[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4590 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4590
To provide requirements relating to data caps on broadband internet
access service, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 21, 2022
Mr. Lujan (for himself and Mr. Booker) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide requirements relating to data caps on broadband internet
access service, 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 ``Uncap America Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Broadband internet access service.--The term
``broadband internet access service'' has the meaning given the
term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(3) Data cap.--The term ``data cap'' means a limit on the
amount of bits or other units of information a customer of a
broadband internet access service provider may download or
upload during a period of time specified by the broadband
internet service access provider--
(A) before the customer--
(i) is charged a fee for additional usage;
(ii) is subject to an increasing cost per
bit or other unit of information;
(iii) is charged for an incremental block
of usage; or
(iv) experiences a reduction of access
speed; or
(B) that the customer is otherwise discouraged or
prevented from exceeding.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Access to resilient, affordable, and secure internet
service is essential for individuals to participate in society,
including by providing individuals access to work, education,
and health care and allowing individuals to communicate with
friends and family.
(2) Congress has a well-established role in supporting
infrastructure for broadband internet access service and
ensuring that such infrastructure best serves the public
interest.
(3) It is in the public interest to ensure that
telecommunications networks in the United States are utilized
to their fullest capacity in order to encourage innovation,
reduce barriers to employment, and increase access to education
and health care.
(4) Sustained strong performance of broadband internet
access service networks in the United States during
historically high demand throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is
evidence that many such networks can accommodate significantly
increased usage rates without the imposition of data caps.
(5) While certain broadband internet access service
networks may require practices to effectively manage
congestion, those practices should be tailored to improve
equitable access among consumers.
(6) Unnecessary data caps limit participation in the
digital economy and are contrary to the public interest.
SEC. 4. NETWORK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.
(a) In General.--A broadband internet access service provider shall
not impose a data cap except when tailored primarily for the purposes
of reasonable network management or managing network congestion.
(b) Regulations.--
(1) In general.--The Commission may prescribe such
regulations as may be necessary in the public interest to carry
out this section.
(2) Tailored data caps.--Not later than 270 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate
regulations to define the conditions under which a data cap is
to be considered tailored to the purpose of reasonable network
management or managing network congestion for purposes of
subsection (a).
(c) Enforcement.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall implement and enforce
this section as if this section were a part of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
(2) Violations.--Any violation of this section or any
regulation promulgated under this section shall be considered
to be a violation of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
151 et seq.) or a regulation promulgated under that Act,
respectively.
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