§1308 — Title 47 Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs | U.S. Code

Summary

Within 180 days after December 27, 2020, the heads of three agencies—the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of Agriculture, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)—must make a formal agreement to coordinate how federal money is given out for building broadband. The agreement must cover the five high-cost programs under part 54 of title 47 (including Universal Service Support for High‑Cost Areas, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, Interstate Common Line Support, Mobility/5G Fund, and High Cost Loop Support), programs run by the Rural Utilities Service and the Department of Agriculture, and programs run or coordinated by NTIA. The agencies must share information about planned or funded broadband projects, and on request must share details about providers in an area, service speeds and technology, coverage maps, and which groups got or will get funding. If one agency marks data as confidential, the others must protect it. The agreement should consider using standard data, be updated from time to time, and cannot expand the FCC’s role beyond the listed high-cost programs. Within 1 year after the agreement is made, the FCC must ask the public for comments on how well the agreement works, whether Tribal, State, and local data are available and used, and what changes would help. By 18 months after December 27, 2020, the FCC must review those comments and send a report with findings and recommendations to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Title 47, §1308

Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)This section may be cited as the “Broadband Interagency Coordination Act of 2020”.

(b)(1)In this section—

(A)the term “covered agency” means—

(i)the Federal Communications Commission;

(ii)the Department of Agriculture; and

(iii)the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and

(B)the term “high-cost programs” means—

(i)the program for Universal Service Support for High-Cost Areas set forth under subpart D of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto;

(ii)the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund set forth under subpart J of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto;

(iii)the Interstate Common Line Support Mechanism for Rate-of-Return Carriers set forth under subpart K of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto;

(iv)the Mobility Fund and 5G Fund set forth under subpart L of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto; and

(v)the High Cost Loop Support for Rate-of-Return Carriers program set forth under subpart M of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto.

(2)Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2020, the heads of the covered agencies shall enter into an interagency agreement requiring coordination between the covered agencies for the distribution of funds for broadband deployment under—

(A)the high-cost programs;

(B)the programs administered by the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture; and

(C)the programs administered by or coordinated through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

(3)In entering into an interagency agreement with respect to the programs described in paragraph (2), the heads of the covered agencies shall—

(A)require that the covered agencies share information with each other about existing or planned projects that have received or will receive funds under the programs described in paragraph (2) for new broadband deployment;

(B)provide that—

(i)subject to clause (ii), upon request from another covered agency with authority to award or authorize any funds for new broadband deployment in a project area, a covered agency shall provide the other covered agency with any information the covered agency possesses regarding, with respect to the project area—

(I)each entity that provides broadband service in the area;

(II)levels of broadband service provided in the area, including the speed of broadband service and the technology provided;

(III)the geographic scope of broadband service coverage in the area; and

(IV)each entity that has received or will receive funds under the programs described in paragraph (2) to provide broadband service in the area; and

(ii)if a covered agency designates any information provided to another covered agency under clause (i) as confidential, the other covered agency shall protect the confidentiality of that information;

(C)consider basing the distribution of funds for broadband deployment under the programs described in paragraph (2) on standardized data regarding broadband coverage; and

(D)provide that the interagency agreement shall be updated periodically, except that the scope of the agreement with respect to the Federal Communications Commission may not expand beyond the high-cost programs.

(4)(A)Not later than 1 year after entering into the interagency agreement required under paragraph (2), the Federal Communications Commission shall seek public comment on—

(i)the effectiveness of the interagency agreement in facilitating efficient use of funds for broadband deployment;

(ii)the availability of Tribal, State, and local data regarding broadband deployment and the inclusion of that data in interagency coordination; and

(iii)modifications to the interagency agreement that would improve the efficacy of interagency coordination.

(B)Not later than 18 months after December 27, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission shall—

(i)review and assess the comments received under subparagraph (A); and

(ii)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 detailing any findings and recommendations from the assessment conducted under clause (i).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

References in Text

This section, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), was in the original “this Act”, which was translated as meaning section 904 of Pub. L. 116–260, div. FF, title IX, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 3214, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act of 2020 and as part the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and not as part of the Broadband Data Improvement Act which comprises this chapter.

§1308 Interagency Agreement

Summary

Title 47, §1308

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

References in Text

Citations & Metadata