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H. R. 3684-754 Division F BroadbandH. R. 3684—754 DIVISION F—BROADBAND TITLE I—BROADBAND GRANTS FOR STATES, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PUERTO RICO, AND TERRITORIES SEC. 60101. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is essential to full participation in modern life in the United States. (2) The persistent ‘‘digital divide’’ in the United States is a barrier to the economic competitiveness of the United States and equitable distribution of essential public services, including health care and education. (3) The digital divide disproportionately affects communities of color, lower-income areas, and rural areas, and the benefits of broadband should be broadly enjoyed by all. (4) In many communities across the country, increased competition among broadband providers has the potential to offer consumers more affordable, high-quality options for broadband service. (5) The 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic has underscored the critical importance of affordable, high-speed broadband for individuals, families, and communities to be able to work, learn, and connect remotely while supporting social distancing. SEC. 60102. GRANTS FOR BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT. (a) DEFINITIONS.— (1) AREAS, LOCATIONS, AND INSTITUTIONS LACKING BROADBAND ACCESS.—In this section: (A) UNSERVED LOCATION.—The term ‘‘unserved location’’ means a broadband-serviceable location, as determined in accordance with the broadband DATA maps, that— (i) has no access to broadband service; or (ii) lacks access to reliable broadband service offered with— (I) a speed of not less than— (aa) 25 megabits per second for downloads; and (bb) 3 megabits per second for uploads; and (II) a latency sufficient to support real-time, interactive applications. (B) UNSERVED SERVICE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘unserved service project’’ means a project in which not less than 80 percent of broadband-serviceable locations served by the project are unserved locations. (C) UNDERSERVED LOCATION.—The term ‘‘underserved location’’ means a location— (i) that is not an unserved location; and (ii) as determined in accordance with the broadband DATA maps, lacks access to reliable broadband service offered with— H. R. 3684—755 (I) a speed of not less than— (aa) 100 megabits per second for downloads; and (bb) 20 megabits per second for uploads; and (II) a latency sufficient to support real-time, interactive applications. (D) UNDERSERVED SERVICE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘underserved service project’’ means a project in which not less than 80 percent of broadband-serviceable locations served by the project are unserved locations or underserved locations. (E) ELIGIBLE COMMUNITY ANCHOR INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligible community anchor institution’’ means a community anchor institution that lacks access to gigabitlevel broadband service. (2) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (A) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. (B) BROADBAND; BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ or ‘‘broadband service’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation. (C) BROADBAND DATA MAPS.—The term ‘‘broadband DATA maps’’ means the maps created under section 802(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)). (D) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal Communications Commission. (E) COMMUNITY ANCHOR INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘community anchor institution’’ means an entity such as a school, library, health clinic, health center, hospital or other medical provider, public safety entity, institution of higher education, public housing organization, or community support organization that facilitates greater use of broadband service by vulnerable populations, including lowincome individuals, unemployed individuals, and aged individuals. (F) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a State. (G) HIGH-COST AREA.— (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘high-cost area’’ means an unserved area in which the cost of building out broadband service is higher, as compared with the average cost of building out broadband service in unserved areas in the United States (as determined by the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Commission), incorporating factors that include— (I) the remote location of the area; (II) the lack of population density of the area; (III) the unique topography of the area; (IV) a high rate of poverty in the area; or (V) any other factor identified by the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, H. R. 3684—756 that contributes to the higher cost of deploying broadband service in the area. (ii) UNSERVED AREA.—For purposes of clause (i), the term ‘‘unserved area’’ means an area in which not less than 80 percent of broadband-serviceable locations are unserved locations. (H) LOCATION; BROADBAND-SERVICEABLE LOCATION.— The terms ‘‘location’’ and ‘‘broadband-serviceable location’’ have the meanings given those terms by the Commission under rules and guidance that are in effect, as of the date of enactment of this Act. (I) PRIORITY BROADBAND PROJECT.—The term ‘‘priority broadband project’’ means a project designed to— (i) provide broadband service that meets speed, latency, reliability, consistency in quality of service, and related criteria as the Assistant Secretary shall determine; and (ii) ensure that the network built by the project can easily scale speeds over time to— (I) meet the evolving connectivity needs of households and businesses; and (II) support the deployment of 5G, successor wireless technologies, and other advanced services. (J) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program established under subsection (b)(1). (K) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means an undertaking by a subgrantee under this section to construct and deploy infrastructure for the provision of broadband service. (L) RELIABLE BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term ‘‘reliable broadband service’’ means broadband service that meets performance criteria for service availability, adaptability to changing end-user requirements, length of serviceable life, or other criteria, other than upload and download speeds, as determined by the Assistant Secretary in coordination with the Commission. (M) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given the term in section 158 of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 942), except that that definition shall be applied by striking ‘‘, and any other territory or possession of the United States’’. (N) SUBGRANTEE.—The term ‘‘subgrantee’’ means an entity that receives grant funds from an eligible entity to carry out activities under subsection (f). (b) BROADBAND EQUITY, ACCESS, AND DEPLOYMENT PROGRAM.— (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish a grant program, to be known as the ‘‘Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program’’, under which the Assistant Secretary makes grants to eligible entities, in accordance with this section, to bridge the digital divide. (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Secretary to carry out the Program $42,450,000,000.