Sec. 31102. Duties
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/bill/116/hr/2/eh/section-31102A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Office shall— connect with communities that need access to broadband service and improved digital inclusion activities through various forms of outreach and communication techniques; hold regional workshops across the country to share best practices and effective strategies for promoting access to broadband service and adoption of broadband service; develop targeted broadband service training and presentations for various demographic communities through various media; and develop and distribute publications (including toolkits, primers, manuals, and white papers) providing guidance, strategies, and insights to communities as the communities develop strategies to expand access to broadband service and adoption of broadband service.
The Office shall track the construction and use of and access to any broadband service infrastructure built using any Federal support in a central database. The Office shall develop a streamlined accounting mechanism by which any Federal agency offering a Federal broadband service support program, and the Commission with respect to the Universal Service Fund programs, shall provide the information described in paragraph
(1)in a standardized and efficient fashion. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, the Office shall make public on the website of the Office and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the following: A description of the work of the Office for the previous year and the number of residents of the United States that received broadband service as result of Federal broadband service support programs and the Universal Service Fund programs. A description of how many residents of the United States were provided broadband service by which universal service mechanism or which Federal broadband service support program. An estimate of the economic impact of such broadband service deployment efforts on the local economy, including any effect on small businesses or jobs. A description of any non-economic benefits of such broadband service deployment efforts, including any effect on civic engagement. The extent to which residents of the United States that received broadband service as a result of Federal broadband service support programs and the Universal Service Fund programs received such service at the download and upload speeds required by such programs. The Office, in consultation with the Commission, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Treasury, and such other Federal agencies as the Office considers appropriate, shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, conduct a study that examines the following: The number of households for which cost is a barrier to the adoption of broadband service, the financial circumstances of such households, and whether such households are eligible for the broadband benefit under section 31141. The extent to which the cost of adoption of broadband service is a financial burden to households that have adopted broadband service, the financial circumstances of such financially burdened households, and whether such households are receiving the broadband benefit under section 31141. The appropriate standard to determine whether adoption of broadband service is affordable for households, given the financial circumstances of such households. The feasibility of providing additional Federal subsidies, including expanding the eligibility for or increasing the amount of the broadband benefit under section 31141, to households to cover the difference between the cost of adoption of broadband service (determined before applying such additional Federal subsidies) and the price at which adoption of broadband service would be affordable. How a program to provide additional Federal subsidies as described in subparagraph
(D)should be administered to most effectively facilitate adoption of broadband service at the lowest overall expense to the Federal Government, including measures that would ensure that the availability of the subsidies does not result in providers raising the price of broadband service for households receiving subsidies. How participation in the Lifeline program of the Commission has changed in the 5 years prior to the date of the enactment of this Act, including— geographic information at the census-block level depicting the scale of change in participation in each area; and information on changes in participation by specific types of Lifeline-supported services, including fixed voice telephony service, mobile voice telephony service, fixed broadband service, and mobile broadband service and, in the case of any Lifeline-supported services provided as part of a bundle of services to which a Lifeline discount is applied, which Lifeline-supported services are part of such bundle and whether or not each Lifeline-supported service in such bundle meets Lifeline minimum service standards. How competition impacts the price of broadband service, including the impact of monopolistic business practices by broadband service providers. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Office shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1). In this subsection, the term cost means, with respect to adoption of broadband service, the cost of adoption of broadband service to a household after applying any subsidies that reduce such cost.