
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 47USC338]

 
          TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
 
                 CHAPTER 5--WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
 
          SUBCHAPTER III--SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO RADIO
 
                       Part I--General Provisions
 
Sec. 338. Carriage of local television signals by satellite 
        carriers
        

(a) Carriage obligations

                           (1) In general

        Subject to the limitations of paragraph (2), each satellite 
    carrier providing, under section 122 of title 17, secondary 
    transmissions to subscribers located within the local market of a 
    television broadcast station of a primary transmission made by that 
    station shall carry upon request the signals of all television 
    broadcast stations located within that local market, subject to 
    section 325(b) of this title.

                  (2) Remedies for failure to carry

        The remedies for any failure to meet the obligations under this 
    subsection shall be available exclusively under section 501(f) of 
    title 17.

                         (3) Effective date

        No satellite carrier shall be required to carry local television 
    broadcast stations under paragraph (1) until January 1, 2002.

(b) Good signal required

                              (1) Costs

        A television broadcast station asserting its right to carriage 
    under subsection (a) of this section shall be required to bear the 
    costs associated with delivering a good quality signal to the 
    designated local receive facility of the satellite carrier or to 
    another facility that is acceptable to at least one-half the 
    stations asserting the right to carriage in the local market.

                           (2) Regulations

        The regulations issued under subsection (g) of this section 
    shall set forth the obligations necessary to carry out this 
    subsection.

(c) Duplication not required

                       (1) Commercial stations

        Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a satellite 
    carrier shall not be required to carry upon request the signal of 
    any local commercial television broadcast station that substantially 
    duplicates the signal of another local commercial television 
    broadcast station which is secondarily transmitted by the satellite 
    carrier within the same local market, or to carry upon request the 
    signals of more than one local commercial television broadcast 
    station in a single local market that is affiliated with a 
    particular television network unless such stations are licensed to 
    communities in different States.

                     (2) Noncommercial stations

        The Commission shall prescribe regulations limiting the carriage 
    requirements under subsection (a) of this section of satellite 
    carriers with respect to the carriage of multiple local 
    noncommercial television broadcast stations. To the extent possible, 
    such regulations shall provide the same degree of carriage by 
    satellite carriers of such multiple stations as is provided by cable 
    systems under section 535 of this title.

(d) Channel positioning

    No satellite carrier shall be required to provide the signal of a 
local television broadcast station to subscribers in that station's 
local market on any particular channel number or to provide the signals 
in any particular order, except that the satellite carrier shall 
retransmit the signal of the local television broadcast stations to 
subscribers in the stations' local market on contiguous channels and 
provide access to such station's signals at a nondiscriminatory price 
and in a nondiscriminatory manner on any navigational device, on-screen 
program guide, or menu.

(e) Compensation for carriage

    A satellite carrier shall not accept or request monetary payment or 
other valuable consideration in exchange either for carriage of local 
television broadcast stations in fulfillment of the requirements of this 
section or for channel positioning rights provided to such stations 
under this section, except that any such station may be required to bear 
the costs associated with delivering a good quality signal to the local 
receive facility of the satellite carrier.

(f) Remedies

                (1) Complaints by broadcast stations

        Whenever a local television broadcast station believes that a 
    satellite carrier has failed to meet its obligations under 
    subsections (b) through (e) of this section, such station shall 
    notify the carrier, in writing, of the alleged failure and identify 
    its reasons for believing that the satellite carrier failed to 
    comply with such obligations. The satellite carrier shall, within 30 
    days after such written notification, respond in writing to such 
    notification and comply with such obligations or state its reasons 
    for believing that it is in compliance with such obligations. A 
    local television broadcast station that disputes a response by a 
    satellite carrier that it is in compliance with such obligations may 
    obtain review of such denial or response by filing a complaint with 
    the Commission. Such complaint shall allege the manner in which such 
    satellite carrier has failed to meet its obligations and the basis 
    for such allegations.

                     (2) Opportunity to respond

        The Commission shall afford the satellite carrier against which 
    a complaint is filed under paragraph (1) an opportunity to present 
    data and arguments to establish that there has been no failure to 
    meet its obligations under this section.

                   (3) Remedial actions; dismissal

        Within 120 days after the date a complaint is filed under 
    paragraph (1), the Commission shall determine whether the satellite 
    carrier has met its obligations under subsections (b) through (e) of 
    this section. If the Commission determines that the satellite 
    carrier has failed to meet such obligations, the Commission shall 
    order the satellite carrier to take appropriate remedial action. If 
    the Commission determines that the satellite carrier has fully met 
    the requirements of such subsections, the Commission shall dismiss 
    the complaint.

(g) Regulations by Commission

    Within 1 year after November 29, 1999, the Commission shall issue 
regulations implementing this section following a rulemaking proceeding. 
The regulations prescribed under this section shall include requirements 
on satellite carriers that are comparable to the requirements on cable 
operators under sections 534(b)(3) and (4) and 535(g)(1) and (2) of this 
title.

(h) Definitions

    As used in this section:

                           (1) Distributor

        The term ``distributor'' means an entity which contracts to 
    distribute secondary transmissions from a satellite carrier and, 
    either as a single channel or in a package with other programming, 
    provides the secondary transmission either directly to individual 
    subscribers or indirectly through other program distribution 
    entities.

                     (2) Local receive facility

        The term ``local receive facility'' means the reception point in 
    each local market which a satellite carrier designates for delivery 
    of the signal of the station for purposes of retransmission.

                          (3) Local market

        The term ``local market'' has the meaning given that term under 
    section 122(j) of title 17.

                        (4) Satellite carrier

        The term ``satellite carrier'' has the meaning given such term 
    under section 119(d) of title 17.

                     (5) Secondary transmission

        The term ``secondary transmission'' has the meaning given such 
    term in section 119(d) of title 17.

                           (6) Subscriber

        The term ``subscriber'' has the meaning given that term under 
    section 122(j) of title 17.

                  (7) Television broadcast station

        The term ``television broadcast station'' has the meaning given 
    such term in section 325(b)(7) of this title.

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, Sec. 338, as added Pub. L. 106-113, 
div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title I, Sec. 1008(a)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 
Stat. 1536, 1501A-531.)


                     Rural Local Television Signals

    Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title II], Nov. 29, 1999, 
113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-544, provided that:
``SEC. 2001. SHORT TITLE.
    ``This title may be cited as the `Rural Local Broadcast Signal Act'.
``SEC. 2002. LOCAL TELEVISION SERVICE IN UNSERVED AND UNDERSERVED 
        MARKETS.
    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1999], the Federal Communications 
Commission (`the Commission') shall take all actions necessary to make a 
determination regarding licenses or other authorizations for facilities 
that will utilize, for delivering local broadcast television station 
signals to satellite television subscribers in unserved and underserved 
local television markets, spectrum otherwise allocated to commercial 
use.
    ``(b) Rules.--
        ``(1) Form of business.--To the extent not inconsistent with the 
    Communications Act of 1934 [47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.] and the 
    Commission's rules, the Commission shall permit applicants under 
    subsection (a) to engage in partnerships, joint ventures, and 
    similar operating arrangements for the purpose of carrying out 
    subsection (a).
        ``(2) Harmful interference.--The Commission shall ensure that no 
    facility licensed or authorized under subsection (a) causes harmful 
    interference to the primary users of that spectrum or to public 
    safety spectrum use.
        ``(3) Limitation on commission.--Except as provided in 
    paragraphs (1) and (2), the Commission may not restrict any entity 
    granted a license or other authorization under subsection (a) from 
    using any reasonable compression, reformatting, or other technology.
    ``(c) Report.--Not later than January 1, 2001, the Commission shall 
report to the Agriculture, Appropriations, and the Judiciary Committees 
of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Senate Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House of Representatives 
Committee on Commerce, on the extent to which licenses and other 
authorizations under subsection (a) have facilitated the delivery of 
local signals to satellite television subscribers in unserved and 
underserved local television markets. The report shall include--
        ``(1) an analysis of the extent to which local signals are being 
    provided by direct-to-home satellite television providers and by 
    other multichannel video program distributors;
        ``(2) an enumeration of the technical, economic, and other 
    impediments each type of multichannel video programming distributor 
    has encountered; and
        ``(3) recommendations for specific measures to facilitate the 
    provision of local signals to subscribers in unserved and 
    underserved markets by direct-to-home satellite television providers 
    and by other distributors of multichannel video programming 
    service.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 325 of this title; title 17 
section 501.
