).
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Section 3(a)(4) would require that the NTIA, in evaluating
frequencies for possible reallocation for exclusive non-Federal
use or shared use, give priority to options involving
reallocation of the band for exclusive non-Federal use and to
choose options involving shared use only when it determines, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), that relocation of a Federal entity from the band
is not feasible because of technical or cost constraints. In
addition, if the NTIA determines that relocation of a Federal
entity from the band is not feasible, the NTIA must notify the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives of its determination, including the specific
technical or cost constraints on which the determination is
based.
Section 3(a)(4) would require that the NTIA prioritize
relocation over sharing in all instances where relocating
incumbent Federal operations is not too costly and is
technically feasible by extending Section 113(j) of the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(j)) to the NTIA's evaluation of
spectrum pursuant to S. 19.
Section 3(a)(5) would direct the Secretary and the
Commission to consider the following in determining which
frequencies to make available: (i) the need to preserve
critical existing and planned Federal Government capabilities;
(ii) the impact on existing State, local, and tribal government
capabilities; (iii) the international implications; (iv) the
need for appropriate enforcement mechanisms and authorities;
and (v) the importance of the deployment of wireless broadband
services in rural areas of the United States.
Section 3(a)(5) would encourage the Commission and the NTIA
to select frequencies that will help increase broadband
deployment in rural areas, which may be less likely to have
access to high speed Internet. Section 3(a)(5) would further
stress that the Commission and the NTIA should consider the
international implications of any possible selected frequencies
- international harmonization is ideal, as harmonized band
plans will minimize interference along the U.S. borders,
facilitate international roaming, and reduce development and
equipment costs. While international regulatory bodies may take
years to consider spectrum that may be best used for mobile
wireless services, the Commission and the NTIA need not wait
for those efforts to be complete. Instead, to preserve the U.S.
leadership position in the wireless industry, the Commission
and the NTIA should act in advance of international
designations where appropriate.
Section 3(b) would state that the section does not do the
following: (i) impair or otherwise affect the functions of the
Director of the OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or
legislative proposals; (ii) require the disclosure of
classified information, law enforcement sensitive information,
or other information that must be protected in the interest of
national security; or (iii) affect any existing requirement
under section 156 of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 921
note), or any other relevant statutory requirement applicable
to the reallocation of Federal spectrum.
Section 4. Millimeter wave spectrum.
This section would direct the NTIA, in consultation with
the Commission, to conduct an assessment evaluating the
feasibility of allowing mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless
operations, including for broadband, in six specified bands
between the frequencies of 24 GHz and 86 GHz. This assessment
would consider the impact of allowing such services on Federal
entities and operations in the identified bands.
This section would further direct the FCC to publish a
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) within 2 years of
enactment to consider service rules authorizing mobile or fixed
terrestrial wireless operations in these millimeter wave
spectrum bands. The NPRM would cover any Federal bands
identified in the NTIA assessment as being feasible for
terrestrial wireless operations along with the bands between
the frequencies of 24 GHz and 86 GHz that do not contain
Federal allocations.
Section 5. 3 Gigahertz spectrum.
This section would direct the Department of Commerce to
submit a report to the President and to Congress within 18
months of enactment evaluating the feasibility of allowing
commercial wireless services, licensed or unlicensed, to share
the use of the frequencies between 3100 megahertz and 3550
megahertz. This section would further direct the FCC to submit
a report to the President and to Congress, within 18 months of
enactment, evaluating the feasibility of allowing commercial
wireless services, licensed or unlicensed, to share the use of
the frequencies between 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz.
Both reports would be required to include an assessment of
the impacts such sharing may have on the incumbent Federal and
non-Federal operations in the relevant bands (along with
criteria that can protect such operations from harmful
interference), and an identification of which frequencies in
those bands may be most suitable for sharing with commercial
services, if such sharing is determined to be feasible.
Section 6. Communications facilities deployment on Federal property.
This section would amend section 6409 of the Middle Class
Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455) to
require executive agencies to use applications developed by the
General Services Administration (GSA) for easements, rights-of-
way, and lease requests and GSA-developed master contracts for
placement of communications facility installations on Federal
property. The section would specify that fees for leases be
based on direct cost recovery, as they already are for
easements and rights-of-way. Review of any application
submitted under this section would have to occur within 270
days. This section would further require a Federal agency to
provide any applicant for a Federal easement, right-of-way, or
lease with the following: a written denial of the application,
if applicable; a written explanation of any delay longer than 5
months; and a point of contact within the agency. This section
also would expand the types of infrastructure covered by
section 6409 to further facilitate the deployment of wireless,
wireline, licensed, and unlicensed communications services.
Subsection (c) of this section would require the NTIA, in
coordination with other agencies, to develop within 2 years of
enactment recommendations to streamline the process for
considering applications, including procedures for tracking and
expediting decisions on applications, and for prioritizing or
streamlining permits for construction in a previously-disturbed
right-of-way.
Section 7. Broadband infrastructure deployment.
This section would establish procedures to facilitate the
use of rights-of-way on Federal-aid highways to accommodate
broadband infrastructure and to improve broadband connectivity
to rural communities and broadband services in urban areas. The
section would require the Secretary of Transportation to ensure
that each State that receives funds under chapter 1 of title 23
of the United States Code meets requirements for broadband
consultation, including identifying a broadband utility
coordinator responsible for coordinating broadband
infrastructure rights-of-way needs, and establishing a process
for registering broadband infrastructure entities that seek to
be included in broadband infrastructure right-of-way
coordination efforts within the State. The section also would
require the Secretary of Transportation to ensure that those
States coordinate broadband infrastructure right-of-way efforts
with statewide telecommunications and broadband plans, and with
State and local transportation and land use plans, and include
in their State broadband infrastructure coordination plans
strategies to minimize repeated excavations that involve the
installation of broadband infrastructure in a right-of-way. The
section would require State departments of transportation to
take appropriate measures to ensure that existing broadband
infrastructure entities are not disadvantaged compared to other
broadband infrastructure entities, with respect to the program.
This section would apply only to activities for which Federal
obligations or expenditures are initially approved on or after
the date of enactment of the Act.
Section 8. National broadband facilities asset database.
This section would require the Office of Science and
Technology Policy (OSTP), in consultation with the FCC, NTIA,
GSA, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and OMB,
to establish and operate a database, not later than June 30,
2018, of Federal property capable of supporting the
installation of communications facilities. Federal agencies
would be required to provide OSTP with information for
inclusion in the database on covered property owned, leased, or
otherwise managed by the agency. This requirement would apply
only to Federal agencies. This section would require a process
for withholding data from the database to protect national
security and public safety. This section would further require
OSTP to report to Congress on progress in establishing the
database within 180 days of enactment, then annually thereafter
until the database is fully operational. State governments
would be able to provide information on covered property owned,
leased, or otherwise managed by the State for inclusion in the
database, but would not be required to do so. Within 1 year of
enactment, the Director of OSTP would be required to prepare
and to submit to the relevant committees in the Senate and the
House of Representatives a report on ways to incentivize State
and local governments to provide information for inclusion in
the database. Within 2 years from the establishment of the
database, the Director of OSTP would be required to provide an
update on that report and provide recommendations on ways to
further incentivize State and local governments to provide
information.
Section 9. Reallocation incentives.
This section would direct the Department of Commerce to
submit within 18 months of enactment a report to Congress on
legislative or regulatory proposals to incentivize Federal
entities to relinquish or share their spectrum for commercial
wireless broadband services. This report also would evaluate
allowing the winners of spectrum auctions involving spectrum
being reallocated from Federal use to pay Federal entities to
accelerate the post-auction relocation and transition process.
Section 10. Bidirectional sharing study.
This section would direct the FCC to conduct a
bidirectional sharing study to determine the best means of
providing Federal entities flexible access to non-Federal
spectrum on a shared basis. This study would be submitted to
Congress along with any recommendations for legislation or
proposed regulations.
Section 11. Unlicensed services in guard bands.
This section would require the FCC to allow unlicensed use
in the guard bands of any auctioned spectrum bands, as long as
doing so is feasible and would not cause harmful interference
to a licensed service or a Federal service operating in the
guard band or in an adjacent band.
Section 12. Pre-auction funding.
This section would allow Federal agencies to receive pre-
auction funding for potential auctions that are likely to occur
within 8 years, rather than the current statutory window of 5
years.
Section 13. Immediate transfer of funds.
This section would accelerate the relocation of Federal
entities by allowing existing Spectrum Relocation Fund balances
to be transferred to agencies for transition efforts
immediately upon completion of an auction, rather than after
the actual receipt by the fund of auction proceeds.
Section 14. Amendment to the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015.
This section would amend section 1008 of the Spectrum
Pipeline Act (Public Law 114-74; 129 State. 584) to require
public comment for that section's reports.
Section 15. GAO assessment of unlicensed spectrum and wi-fi use
in low- income neighborhoods.
This section would direct the Comptroller General of the
United States to conduct a study to evaluate availability of
broadband Internet access using unlicensed spectrum and
wireless networks in low income neighborhoods, in particular
for elementary and secondary school-age children in such
neighborhoods. The Comptroller General also would be directed
to evaluate barriers to deployment and use of such networks;
incentives, policies, or requirements that would increase the
availability of unlicensed spectrum and related technologies in
low-income neighborhoods; and how to encourage home broadband
adoption by households with elementary and secondary school-age
children that are in low-income neighborhoods. The section
would require the Comptroller General to issue a report, not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act,
summarizing the findings of the study and making
recommendations with respect to potential incentives, policies,
and requirements that could help overcome barriers to the
availability unlicensed spectrum and related technologies in
low-income neighborhoods and the adoption of broadband by
households with elementary and secondary school-age children
that are in low-income neighborhoods.
Section 16. Rulemaking related to partitioning or disaggregating
licenses.
This section would direct the FCC, not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, to initiate a
rulemaking proceeding to assess whether to establish a program,
or modify existing programs, under which a licensee that
receives a license for the exclusive use of spectrum in a
specific geographic area under section 301 of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301) may partition or
disaggregate the license by sale or long-term lease to provide
services consistent with the license while also making unused
spectrum available to eligible small carriers or carriers
serving rural areas if the Commission finds such a program
would promote the availability of advanced telecommunications
services in rural areas or spectrum availability for eligible
small carriers.
The section would direct the Commission to consider whether
reduced performance requirements with respect to spectrum
obtained through such program would facilitate deployment of
advanced telecommunications services in the areas covered by
the program; what conditions would be needed on transfers of
spectrum under such a program to allow eligible small carriers
that obtain spectrum under the program to build out the
spectrum in a reasonable period of time; what incentives would
be appropriate to encourage licensees to lease or sell
spectrum, including extending a license term or modifying
performance requirements of the license relating to the leased
or sold spectrum; and any other incentives considered by the
Commission that would further the goals of this section.
The section would direct that if a party fails to meet any
build out requirements set by the Commission for any spectrum
sold or leased under this section, the right to the spectrum
would be forfeited to the Commission unless the Commission
found that there was good cause for the failure to meet those
requirements. The section would allow the Commission to offer
licensees incentives or reduced performance requirements under
this section only if the Commission found that doing so would
likely result in increased availability of advanced
telecommunications services in a rural area.
Section 17. Unlicensed spectrum policy.
This section would direct the FCC to make available on an
unlicensed basis spectrum sufficient to meet demand for
unlicensed wireless broadband operations if, after taking into
account the future needs of other spectrum users, doing so
would be reasonable and in the public interest. The section
would require the Commission to take action to implement these
efforts within 18 months after the date of enactment of this
Act.
Section 18. National plan for unlicensed spectrum.
This section would require the FCC, not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, to develop, in
consultation with the NTIA, a national plan for making
additional radio frequency bands available for unlicensed
operations. The section would require the national plan to
identify an approach that ensures that consumers have access to
additional spectrum to conduct unlicensed operation in a range
of radio frequencies to meet consumer demand. The section would
recommend specific actions by the Commission and the NTIA to
permit unlicensed operation in additional radio frequency
ranges. Those frequency ranges would be ones that the
Commission finds are consistent with an unlicensed spectrum
policy established pursuant to section 17 of this Act; that
would expand opportunities for unlicensed operations in a
spectrum band or that would otherwise improve spectrum use and
intensity of use of bands where unlicensed operations are
already permitted; that would not cause harmful interference to
Federal or non-Federal users of such bands; and that would not
significantly impact homeland security or national security
communications. This section also would require the Commission,
in consultation with the NTIA, to examine additional ways, with
respect to existing and planned databases or spectrum access
systems designed to promote spectrum sharing and access to
spectrum for unlicensed operations, to improve accuracy and
efficacy; reduce burdens on consumers, manufacturers, and
service providers; and to protect sensitive Government
information.
To be included as part of the plan developed under this
section, the NTIA would be required to share with the
Commission recommendations about how to reform the Spectrum
Relocation Fund to address costs incurred by Federal entities
related to sharing radio frequency bands with radio
technologies conducting unlicensed operations and to ensure
that the Fund has sufficient funds to cover the costs
associated with such sharing and other expenditures allowed of
the fund under section 118 of the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C.
928).
The section would require the Commission to submit a report
that describes the plan developed under this section, including
any recommendations for legislative change, and to make the
report publicly available on the Commission's website.
Section 19. Spectrum challenge prize.
This section would require that the Secretary of Commerce,
in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Communications and Information and the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Standards and Technology, subject to availability
of funds for prize competitions under this section, conduct
prize competitions to dramatically accelerate the development
and commercialization of technology that improves spectrum
efficiency and is capable of cost-effective deployment, and
define a measurable set of performance goals for participants
in the prize competitions to demonstrate their solutions on a
level playing field while making a significant advancement over
the current state of the art. The section would allow the
Secretary to enter into a grant, contract, cooperative
agreement, or other agreement with a private sector for-profit
or nonprofit entity to administer the prize competitions; to
invite the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the FCC,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National
Science Foundation, or any other Federal agency to provide
advice and assistance in the design or administration of the
prize competitions; and to award not more than $5 million in
the aggregate to the winner or winners of the prize
competitions. The FCC would be required to publish a technical
paper on spectrum efficiency, providing criteria that may be
used for the design of the prize competitions, not later than
180 days after the date on which funds for prize competitions
are made available pursuant to this section. The section would
authorize the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to
carry out this section.
Section 20. Wireless telecommunications tax and fee collection
fairness.
Without affecting the right of a State or local
jurisdiction to require the collection of any tax, fee, or
surcharge in connection with a specified financial transaction,
this section would prevent a State or local jurisdiction from
requiring a person to collect from, or remit on behalf of, any
other person a State or local tax, fee, or surcharge imposed on
a purchaser or user with respect to the purchase or use of any
wireless telecommunications service within the State unless the
collection or remittance is in connection with a financial
transaction between the person that the State or local
jurisdiction requires to collect or remit the tax, fee, or
surcharge and the purchaser or user of the wireless
telecommunications service. The section would permit any person
aggrieved by the requirement of collecting or remitting on
behalf of any other person such a fee in violation of this
section to bring a civil action in an appropriate United States
district court for equitable relief. Notwithstanding section
1341 of title 28 of the United States Code, or the constitution
or laws of any State, the section would give the district
courts of the United States jurisdiction, without regard to the
amount in controversy or citizenship of the parties, to grant
such mandatory or prohibitive injunctive relief, interim
equitable relief, and declaratory judgments as may be necessary
to prevent, restrain, or terminate acts in violation of the
section's prohibition on the requirement of collection or
remittance of fees.
Section 21. Rules of construction.
This section would provide that each range of frequencies
described in the bill shall be construed as being inclusive of
the upper and lower frequencies in the range. This section
would further provide that nothing in the bill shall affect any
requirements under section 156 of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization
Act (47 U.S.C. 921 note), as added by the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000.
Section 22. Relationship to Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation
Act of 2012.
This section would provide that nothing in the bill shall
limit, restrict, or circumvent the implementation of the public
safety network known as FirstNet.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
material is printed in italic, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
MIDDLE CLASS TAX RELIEF AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2013
[Public Law 112-96; 126 Stat. 156]
SEC. 6409. WIRELESS FACILITIES DEPLOYMENT.
[47 U.S.C. 1455]
(a) Facility Modifications.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 704 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104) or
any other provision of law, a State or local government
may not deny, and shall approve, any eligible
facilities request for a modification of an existing
wireless tower or base station that does not
substantially change the physical dimensions of such
tower or base station.
(2) Eligible facilities request.--For purposes of
this subsection, the term ``eligible facilities
request'' means any request for modification of an
existing wireless tower or base station that involves--
(A) collocation of new transmission
equipment;
(B) removal of transmission equipment; or
(C) replacement of transmission equipment.
(3) Applicability of environmental laws.--Nothing in
paragraph (1) shall be construed to relieve the
Commission from the requirements of the National
Historic Preservation Act or the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969.
[(b) Federal Easements and Rights-of-way.--
[(1) Grant.--If an executive agency, a State, a
political subdivision or agency of a State, or a
person, firm, or organization applies for the grant of
an easement or right-of-way to, in, over, or on a
building or other property owned by the Federal
Government for the right to install, construct, and
maintain wireless service antenna structures and
equipment and backhaul transmission equipment, the
executive agency having control of the building or
other property may grant to the applicant, on behalf of
the Federal Government, an easement or right-of-way to
perform such installation, construction, and
maintenance.
[(2) Application.--The Administrator of General
Services shall develop a common form for applications
for easements and rights-of-way under paragraph (1) for
all executive agencies that shall be used by applicants
with respect to the buildings or other property of each
such agency.
[(3) Fee.--
[(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Administrator of General
Services shall establish a fee for the grant of
an easement or right-of-way pursuant to
paragraph (1) that is based on direct cost
recovery.
[(B) Exceptions.--The Administrator of
General Services may establish exceptions to
the fee amount required under subparagraph
(A)--
[(i) in consideration of the public
benefit provided by a grant of an
easement or right-of-way; and
[(ii) in the interest of expanding
wireless and broadband coverage.
[(4) Use of fees collected.--Any fee amounts
collected by an executive agency pursuant to paragraph
(3) may be made available, as provided in
appropriations Acts, to such agency to cover the costs
of granting the easement or right-of-way.
[(c) Master Contracts for Wireless Facility Sitings.--
[(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 704 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 or any other provision
of law, and not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General
Services shall--
[(A) develop 1 or more master contracts that
shall govern the placement of wireless service
antenna structures on buildings and other
property owned by the Federal Government; and
[(B) in developing the master contract or
contracts, standardize the treatment of the
placement of wireless service antenna
structures on building rooftops or facades, the
placement of wireless service antenna equipment
on rooftops or inside buildings, the technology
used in connection with wireless service
antenna structures or equipment placed on
Federal buildings and other property, and any
other key issues the Administrator of General
Services considers appropriate.
[(2) Applicability.--The master contract or contracts
developed by the Administrator of General Services
under paragraph (1) shall apply to all publicly
accessible buildings and other property owned by the
Federal Government, unless the Administrator of General
Services decides that issues with respect to the siting
of a wireless service antenna structure on a specific
building or other property warrant nonstandard
treatment of such building or other property.
[(3) Application.--The Administrator of General
Services shall develop a common form or set of forms
for wireless service antenna structure siting
applications under this subsection for all executive
agencies that shall be used by applicants with respect
to the buildings and other property of each such
agency.
[(d) Executive Agency Defined.--In this section, the term
``executive agency'' has the meaning given such term in section
102 of title 40, United States Code.]\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\An application for an easement, right-of-way, or lease that was
made or granted under section 6409 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and
Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455) before the effective date of
this Act would continue, subject to that section as in effect on the
day before such effective date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Federal Easements, Rights-of-Way, and Leases.--
(1) Grant.--If an executive agency, a State, a
political subdivision or agency of a State, or a
person, firm, or organization applies for the grant of
an easement, right-of-way, or lease to, in, over, or on
a building or other property owned by the Federal
Government for the right to install, construct, modify,
or maintain a communications facility installation, the
executive agency having control of the building or
other property may grant to the applicant, on behalf of
the Federal Government, subject to paragraph (5), an
easement, right-of-way, or lease to perform such
installation, construction, modification, or
maintenance.
(2) Application.--
(A) In general.--The Administrator of General
Services shall develop a common form for
applications for easements, rights-of-way, and
leases under paragraph (1) for all executive
agencies that, except as provided in
subparagraph (B), shall be used by all
executive agencies and applicants with respect
to the buildings or other property of each such
agency.
(B) Exception.--The requirement under
subparagraph (A) for an executive agency to use
the common form developed by the Administrator
of General Services shall not apply to an
executive agency if the head of an executive
agency notifies the Administrator that the
executive agency uses a substantially similar
application.
(3) Fee.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Administrator of General
Services shall establish a fee for the grant of
an easement, right-of-way, or lease pursuant to
paragraph (1) that is based on direct cost
recovery.
(B) Exceptions.--The Administrator of General
Services may establish exceptions to the fee
amount required under subparagraph (A)--
(i) in consideration of the public
benefit provided by a grant of an
easement, right-of-way, or lease; and
(ii) in the interest of expanding
wireless and broadband coverage.
(4) Use of fees collected.--Any fee amounts collected
by an executive agency pursuant to paragraph (3) may be
made available, as provided in appropriations Acts, to
such agency to cover the costs of granting the
easement, right-of-way, or lease.
(5) Timely consideration of applications.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 270 days
after the date on which an executive agency
receives a duly filed application for an
easement, right-of-way, or lease under this
subsection, the executive agency shall--
(i) grant or deny, on behalf of the
Federal Government, the application;
and
(ii) notify the applicant of the
grant or denial.
(B) Explanation of denial.--If an executive
agency denies an application under subparagraph
(A), the executive agency shall notify the
applicant in writing, including a clear
statement of the reasons for the denial.
(C) Applicability of environmental laws.--
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
relieve an executive agency of the requirements
of division A of subtitle III of title 54,
United States Code, or the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
(D) Point of contact.--Upon receiving an
application under subparagraph (A), an
executive agency shall designate one or more
appropriate individuals within the executive
agency to act as a point of contact with the
applicant.
(c) Master Contracts for Communications Facility Installation
Sitings.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 704 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104; 110
Stat. 151) or any other provision of law, the
Administrator of General Services shall--
(A) develop one or more master contracts that
shall govern the placement of communications
facility installations on buildings and other
property owned by the Federal Government; and
(B) in developing the master contract or
contracts, standardize the treatment of the
placement of communications facility
installations on building rooftops or facades,
the placement of communications facility
installations on rooftops or inside buildings,
the technology used in connection with
communications facility installations placed on
Federal buildings and other property, and any
other key issues the Administrator of General
Services considers appropriate.
(2) Applicability.--The master contract or contracts
developed by the Administrator of General Services
under paragraph (1) shall apply to all publicly
accessible buildings and other property owned by the
Federal Government, unless the Administrator of General
Services decides that issues with respect to the siting
of a communications facility installation on a specific
building or other property warrant nonstandard
treatment of such building or other property.
(3) Application.--
(A) In general.--The Administrator of General
Services shall develop a common form or set of
forms for communications facility installation
siting applications that, except as provided in
subparagraph (B), shall be used by all
executive agencies and applicants with respect
to the buildings and other property of each
such agency.
(B) Exception.--The requirement under
subparagraph (A) for an executive agency to use
the common form or set of forms developed by
the Administrator of General Services shall not
apply to an executive agency if the head of the
executive agency notifies the Administrator
that the executive agency uses a substantially
similar application.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Communications facility installation.--The term
``communications facility installation'' includes--
(A) any infrastructure, including any
transmitting device, tower, or support
structure, and any equipment, switches, wiring,
cabling, power sources, shelters, or cabinets,
associated with the licensed or permitted
unlicensed wireless or wireline transmission of
writings, signs, signals, data, images,
pictures, and sounds of all kinds; and
(B) any antenna or apparatus that--
(i) is designed for the purpose of
emitting radio frequency;
(ii) is designed to be operated, or
is operating, from a fixed location
pursuant to authorization by the
Commission or is using duly authorized
devices that do not require individual
licenses; and
(iii) is added to a tower, building,
or other structure.
(2) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency''
has the meaning given such term in section 102 of title
40, United States Code.
NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION ORGANIZATION
ACT
[47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.]
SEC. 118. SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND.
[47 U.S.C. 928]
* * * * * * *
(d) Fund Availability.--
(1) Appropriation.--There are hereby appropriated
from the Fund such sums as are required to pay the
relocation or sharing costs specified in subsection
(c).
(2) Transfer conditions.--None of the funds provided
under this subsection may be transferred to any
eligible Federal entity--
(A) unless the eligible Federal entity has
submitted a transition plan to the NTIA as
required by paragraph (1) of section 113(h),
the Technical Panel has found such plan
sufficient under paragraph (4) of such section,
and the NTIA has made available such plan on
its website as required by paragraph (5) of
such section;
(B) unless the Director of OMB has
determined, in consultation with the NTIA, the
appropriateness of such costs and the timeline
for relocation or sharing; and
(C) until 30 days after the Director of OMB
has submitted to the Committees on
Appropriations and Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives for approval, to the
Committees on Appropriations and Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate for
approval, and to the Comptroller General a
detailed plan describing specifically how the
sums transferred from the Fund will be used to
pay relocation or sharing costs in accordance
with such subsection and the timeline for such
relocation or sharing.
Unless disapproved within 30 days, the amounts in the
Fund shall be available immediately. If the plan is
disapproved, the Director may resubmit a revised plan.
(3) Transfers for pre-auction costs.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B),
the Director of OMB may transfer to an eligible
Federal entity, at any time (including prior to
a scheduled auction), such sums as may be
available in the Fund to pay relocation or
sharing costs related to pre-auction estimates
or research, as such costs are described in
section 113(g)(3)(A)(iii).
(B) Notification.--No funds may be
transferred pursuant to subparagraph (A)
unless--
(i) the notification provided under
paragraph (2)(C) includes a
certification from the Director of OMB
that--
(I) funds transferred before
an auction will likely allow
for timely implementation of
relocation or sharing, thereby
increasing net expected auction
proceeds by an amount not less
than the time value of the
amount of funds transferred;
and
(II) the auction is intended
to occur not later than [5
years] 8 years after transfer
of funds; and
(ii) the transition plan submitted by
the eligible Federal entity under
section 113(h)(1) provides--
(I) to the fullest extent
possible, for sharing and
coordination of eligible
frequencies with non-Federal
users, including reasonable
accommodation by the eligible
Federal entity for the use of
eligible frequencies by non-
Federal users during the period
that the entity is relocating
its spectrum uses (in this
clause referred to as the
'transition period');
(II) for non-Federal users to
be able to use eligible
frequencies during the
transition period in geographic
areas where the eligible
Federal entity does not use
such frequencies;
(III) that the eligible
Federal entity will, during the
transition period, make itself
available for negotiation and
discussion with non-Federal
users not later than 30 days
after a written request
therefor; and
(IV) that the eligible
Federal entity will, during the
transition period, make
available to a non-Federal user
with appropriate security
clearances any classified
information (as defined in
section 798(b) of title 18,
United States Code) regarding
the relocation process, on a
need-to-know basis, to assist
the non-Federal user in the
relocation process with such
eligible Federal entity or
other eligible Federal
entities.
(C) Applicability to certain costs.--
(i) In general.--The Director of OMB
may transfer under subparagraph (A) not
more than $10,000,000 for costs
incurred after June 28, 2010, but
before the date of the enactment of the
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job
Creation Act of 2012.
(ii) Supplement not supplant.--Any
amounts transferred by the Director of
OMB pursuant to clause (i) shall be in
addition to any amounts that the
Director of OMB may transfer for costs
incurred on or after the date of the
enactment of the Middle Class Tax
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.
(4) Reversion of unused funds.--Any amounts in the
Fund that are remaining after the payment of the
relocation or sharing costs that are payable from the
Fund shall revert to and be deposited in the general
fund of the Treasury, for the sole purpose of deficit
reduction, not later than 8 years after the date of the
deposit of such proceeds to the Fund, unless within 60
days in advance of the reversion of such funds, the
Director of OMB, in consultation with the NTIA,
notifies the congressional committees described in
paragraph (2)(C) that such funds are needed to complete
or to implement current or future relocation or sharing
arrangements.
(e) Transfer to Eligible Federal Entities.--
(1) Transfer.--
(A) Amounts made available pursuant to
subsection (d) shall be transferred to eligible
Federal entities, as defined in section
113(g)(1) of this Act.
(B) An eligible Federal entity may receive
more than one such transfer, but if the sum of
the subsequent transfer or transfers exceeds 10
percent of the original transfer--
(i) such subsequent transfers are
subject to prior approval by the
Director of OMB as required by
subsection (d)(2)(B);
(ii) the notice to the committees
containing the plan required by
subsection (d)(2)(C) shall be not less
than 45 days prior to the date of the
transfer that causes such excess above
10 percent; and
(iii) such notice shall include, in
addition to such plan, an explanation
of need for such subsequent transfer or
transfers.
(C) Such transferred amounts shall be
credited to the appropriations account of the
eligible Federal entity which has incurred, or
will incur, such costs, and shall, subject to
paragraph (2), remain available until expended.
(D) At the request of an eligible Federal
entity, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget (in this subsection
referred to as ``OMB'') may transfer the amount
under subparagraph (A) immediately--
(i) after the frequencies are
reallocated by competitive bidding
under section 309(j) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
309(j)); or
(ii) in the case of an incumbent
Federal entity that is incurring
relocation or sharing costs to
accommodate sharing spectrum
frequencies with another Federal
entity, after the frequencies from
which the other eligible Federal entity
is relocating are reallocated by
competitive bidding under section
309(j) of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), without regard
to the availability of such sums in the
Fund.
(E) Prior to the deposit of proceeds into the
Fund from an auction, the Director of OMB may
borrow from the Treasury the amount under
subparagraph (A) for a transfer under
subparagraph (D). The Treasury shall
immediately be reimbursed, without interest,
from funds deposited into the Fund.
(2) Retransfer to fund.--An eligible Federal entity
that has received such amounts shall report its
expenditures to OMB and shall transfer any amounts in
excess of actual relocation or sharing costs back to
the Fund immediately after the NTIA has notified the
Commission that the relocation of the entity or
implementation of the sharing arrangement by the entity
is complete, or has determined that such entity has
unreasonably failed to complete such relocation or the
implementation of such arrangement in accordance with
the timeline required by subsection (d)(2)(B).
* * * * * * *
SPECTRUM PIPELINE ACT OF 2015
[Public Law 114-74; 129 Stat.584]
SEC. 1008. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Commission, after notice and an opportunity for
public comment, shall submit to Congress--
(1) a report containing an analysis of the results of
the rules changes relating to the frequencies between
3550 megahertz and 3650 megahertz; and
(2) a report containing an analysis of proposals to
promote and identify additional spectrum bands that can
be shared between incumbent uses and new licensed, and
unlicensed services under such rules and identification
of at least 1 gigahertz between 6 gigahertz and 57 GHz
for such use.
[all]