[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1036 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1036
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate
regulations that establish a national standard for determining whether
mobile and broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably
comparable to those services provided in urban areas.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 25, 2021
Ms. Hassan (for herself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate
regulations that establish a national standard for determining whether
mobile and broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably
comparable to those services provided in urban areas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Reasonable and Comparable
Wireless Access Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF MOBILE BROADBAND SERVICE IN UNDERSERVED RURAL
AREAS.
(a) Definitions.--
(1) In general.--In this section:
(A) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the
Federal Communications Commission.
(B) Rural telephone company.--The term ``rural
telephone company'' has the meaning given the term in
section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
153).
(C) Service area.--The term ``service area'' has
the meaning given the term in section 214(e) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(e)).
(2) Mobile broadband service.--The Commission shall define
the term ``mobile broadband service'' for purposes of this
section.
(b) Establishment of Standard.--
(1) Commencement of rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall
commence a rulemaking to establish a national standard to
determine, with respect to access to universal service in
rural, insular, and high cost areas under section 254(b)(3) of
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(b)(3)), whether
mobile broadband service available in rural areas is reasonably
comparable to mobile broadband service provided in urban areas.
(2) Progress reports.--Not less frequently than once every
180 days after commencing the rulemaking under paragraph (1),
the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the
progress of the Commission in establishing the standard under
that paragraph.
(c) Considerations.--In establishing a standard under subsection
(b), the Commission shall consider--
(1) defining a rural area as any area--
(A) in which a school or library designated as
``rural'' under section 54.505(b)(3)(i) of title 47,
Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date
of enactment of this Act, is located; or
(B) that is a service area that is served by a
rural telephone company;
(2) defining a rural area as underserved, with respect to
mobile broadband service, if mobile broadband service that
meets or exceeds the standard established under subsection (b)
is not available in the area; and
(3) providing that a rural area shall be considered
underserved, with respect to mobile broadband service, if tests
show that the average speed and signal strength of mobile
broadband service available in the area do not meet or exceed
the average speed and signal strength of mobile broadband
service provided in the 20 most populous metropolitan
statistical areas in the United States.
(d) Data From Urban Areas.--To help inform the standard established
under subsection (b), the Commission shall gather, and periodically
update, data on mobile broadband service provided in the 20 most
populous metropolitan statistical areas in the United States.
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