Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3162 To improve broadband data collection, mapping, and validation to support the effective deployment of broadband services to all areas of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 6, 2019 Mrs. RODGERS of Washington (for herself, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. MCKINLEY, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. WITTMAN, and Mr. BUTTERFIELD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce A BILL To improve broadband data collection, mapping, and valida- tion to support the effective deployment of broadband services to all areas of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadband Data Im- 4 provement Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3162 IH (1) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.— 1 The term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ has 2 the meaning given the term in section 8.1 of title 47, 3 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regu- 4 lation. 5 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 6 means the Federal Communications Commission. 7 (3) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 8 agency’’ means— 9 (A) the Commission; 10 (B) the Department of Agriculture; 11 (C) the Department of Commerce; 12 (D) the Department of the Interior; 13 (E) the Federal Trade Commission; 14 (F) the National Economic Council; and 15 (G) the Office of Science and Technology 16 Policy. 17 (4) FORM 477.—The term ‘‘Form 477’’ means 18 Form 477 of the Commission relating to local tele- 19 phone competition and broadband reporting. 20 (5) NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP.—The term 21 ‘‘National Broadband Map’’ means the map devel- 22 oped and maintained by the Commission with re- 23 spect to the availability of broadband internet access 24 service. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3162 IH (6) PROPAGATION MODEL.—The term ‘‘propa- 1 gation model’’ means an empirical mathematical for- 2 mulation for the characterization of radio wave prop- 3 agation as a function of frequency, distance, and 4 other conditions. 5 (7) PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘provider’’ means a 6 provider of broadband internet access service. 7 (8) SHAPEFILE.—The term ‘‘shapefile’’ means 8 a digital storage format containing geospatial or lo- 9 cation-based data and attribute information— 10 (A) regarding the availability of broadband 11 internet access service; and 12 (B) that can be viewed, edited, and 13 mapped in geographic information system soft- 14 ware. 15 (9) STANDARD BROADBAND INSTALLATION.— 16 The term ‘‘standard broadband installation’’— 17 (A) means the initiation of new wireline 18 broadband internet access service with no 19 charges or delays attributable to the extension 20 of the network of the provider; and 21 (B) includes the initiation of service that 22 requires only routine installation that can be 23 completed not later than 10 business days after 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3162 IH the date on which the service request is sub- 1 mitted. 2 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 3 ing given the term in section 3 of the Communica- 4 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 5 SEC. 3. NEW DATA SUBMISSION AND PUBLIC FEEDBACK 6 PROCESSES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 8 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue 9 a rule to establish— 10 (1) a reporting requirement under which each 11 provider shall, not less frequently than biannually, 12 submit to the Commission accurate and granular in- 13 formation regarding the geographic availability of 14 broadband internet access service provided by the 15 provider; and 16 (2) a framework for an ongoing challenge proc- 17 ess through which a provider or a member of the 18 public may submit information challenging the accu- 19 racy of the information reflected on the National 20 Broadband Map. 21 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT CONDITIONS.—The 22 reporting requirement established by the Commission 23 under subsection (a)(1) shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3162 IH (1) require information regarding the service 1 area of each provider to be— 2 (A) submitted in shapefile format, or an- 3 other geospatial format as the Commission may 4 prescribe, to achieve the level of reporting speci- 5 ficity required under paragraph (2) of this sub- 6 section; and 7 (B) before making each submission re- 8 quired under subsection (a)(1), certified— 9 (i) as adhering to such reporting 10 standards as the Commission may pre- 11 scribe; 12 (ii) on a form to be prescribed by the 13 Commission; and 14 (iii) by an officer of the provider; 15 (2) allow for an understanding by the Commis- 16 sion and the general public of speeds and service de- 17 livery types of broadband internet access service that 18 are available through— 19 (A) a standard broadband installation for 20 fixed wireline services; and 21 (B) standardized and tested propagation 22 models with respect to— 23 (i) fixed wireless and satellite services; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3162 IH (ii) mobile services, with defined fac- 1 tors for signal strength, cell edge prob- 2 ability, and cell loading; 3 (3) define uniform mandatory standards for the 4 reporting of broadband internet access service cov- 5 erage for each delivery type with respect to 6 broadband internet access service in order to— 7 (A) ensure the accuracy and granularity of 8 the data submitted; and 9 (B) require each provider to employ con- 10 sistent reporting methods across all States in 11 which the provider provides service; 12 (4) update or replace the Form 477 broadband 13 deployment service availability data collection proc- 14 ess of the Commission; and 15 (5) eliminate all duplicative reporting require- 16 ments and procedures regarding the availability of 17 broadband internet access service that are in exist- 18 ence as of the date on which the Commission estab- 19 lishes the requirement. 20 (c) CHALLENGE PROCESS CONDITIONS.—The frame- 21 work for the challenge process established by the Commis- 22 sion under subsection (a)(2) shall include an ongoing 23 schedule for the periodic— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3162 IH (1) receipt, analysis, and resolution of feedback 1 received through the process; and 2 (2) updating of the National Broadband Map, 3 which shall be completed— 4 (A) in an expeditious manner; and 5 (B) in response to the feedback described 6 in paragraph (1). 7 (d) NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to feedback received 9 through the challenge process, the framework for 10 which is established under subsection (a)(2), a Fed- 11 eral agency shall use the National Broadband Map 12 to determine— 13 (A) the extent of the availability of 14 broadband internet access service; and 15 (B) the areas of the United States that re- 16 main unserved by providers. 17 (2) CHALLENGE NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY.— 18 Before awarding funding that supports the develop- 19 ment of broadband internet access services and that 20 is based on the information reflected on the National 21 Broadband Map, a Federal agency shall provide no- 22 tice of an opportunity for public feedback to chal- 23 lenge or update the information on the map that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3162 IH (A) aligns with the schedule established 1 under subsection (c); or 2 (B) provides a separate public feedback op- 3 portunity under rules that may be established 4 by the Federal agency. 5 SEC. 4. DATA VALIDATION AND SUBMISSION ASSISTANCE. 6 (a) SELECTED PROVIDER.— 7 (1) SELECTION OF PROVIDER.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 9 use competitive procedures to enter into a con- 10 tract with an entity to provide the services de- 11 scribed in paragraph (2). 12 (B) COMMISSION DISCRETION.—The Com- 13 mission may— 14 (i) determine— 15 (I) the period in which an entity 16 selected under subparagraph (A) shall 17 serve in that capacity; and 18 (II) whether to grant an exten- 19 sion with respect to the period de- 20 scribed in subclause (i), including the 21 length of that extension; and 22 (ii) with respect to the contract de- 23 scribed in subparagraph (A), include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3162 IH (I) a provision relating to liq- 1 uidated damages; and 2 (II) any other reasonable provi- 3 sion to ensure that the contract is 4 sound and enforceable. 5 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Subject to section 6 106(h)(2) of the Broadband Data Improvement Act 7 (47 U.S.C. 1304(h)(2)), the entity selected under 8 paragraph (1) shall, in consultation with, and under 9 the supervision of, the Commission— 10 (A) provide— 11 (i) geographic information system 12 data processing assistance to providers 13 that require that assistance in order to 14 comply with the reporting requirements es- 15 tablished by the Commission under section 16 3(a)(1); 17 (ii) support for the facilitation of the 18 challenge process, the framework for which 19 is established by the Commission under 20 section 3(a)(2); and 21 (iii) independent data validation serv- 22 ices, including in-field verification of the 23 availability of broadband internet access 24 service reported by providers, to the Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3162 IH mission to ensure the accuracy and con- 1 tinual refinement of the National 2 Broadband Map; 3 (B) execute data-sharing agreements, as 4 may be requested, with providers to facilitate 5 the exchange of information needed to create 6 shapefiles, or any other such depiction as the 7 Commission may prescribe, of the availability of 8 broadband internet access service for the pur- 9 poses of carrying out subsection (d); 10 (C) analyze the information exchanged 11 under subparagraph (B) to produce depictions 12 of the availability of fixed broadband internet 13 access service and mobile broadband internet 14 access service in compliance with the require- 15 ments established under section 3(a)(1), for any 16 providers that are eligible for the assistance de- 17 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i); 18 (D) provide the depictions of service avail- 19 ability under subparagraph (C) to the Commis- 20 sion for— 21 (i) the internal use of the Commis- 22 sion; and 23 (ii) incorporation in the National 24 Broadband Map; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3162 IH (E) support collaboration between the 1 Commission and other Federal agencies to— 2 (i) track, map, and validate how funds 3 made available through Federal grants, 4 loans, or other financial awards or incen- 5 tives for the development of broadband in- 6 frastructure have been expended to im- 7 prove the availability of broadband internet 8 access service; and 9 (ii) ensure transparency and account- 10 ability with respect to the expenditures de- 11 scribed in clause (i), taking into account 12 existing accountability measures, such as 13 requiring the deployment of broadband in- 14 frastructure to be reported on a geocoded 15 or other location-specific basis; 16 (F) develop and implement an online 17 mechanism to be integrated into the National 18 Broadband Map, which shall solicit and collect 19 feedback submitted by the public and providers 20 through the challenge process, the framework 21 for which is established under section 3(a)(2); 22 and 23 (G) in consultation with the Commission, 24 establish an ongoing data validation and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3162 IH verification process, including selective in-per- 1 son field validation activities, that shall— 2 (i) be guided by intelligence collected 3 through the receipt of public feedback, the 4 acquisition and analysis of third-party 5 datasets, or other methods the entity may 6 develop; and 7 (ii) advise the Commission regarding 8 the continual refinement of the National 9 Broadband Map. 10 (b) PUBLIC COMMENT REQUIRED.—With respect to 11 the selection of an entity under subsection (a), the Com- 12 mission shall seek comment from the public, providers, 13 and other relevant stakeholders regarding the experience 14 and capabilities of organizations that are qualified to be 15 so selected. 16 (c) TERMINATION FOR CAUSE; SELECTION OF NEW 17 ENTITY.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, by 19 order, terminate for cause an entity selected under 20 subsection (a). 21 (2) NEW ENTITY.—If the Commission issues a 22 termination order under paragraph (1)(A), the Com- 23 mission shall, not later than 120 days after the date 24 on which the Commission issues that order, select a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3162.IH H3162 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 3162 IH new qualified entity to carry out subsection (a) in 1 the same manner as provided in that subsection, in- 2 cluding by seeking comment as provided in sub- 3 section (b). 4 (d) PROVIDER REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall imple- 6 ment a process through which a provider may re- 7 quest geographic information system data processing 8 assistance from the entity selected under subsection 9 (a). 10 (2) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL.—The entity 11 selected under subsection (a) shall grant a request 12 for assistance submitted by a provider under para- 13 graph (1)— 14 (A) if the provider has more than 100,000 15 broadband connections— 16 (i) upon a demons [Text truncated for display. 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