[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1563 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1563
To establish an open network architecture testbed at the Institute for
Telecommunication Sciences of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration to develop and demonstrate network
architectures and applications, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 11, 2021
Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an open network architecture testbed at the Institute for
Telecommunication Sciences of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration to develop and demonstrate network
architectures and applications, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Telecommunications Supply Chain
Diversity Promotion Act''.
SEC. 2. OPEN NETWORK ARCHITECTURE.
(a) Open Network Architecture Testbed.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``Applied Research Open-RAN testbed''
means the testbed established under paragraph (2);
(B) the term ``Assistant Secretary'' means the
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and
Information; and
(C) the term ``NTIA'' means the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration.
(2) Establishment.--The Assistant Secretary shall establish
an applied research open network architecture testbed at the
Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the NTIA to develop
and demonstrate network architectures and applications,
equipment integration and interoperability at scale,
including--
(A) Open Radio Access Network (commonly known as
``Open-RAN'') technology;
(B) Virtualized Radio Access Network (commonly
known as ``vRAN'') technology; and
(C) cloud native technologies that replicate
telecommunications hardware as software-based virtual
network elements and functions.
(3) Focus; considerations.--In establishing the Applied
Research Open-RAN testbed pursuant to this section, the
Assistant Secretary shall ensure that such testbed evaluates
issues related to deployment and operation of open network
architectures in rural areas.
(4) Cooperative research and development agreements.--The
Assistant Secretary shall enter into cooperative research and
development agreements as appropriate to obtain equipment,
devices, and expertise for the Applied Research Open-RAN
testbed, in accordance with section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a).
(5) Private sector contributions.--The Assistant Secretary
may accept private contributions to the Applied Research Open-
RAN testbed in the form of network equipment or devices for
testing purposes.
(6) Partnership with government entities.--
(A) Establishment.--In establishing the Applied
Research Open-RAN testbed, the Assistant Secretary
shall--
(i) consult with the Federal Communications
Commission, including with respect to ongoing
work by the Commission to develop other
testbeds, including private sector testbeds,
related to Open-RAN technologies; and
(ii) ensure that the work on the testbed is
coordinated with the responsibilities of the
Assistant Secretary under any relevant
memorandum of understanding with the Federal
Communications Commission and the National
Science Foundation related to spectrum.
(B) Operations.--In operating the Applied Research
Open-RAN testbed, the Assistant Secretary shall, in
consultation with the Federal Communications
Commission, partner with--
(i) the First Responder Network Authority
of the NTIA (also known as ``FirstNet'') and
the Public Safety Communications Research
Division of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology to examine use cases and
applications for Open-RAN technologies in a
public safety network;
(ii) other Federal agencies, as appropriate
to examine use cases and applications for Open-
RAN technologies in other areas of interest to
such agencies; and
(iii) international partners, as
appropriate.
(7) Stakeholder input.--The Assistant Secretary shall seek
input from stakeholders regarding the establishment and
operation of the Applied Research Open-RAN testbed.
(8) Implementation deadline.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary
shall--
(A) define metrics and parameters for the Applied
Research Open-RAN testbed, including functionality,
project configuration and capacity, performance,
security requirements, and quality assurance;
(B) adopt any rules as necessary, in consultation
with the Federal Communications Commission; and
(C) begin the development of the Applied Research
Open-RAN testbed, including seeking stakeholder input
as required by paragraph (7).
(9) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives a report on the findings of the testbed and any
recommendations for additional legislative or regulatory
actions relating to the work of the testbed.
(10) Authorization of appropriations.--
(A) In general.--There are authorized to be
appropriated for the administration of the Applied
Research Open-RAN testbed $20,000,000 for fiscal year
2022, to remain available until expended.
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (6)
shall be construed to obligate FirstNet or any other
Federal entity to pay for the cost of the Applied
Research Open-RAN testbed created under this section in
the absence of the appropriation of amounts under this
paragraph.
(C) Authorization for voluntary support.--A Federal
entity, including FirstNet, may voluntarily enter into
an agreement with NTIA to provide monetary or
nonmonetary support for the Applied Research Open-RAN
testbed.
(b) Participation in Standards-Setting Bodies.--
(1) Definitions.--In this section--
(A) the term ``Assistant Secretary'' means the
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and
Information;
(B) the term ``eligible standards-setting body''--
(i) means a standards-setting body,
participation in which may be funded by a grant
awarded under paragraph (2), as determined by
the Assistant Secretary; and
(ii) includes--
(I) the 3rd Generation Partnership
Project (commonly known as ``3GPP'');
(II) the Alliance for
Telecommunications Industry Solutions
(commonly known as ``ATIS'');
(III) the International
Telecommunications Union (commonly
known as ``ITU'');
(IV) the Institute for Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (commonly
known as ``IEEE'');
(V) the World Radiocommunications
Conferences (commonly known as the
``WRC'') of the ITU;
(VI) the Internet Engineering Task
Force (commonly known as the ``IETF'');
(VII) the International
Organization for Standardization
(commonly known as the ``ISO'') and the
International Electrotechnical
Commission (commonly known as the
``IEC'');
(VIII) the O-RAN Alliance;
(IX) the Telecommunications
Industry Association (commonly known as
``TIA''); and
(X) any other standards-setting
body identified under paragraph (4);
(C) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Commerce; and
(D) the term ``standards-setting body'' means an
international body that develops the standards for open
network architecture technologies.
(2) Grant program.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary, in collaboration
with the Assistant Secretary, shall award grants to
private sector entities based in the United States to
participate in eligible standards-setting bodies.
(B) Prioritization.--The Secretary shall prioritize
grants awarded under this section to private sector
entities that would not otherwise be able to
participate in eligible standards-setting bodies
without the grant.
(3) Grant criteria.--Not later than 180 days after the date
on which amounts are appropriated under paragraph (5), the
Secretary, in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary, shall
establish criteria for the grants awarded under paragraph (2).
(4) Consultation with federal communications commission.--
The Secretary shall consult with the Federal Communications
Commission in--
(A) determining criteria for the grants awarded
under paragraph (2); and
(B) determining which standards-setting bodies, if
any, in addition to the standards-setting bodies listed
in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) are eligible standards-setting
bodies.
(5) Authorization of appropriations.--
(A) In general.--There are authorized to be
appropriated for grants under paragraph (2) $30,000,000
in total for fiscal years 2022 through 2025, to remain
available until expended.
(B) Administrative costs.--The Secretary may use
not more than 2 percent of any funds appropriated under
this paragraph for the administration of the grant
program established under this subsection.
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