C-BAND Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2921 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for an auction of C-Band spectrum, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 20, 2019 Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for an auction of C-Band spectrum, 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 ‘‘Clearing Broad Air- 4 waves for New Deployment Act’’ or the ‘‘C-BAND Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. AUCTION OF C-BAND SPECTRUM. 6 Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 8 following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2921.IS S2921 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2921 IS ‘‘PART V—C-BAND SPECTRUM 1 ‘‘SEC. 399L. AUCTION OF C-BAND SPECTRUM. 2 ‘‘Not later than September 30, 2022, the Commission 3 shall— 4 ‘‘(1) clear and reallocate no less than 200 5 megahertz and no more than 300 megahertz of con- 6 tiguous C-Band spectrum (reserving 20 megahertz 7 as guard band)— 8 ‘‘(A) for the provision of broadband inter- 9 net access service; and 10 ‘‘(B) in such a way that ensures that C- 11 Band-dependent users— 12 ‘‘(i) receive equal or better service as 13 before the implementation of this section; 14 and 15 ‘‘(ii) receive such service continuously 16 throughout the transition process; and 17 ‘‘(2) through a system of competitive bidding 18 under section 309(j), assign licenses for the use of 19 the spectrum reallocated under paragraph (1), ex- 20 cept for the spectrum reserved as guard band. 21 ‘‘SEC. 399M. TREATMENT OF REVENUES. 22 ‘‘(a) DEPOSIT IN THE TREASURY.—Notwithstanding 23 section 309(j)(8), the Commission shall deposit the total 24 amount of proceeds from the auction conducted under sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2921.IS S2921 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2921 IS tion 399L in the Treasury in accordance with chapter 33 1 of title 31, United States Code. 2 ‘‘(b) RURAL BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.—Of the 3 total amount deposited in the Treasury under subsection 4 (a), $10,000,000,000 shall be made available to the Com- 5 mission for the build out and maintenance of rural 6 broadband infrastructure in unserved rural communities. 7 ‘‘SEC. 399N. DEFINITIONS. 8 ‘‘In this part: 9 ‘‘(1) C-BAND-DEPENDENT USER.—The term ‘C- 10 Band-dependent user’ means a person who— 11 ‘‘(A) is a licensee or registrant of an earth 12 station receiving signals over C-Band spectrum; 13 or 14 ‘‘(B) receives or distributes programming 15 or services using C-Band spectrum. 16 ‘‘(2) C-BAND SPECTRUM.—The term ‘C-Band 17 spectrum’ means electromagnetic spectrum between 18 the frequencies of 3700 megahertz and 4200 mega- 19 hertz, inclusive. 20 ‘‘(3) CLEAR.—The term ‘clear’ means, with re- 21 spect to C-Band spectrum, to make such spectrum 22 available for reallocation and the assignment of li- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2921.IS S2921 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2921 IS censes through a system of competitive bidding (or 1 reservation as guard band) under section 399L.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2921.IS S2921 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS