Senate Introduces Rural WiFi Bill

In what was a busy day for bipartisan communications-related bills, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) have introduced a bipartisan bill to boost wireless broadband access in rural communities.

S. 417, The Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act, would give wireless carriers an incentive to lease unused spectrum to smaller and rural carriers: a three-year extension of their wireless licenses.

Fischer used the announcement to criticize, at least obliquely, the FCC's proposed vote on Title II reclassification of Internet access. In the announcement, Fischer's office pointed out that she has "called for increased congressional oversight of the FCC to ensure proposed regulations on broadband do not place unnecessary or obsolete burdens on businesses and middle-class families."

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John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.