RELOCATION OF ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES FOR THE REALLOCATION OF SPECTRUM FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.

SEC. 202. RELOCATION OF ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES FOR THE REALLOCATION OF SPECTRUM FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. Section 113(g) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(g)) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and inserting the following:“(1) Eligible federal entities.—Any Federal entity that operates a Federal Government station assigned to a band of frequencies specified in paragraph (2) and that incurs relocation costs because of the reallocation of frequencies from Federal use to non-Federal use shall receive payment for such costs from the Spectrum Relocation Fund, in accordance with section 118 of this Act. For purposes of this paragraph, Federal power agencies exempted under subsection (c)(4) that choose to relocate from the frequencies identified for reallocation pursuant to subsection (a), are eligible to receive payment under this paragraph.“(2) Eligible frequencies.—The bands of eligible frequencies for purposes of this section are as follows:“(A) the 216–220 megahertz band, the 1432–1435 megahertz band, the 1710–1755 megahertz band, and the 2385–2390 megahertz band of frequencies; and“(B) any other band of frequencies reallocated from Federal use to non-Federal use after January 1, 2003, that is assigned by competitive bidding pursuant to section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), except for bands of frequencies previously identified by 118 STAT. 3992 the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Spectrum Reallocation Final Report, NTIA Special Publication 95–32 (1995).“(3) Definition of relocation costs.—For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘relocation costs’ means the costs incurred by a Federal entity to achieve comparable capability of systems, regardless of whether that capability is achieved by relocating to a new frequency assignment or by utilizing an alternative technology. Such costs include—“(A) the costs of any modification or replacement of equipment, software, facilities, operating manuals, training costs, or regulations that are attributable to relocation;“(B) the costs of all engineering, equipment, software, site acquisition and construction costs, as well as any legitimate and prudent transaction expense, including outside consultants, and reasonable additional costs incurred by the Federal entity that are attributable to relocation, including increased recurring costs associated with the replacement facilities;“(C) the costs of engineering studies, economic analyses, or other expenses reasonably incurred in calculating the estimated relocation costs that are provided to the Commission pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection; “(D) the one-time costs of any modification of equipment reasonably necessary to accommodate commercial use of such frequencies prior to the termination of the Federal entity’s primary allocation or protected status, when the eligible frequencies as defined in paragraph (2) of this subsection are made available for private sector uses by competitive bidding and a Federal entity retains primary allocation or protected status in those frequencies for a period of time after the completion of the competitive bidding process; and“(E) the costs associated with the accelerated replacement of systems and equipment if such acceleration is necessary to ensure the timely relocation of systems to a new frequency assignment.“(4) Notice to commission of estimated relocation costs.—“(A) The Commission shall notify the NTIA at least 18 months prior to the commencement of any auction of eligible frequencies defined in paragraph (2). At least 6 months prior to the commencement of any such auction, the NTIA, on behalf of the Federal entities and after review by the Office of Management and Budget, shall notify the Commission of estimated relocation costs and timelines for such relocation.“(B) Upon timely request of a Federal entity, the NTIA shall provide such entity with information regarding an alternative frequency assignment or assignments to which their radiocommunications operations could be relocated for purposes of calculating the estimated relocation costs and timelines to be submitted to the Commission pursuant to subparagraph (A).“(C) To the extent practicable and consistent with national security considerations, the NTIA shall provide the information required by subparagraphs (A) and (B) 118 STAT. 3993 by the geographic location of the Federal entities’ facilities or systems and the frequency bands used by such facilities or systems.“(5) Notice to congressional committees and gao.—The NTIA shall, at the time of providing an initial estimate of relocation costs to the Commission under paragraph (4)(A), submit to Committees on Appropriations and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives for approval, to the Committees on Appropriations and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate for approval, and to the Comptroller General a copy of such estimate and the timelines for relocation. Unless disapproved within 30 days, the estimate shall be approved. If disapproved, the NTIA may resubmit a revised initial estimate.“(6) Implementation of procedures.—The NTIA shall take such actions as necessary to ensure the timely relocation of Federal entities’ spectrum-related operations from frequencies defined in paragraph (2) to frequencies or facilities of comparable capability. Upon a finding by the NTIA that a Federal entity has achieved comparable capability of systems by relocating to a new frequency assignment or by utilizing an alternative technology, the NTIA shall terminate the entity’s authorization and notify the Commission that the entity’s relocation has been completed. The NTIA shall also terminate such entity’s authorization if the NTIA determines that the entity has unreasonably failed to comply with the timeline for relocation submitted by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under section 118(d)(2)(B).”.