PROTOCOL Act

Provide Rigorous Oversight To Optimize Connectivity and Offset Latency Act or the PROTOCOL Act

This bill requires federal agencies administering funding programs for broadband deployment to coordinate with one another, and with the states, to collect, publish, and utilize data on government-funded broadband deployments. 

Specifically, the bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to collect and publish additional data in the Broadband Funding Map, which captures the location of each federally funded broadband deployment project. The bill also requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to include similar information in its database of broadband funding projects, the Federal Broadband Funding Report Dashboard. The FCC and the NTIA shall ensure consistency between the map and the dashboard. 

Further, the NTIA shall request from each state an annual report listing locations in the state where broadband access was made available through a federal- or state-funded award, and locations to be served via sub-grants made to third parties through a federal- or state-funded award. This information shall be in both the map and the dashboard. 

Federal agencies providing funding for broadband infrastructure projects are required to consult the map as they award funding. The FCC shall conduct outreach to such agencies to ensure they understand their obligations to consult the map and report funding awards back to the commission.