S.174 - Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2017 115th Congress (2017-2018)

Summary: S.174 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) All Information (Except Text)

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Passed Senate without amendment (08/03/2017)

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate reported version is repeated here.)

Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2017

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to replace various reporting requirements with a communications marketplace report that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is required to publish on its website and submit to Congress every two years assessing: (1) competition in the communications marketplace; (2) deployment of communications capabilities, including advanced telecommunications capabilities; and (3) whether laws, regulations, regulatory practices, or demonstrated marketplace practices pose a barrier to competitive entry or expansion of existing providers of communications services.

Each report must describe the FCC's agenda for the next two years.

The FCC must: (1) include a list of geographic areas that are not served by any provider of advanced telecommunications capability; and (2) consider market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and small businesses in accordance with national policy favoring diversity of media voices, competition, technological advancement, and promotion of the public interest, convenience, and necessity.

The bill establishes a process for the FCC to publish a report after its deadline if it provides Congress, and posts on the FCC website, a notification letter (within 7 days after the deadline and every 60 days thereafter) regarding the delay and the anticipated date on which the report will be published.

(Sec. 3) The bill repeals or consolidates various existing communications reporting requirements.