,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bfja  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #h1 #bjai,mr4   
,peterson 7for himself and ,mr4 ,carter 
of ,georgia7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to direct the ,federal         
,communications ,commission to establish
 the ,office of ,rural                  
,telecommunications1 and for other      
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,office of ,rural   
,telecommunications ,act4  #b4 ,office  
of ,rural ,telecommunications  7a7      
,establishment ,not later than #f months
 after the date of the enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,commission shall establish  
an ,office of ,rural                    
,telecommunications4  7b7 ,duties ,the  
,office shall have the following duties3
 7#a7 ,coordinate efforts with the      
,rural ,utilities ,service of the       
,department of ,agriculture and the     
,national ,telecommunications and       

,information ,administration to ensure  
the mutual and complementary success of 
the ,commission's initiatives and the   
programs overseen by these other        
agencies4  7#b7 ,coordinate with the    
,universal ,service ,administrative     
,company to maintain updated information
 regarding ,connect ,america ,fund      
programs that deploy rural broadband4   
7#c7 ,coordinate with other agencies to 
remove barriers to broadband deployment4
  7#d7 ,assess and publish the impact of
 the actions of the ,commission on rural
 consumers before the actions are voted 
upon or taken4  7#e7 ,measure broadband 
adoption rates in rural areas4  7#f7    
,coordinate with other bureaus and      
offices of the ,commission and other    
agencies to ensure consistency and      
updating of broadband mapping in rural  
areas4  7#g7 ,not less frequently than  
annually1 report to ,congress on the    
efforts of the ,office to promote and   
sustain quality and affordable rural    
communications1 including voice and     

broadband4  7#h7 ,dedicate a            
representative to address stakeholder   
questions and concerns4  7c7 ,no        
additional reporting requirements       
,nothing in this section shall create   
any additional reporting requirement for
 a broadband provider4  7d7 ,definitions
 ,in this section3 7#a7 ,agency ,the    
term agency has the meaning given that  
term in section #eea of title #e1       
,united ,states ,code4  7#b7 ,broadband 
,the term broadband means-- 7,a7 a      
mass-market retail service by wire or   
radio that provides the capability to   
transmit data to and receive data from  
all or substantially all internet       
endpoints1 including any capabilities   
that are incidental to and enable the   
operation of the communications service1
 but excluding dial-up internet access  
service2 and  7,b7 any service that the 
,commission finds to be providing a     
functional equivalent of the service    
described in subparagraph 7,a74  7#c7   
,commission ,the term ,commission means 

the ,federal ,communications            
,commission4  7#d7 ,office ,the term    
,office means the ,office of ,rural     
,telecommunications established pursuant
 to subsection 7a74  7#e7 ,rural area   
,the term rural area means any area     
other than-- 7,a7 a city1 town1 or      
incorporated area that has a population 
of more than #bj1jjj inhabitants2 or    
7,b7 an urbanized area contiguous and   
adjacent to a city or town that has a   
population of more than #ej1jjj         
inhabitants4