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

Summary

Creates two Treasury trust funds and explains how they must be used to support secure, open wireless networks. The Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund gives the Commerce Secretary, working through the NTIA Administrator, money to award competitive research and development grants. Grants must be started within one year after money is put into the Fund. No single research focus area can get more than $50,000,000. The grants must support open, interoperable 5G and future wireless equipment, speed up commercial use of open standards, help different vendors work together, set objective rules for open-standards compliance, improve security, and promote virtualized network functions. The Fund’s money stays available through the end of the tenth fiscal year that begins after the funds are appropriated. Any money left after that must go back to the Treasury’s general fund. The Secretary must try to avoid funding projects that duplicate other federal or private research. The NTIA must create a Federal advisory committee of government and private experts to advise on the Fund. Within 180 days after January 1, 2021, the NTIA must send Congress additional recommendations, and it must send yearly reports while funds are available describing who got money, progress on goals, and other details. Creates the Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund for the Secretary of State to use with trusted foreign partners. Those funds also remain available through the end of the tenth fiscal year after appropriation and may only be spent after an agreement with foreign partners; leftover money after the tenth fiscal year beginning after January 1, 2021 goes to the Treasury’s general fund. The Secretary of State may set up a common funding mechanism with allies (for example, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan) to fund secure communications research, strengthen supply chains, and promote trusted vendors. For any Fund commitment over $1,000,000, the Secretary of State must tell certain congressional committees in writing at least 15 days beforehand with the amount, recipient, and project details, and must notify those committees within 30 days after new partner arrangements. The law also directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the FCC Chair to work on stronger U.S. representation at international standards bodies and to send an annual progress report to Congress. Defined terms (one line each): 3GPP — the Third Generation Partnership Project; 5G network — radio network described by 3GPP Release 15 or higher; Commission — the Federal Communications Commission; NTIA Administrator — the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information; Open-RAN — the open radio access network approach used by O-RAN Alliance, Telecom Infra Project, or 3GPP; relevant committees of Congress — the named Senate and House committees on intelligence, foreign relations/affairs, homeland security, armed services, commerce/energy, and appropriations; Secretary — the Secretary of Commerce.

Title 47, §906

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

(a)(1)(A)(i)There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the “Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund” (referred to in this paragraph as the “Innovation Fund”).

(ii)(I)Amounts appropriated to the Innovation Fund shall remain available through the end of the tenth fiscal year beginning after the date on which funds are appropriated to the Fund.

(II)Any amounts remaining in the Innovation Fund after the end of the tenth fiscal year beginning after the date of appropriation shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.

(B)(i)Amounts appropriated to the Innovation Fund shall be available to the Secretary, acting through the NTIA Administrator, to make grants on a competitive basis under this paragraph in such amounts as the Secretary, acting through the NTIA Administrator, determines appropriate, subject to clause (ii).

(ii)The amount of a grant awarded under this paragraph to a recipient for a specific research focus area may not exceed $50,000,000.

(C)The Secretary, acting through the NTIA Administrator, in consultation with the Commission, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, shall establish criteria for grants awarded under this paragraph, by the NTIA Administrator and administer the Innovation Fund, to support the following:

(i)Promoting and deploying technology, including software, hardware, and microprocessing technology, that will enhance competitiveness in the fifth-generation (commonly known as “5G”) and successor wireless technology supply chains that use open and interoperable interface radio access networks.

(ii)Accelerating commercial deployments of open interface standards-based compatible, interoperable equipment, such as equipment developed pursuant to the standards set forth by organizations such as the O-RAN Alliance, the Telecom Infra Project, 3GPP, the Open-RAN Software Community, or any successor organizations.

(iii)Promoting and deploying compatibility of new 5G equipment with future open standards-based, interoperable equipment.

(iv)Managing integration of multi-vendor network environments.

(v)Identifying objective criteria to define equipment as compliant with open standards for multi-vendor network equipment interoperability.

(vi)Promoting and deploying security features enhancing the integrity and availability of equipment in multi-vendor networks.

(vii)Promoting and deploying network function virtualization to facilitate multi-vendor interoperability and a more diverse vendor market.

(D)To the greatest extent practicable, the Secretary, acting through the NTIA Administrator, shall ensure that any research funded by a grant awarded under this paragraph avoids duplication of other Federal or private sector research.

(E)Not later than one year after the date on which funds are appropriated to the Innovation Fund, the Secretary, acting through the NTIA Administrator, shall begin awarding grants under this paragraph.

(F)(i)The Secretary, acting through the NTIA Administrator, and in consultation with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, shall establish a Federal advisory committee, in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.),11 See References in Text note below. composed of government and private sector experts, to advise the Secretary and the NTIA Administrator on the administration of the Innovation Fund.

(ii)The advisory committee established under clause (i) shall be composed of—

(I)representatives from—

(aa)the Commission;

(bb)the Department of Defense;

(cc)the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;

(dd)the National Institute of Standards and Technology;

(ee)the Department of State;

(ff)the National Science Foundation;

(gg)the Department of Homeland Security; and

(hh)the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and

(II)other representatives from the private and public sectors, at the discretion of the NTIA Administrator.

(iii)The advisory committee established under clause (i) shall advise the Secretary and the NTIA Administrator on technology developments to help inform—

(I)the strategic direction of the Innovation Fund; and

(II)efforts of the Federal Government to promote a more secure, diverse, sustainable, and competitive supply chain.

(G)(i)Not later than 180 days after January 1, 2021, the Secretary, acting through the NTIA Administrator, shall submit to the relevant committees of Congress a report with—

(I)additional recommendations on promoting the competitiveness and sustainability of trusted suppliers in the wireless supply chain; and

(II)any additional authorities needed to facilitate the timely adoption of open standards-based equipment, including authority to provide loans, loan guarantees, and other forms of credit extension that would maximize the use of funds.

(ii)For each fiscal year for which amounts in the Innovation Fund are available under this paragraph, the Secretary, acting through the NTIA Administrator, shall submit to Congress a report that—

(I)describes how, and to whom (including whether recipients are majority owned and controlled by minority individuals and majority owned and controlled by women), amounts in the Innovation Fund have been deployed;

(II)details the progress of the Secretary and the NTIA Administrator in meeting the objectives described in subparagraph (C); and

(III)includes any additional information that the Secretary and the NTIA Administrator determine appropriate.

(2)(A)(i)There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the “Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund”.

(ii)Amounts appropriated to the Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund shall be available to the Secretary of State to make expenditures under this paragraph in such amounts as the Secretary of State determines appropriate.

(iii)(I)Amounts appropriated to the Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund—

(aa)shall remain available through the end of the tenth fiscal year beginning after the date of appropriation; and

(bb)may only be allocated upon the Secretary of State reaching an arrangement or agreement with foreign government partners to participate in the common funding mechanism described in subparagraph (B).

(II)Any amounts remaining in the Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund after the end of the tenth fiscal year beginning after January 1, 2021 shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.

(B)The Secretary of State, in consultation with the NTIA Administrator, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Commission, is authorized to establish a common funding mechanism, in coordination with foreign partners, that uses amounts from the Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund to support the development and adoption of secure and trusted telecommunications technologies. In creating and sustaining a common funding mechanism, the Secretary of State should leverage United States funding in order to secure commitments and contributions from trusted foreign partners such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, and should prioritize the following objectives:

(i)Advancing research and development of secure and trusted communications technologies.

(ii)Strengthening supply chains.

(iii)Promoting the use of trusted vendors.

(C)(i)Not later than 15 days prior to the Fund making a financial commitment associated with the provision of expenditures under subparagraph (A)(ii) in an amount in excess of $1,000,000, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report in writing that contains the information required by clause (ii).

(ii)The information required by this clause includes—

(I)the amount of each such expenditure;

(II)an identification of the recipient or beneficiary; and

(III)a description of the project or activity and the purpose to be achieved of an expenditure by the Fund.

(iii)The Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate congressional committees not later than 30 days after entering into a new bilateral or multilateral arrangement or agreement described in subparagraph (A)(iii)(I)(bb).

(iv)In this subparagraph, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(I)the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;

(II)the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;

(III)the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and

(IV)the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(b)(1)The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Chairman of the Commission, or their designees, shall consider how to enhance representation of the United States at international forums that set standards for 5G networks and for future generations of wireless communications networks, including—

(A)the International Telecommunication Union (commonly known as “ITU”);

(B)the International Organization for Standardization (commonly known as “ISO”);

(C)the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (commonly known as “CITEL”); and

(D)the voluntary standards organizations that develop protocols for wireless devices and other equipment, such as the 3GPP and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (commonly known as “IEEE”).

(2)The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Chairman of the Commission shall jointly submit to the relevant committees of Congress an annual report on the progress made under paragraph (1).

(c)In this section:

(1)The term “3GPP” means the Third Generation Partnership Project.

(2)The term “5G network” means a radio network as described by 3GPP Release 15 or higher.

(3)The term “Commission” means the Federal Communications Commission.

(4)The term “NTIA Administrator” means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information.

(5)The term “Open-RAN” means the Open Radio Access Network approach to standardization adopted by the O-RAN Alliance, Telecom Infra Project, or 3GPP, or any similar set of open standards for multi-vendor network equipment interoperability.

(6)The term “relevant committees of Congress” means—

(A)the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;

(B)the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;

(C)the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;

(D)the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;

(E)the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;

(F)the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;

(G)the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives;

(H)the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;

(I)the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives;

(J)the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;

(K)the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and

(L)the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(7)The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Commerce.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Federal Advisory Committee Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(F)(i), is Pub. L. 92–463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 770, which was set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and was substantially repealed and restated in chapter 10 (§ 1001 et seq.) of Title 5 by Pub. L. 117–286, §§ 3(a), 7, Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4197, 4361. For disposition of sections of the Act into chapter 10 of Title 5, see Disposition Table preceding section 101 of Title 5. Codification Section was enacted as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 and not as part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (a)(2)(C), (D). Pub. L. 118–31 redesignated subpar. (D) as (C) and struck out former subpar. (C) which related to annual report to Congress. 2022—Subsec. (a)(1)(G)(ii)(I). Pub. L. 117–167 inserted “(including whether recipients are majority owned and controlled by minority individuals and majority owned and controlled by women)” after “to whom”.

§906 Wireless Supply Chain Innovation and Multilateral Security