BROADCAST SPECTRUM FLEXIBILITY.

SEC. 201. BROADCAST SPECTRUM FLEXIBILITY. Title III is amended by inserting after section 335 (47 U.S.C. 335) the following new section: “SEC. 336. BROADCAST SPECTRUM FLEXIBILITY. “(a) Commission Action.— If the Commission determines to issue additional licenses for advanced television services, the Commission— “(1) should limit the initial eligibility for such licenses to persons that, as of the date of such issuance, are licensed 110 STAT. 108to operate a television broadcast station or hold a permit to construct such a station (or both); and “(2) shall adopt regulations that allow the holders of such licenses to offer such ancillary or supplementary services on designated frequencies as may be consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity. “(b) Contents of Regulations.— In prescribing the regulations required by subsection (a), the Commission shall— “(1) only permit such licensee or permittee to offer ancillary or supplementary services if the use of a designated frequency for such services is consistent with the technology or method designated by the Commission for the provision of advanced television services; “(2) limit the broadcasting of ancillary or supplementary services on designated frequencies so as to avoid derogation of any advanced television services, including high definition television broadcasts, that the Commission may require using such frequencies; “(3) apply to any other ancillary or supplementary service such of the Commission’s regulations as are applicable to the offering of analogous services by any other person, except that no ancillary or supplementary service shall have any rights to carriage under section 614 or 615 or be deemed a multichannel video programming distributor for purposes of section 628; “(4) adopt such technical and other requirements as may be necessary or appropriate to assure the quality of the signal used to provide advanced television services, and may adopt regulations that stipulate the minimum number of hours per day that such signal must be transmitted; and “(5) prescribe such other regulations as may be necessary for the protection of the public interest, convenience, and necessity. “(c) Recovery of License.— If the Commission grants a license for advanced television services to a person that, as of the date of such issuance, is licensed to operate a television broadcast station or holds a permit to construct such a station (or both), the Commission shall, as a condition of such license, require that either the additional license or the original license held by the licensee be surrendered to the Commission for reallocation or reassignment (or both) pursuant to Commission regulation. “(d) Public Interest Requirement.— Nothing in this section shall be construed as relieving a television broadcasting station from its obligation to serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity. In the Commission’s review of any application for renewal of a broadcast license for a television station that provides ancillary or supplementary services, the television licensee shall establish that all of its program services on the existing or advanced television spectrum are in the public interest. Any violation of the Commission rules applicable to ancillary or supplementary services shall reflect upon the licensee’s qualifications for renewal of its license. “(e) Fees.— “(1) Services to which fees apply.— If the regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) permit a licensee to offer ancillary or supplementary services on a designated frequency— 110 STAT. 109 “(A) for which the payment of a subscription fee is required in order to receive such services, or “(B) for which the licensee directly or indirectly receives compensation from a third party in return for transmitting material furnished by such third party (other than commercial advertisements used to support broadcasting for which a subscription fee is not required), the Commission shall establish a program to assess and collect from the licensee for such designated frequency an annual fee or other schedule or method of payment that promotes the objectives described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2). “(2) Collection of fees.— The program required by paragraph (1) shall— “(A) be designed (i) to recover for the public a portion of the value of the public spectrum resource made available for such commercial use, and (ii) to avoid unjust enrichment through the method employed to permit such uses of that resource; “(B) recover for the public an amount that, to the extent feasible, equals but does not exceed (over the term of the license) the amount that would have been recovered had such services been licensed pursuant to the provisions of section 309(j) of this Act and the Commission’s regulations thereunder; and “(C) be adjusted by the Commission from time to time in order to continue to comply with the requirements of this paragraph. “(3) Treatment of revenues.— “(A) General rule.— Except as provided in subparagraph (B), all proceeds obtained pursuant to the regulations required by this subsection shall be deposited in the Treasury in accordance with chapter 33 of title 31, United States Code. “(B) Retention of revenues.— Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the salaries and expenses account of the Commission shall retain as an offsetting collection such sums as may be necessary from such proceeds for the costs of developing and implementing the program required by this section and regulating and supervising advanced television services. Such offsetting collections shall be available for obligation subject to the terms and conditions of the receiving appropriations account, and shall be deposited in such accounts on a quarterly basis. “(4) Report.— Within 5 years after the date of enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Commission shall report to the Congress on the implementation of the program required by this subsection, and shall annually thereafter advise the Congress on the amounts collected pursuant to such program. “(f) Evaluation.— Within 10 years after the date the Commission first issues additional licenses for advanced television services, the Commission shall conduct an evaluation of the advanced television services program. Such evaluation shall include— “(1) an assessment of the willingness of consumers to purchase the television receivers necessary to receive broadcasts of advanced television services; 110 STAT. 110 “(2) an assessment of alternative uses, including public safety use, of the frequencies used for such broadcasts; and “(3) the extent to which the Commission has been or will be able to reduce the amount of spectrum assigned to licensees. “(g) Definitions.— As used in this section: “(1) Advanced television services.— The term ‘advanced television services’ means television services provided using digital or other advanced technology as further defined in the opinion, report, and order of the Commission entitled ‘Advanced Television Systems and Their Impact Upon the Existing Television Broadcast Service’, MM Docket 87–268, adopted September 17, 1992, and successor proceedings. “(2) Designated frequencies.— The term ‘designated frequency’ means each of the frequencies designated by the Commission for licenses for advanced television services. “(3) High definition television.— The term ‘high definition television’ refers to systems that offer approximately twice the vertical and horizontal resolution of receivers generally available on the date of enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as further defined in the proceedings described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.”.