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S 3516 112th Congress Senate

Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 2012

Official title: A bill to encourage spectrum licenses to make unused spectrum available for use by rural and smaller carriers in order to expand wireless coverage.

Introduced: September 10, 2012 See on congress.gov
Science, Technology, Communications Broadcasting, cable, digital technologiesLicensing and registrationsRural conditions and developmentTelephone and wireless communication
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This bill died when the 112th Congress ended
It never became law before the 112th Congress (2011–2012) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Aug 2, 2012
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Aug 2, 2012
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5988)
Aug 2, 2012
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action August 2, 2012

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 2012 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a program under which a wireless carrier receiving a license under specified provisions of the Communications Act of 1934 may partition or disaggregate the license in order to make unused spectrum available to small carriers or carriers serving certain rural areas.

Defines "small carrier" as a carrier with annual revenue less than $500 million or that provides wireless service to less than 1.5 million customers.

Provides carriers receiving such licenses and participating in the program with a three-year extension of licenses granted under this Act.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1
D
Klobuchar, Amy
Minnesota · Sep 10, 2012
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 3516: Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 2012. 112th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-3516/
MLA
"S. 3516: Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 2012." 112th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-3516/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 3516, 112th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-3516/.
Markdown link
[S. 3516: Rural Spectrum Accessibility Act of 2012](https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-3516/)
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