47 U.S.C. § 301 — License for radio communication or trans-

Page 124 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 276 local exchange carrier or one of its affiliates to a remote monitoring center to alert a per- son at such center of the need to inform the customer or another person or police, fire, res- cue, security, or public safety personnel of such threat, but does not include a service that uses a med- ical monitoring device attached to an individual for the automatic surveillance of an ongoing medical condition. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 275, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title I, § 151(a), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 105.) § 276. Provision of payphone service (a) Nondiscrimination safeguards After the effective date of the rules prescribed pursuant to subsection (b), any Bell operating company that provides payphone service— (1) shall not subsidize its payphone service directly or indirectly from its telephone ex- change service operations or its exchange ac- cess operations; and (2) shall not prefer or discriminate in favor of its payphone service. (b) Regulations (1) Contents of regulations In order to promote competition among payphone service providers and promote the widespread deployment of payphone services to the benefit of the general public, within 9 months after February 8, 1996, the Commission shall take all actions necessary (including any reconsideration) to prescribe regulations that— (A) establish a compensation plan to en- sure that all payphone service providers are fairly compensated, and all rates and charges are just and reasonable, for com- pleted intrastate and interstate communica- tions using their payphone or other calling device, except that emergency calls and tele- communications relay service calls for hear- ing disabled individuals shall not be subject to such compensation; (B) discontinue the intrastate and inter- state carrier access charge payphone service elements and payments in effect on Feb- ruary 8, 1996, and all intrastate and inter- state payphone subsidies from basic ex- change and exchange access revenues, in favor of a compensation plan as specified in subparagraph (A); (C) prescribe a set of nonstructural safe- guards for Bell operating company payphone service to implement the provisions of para- graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), which safeguards shall, at a minimum, include the nonstructural safeguards equal to those adopted in the Computer Inquiry-III (CC Docket No. 90–623) proceeding; (D) provide for Bell operating company payphone service providers to have the same right that independent payphone providers have to negotiate with the location provider on the location provider’s selecting and con- tracting with, and, subject to the terms of any agreement with the location provider, to select and contract with, the carriers that carry interLATA calls from their payphones, unless the Commission determines in the rulemaking pursuant to this section that it is not in the public interest; and (E) provide for all payphone service pro- viders to have the right to negotiate with the location provider on the location pro- vider’s selecting and contracting with, and, subject to the terms of any agreement with the location provider, to select and contract with, the carriers that carry intraLATA calls from their payphones. (2) Public interest telephones In the rulemaking conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), the Commission shall determine whether public interest payphones, which are provided in the interest of public health, safe- ty, and welfare, in locations where there would otherwise not be a payphone, should be main- tained, and if so, ensure that such public inter- est payphones are supported fairly and equi- tably. (3) Existing contracts Nothing in this section shall affect any ex- isting contracts between location providers and payphone service providers or interLATA or intraLATA carriers that are in force and ef- fect as of February 8, 1996. (c) State preemption To the extent that any State requirements are inconsistent with the Commission’s regulations, the Commission’s regulations on such matters shall preempt such State requirements. (d) ‘‘Payphone service’’ defined As used in this section, the term ‘‘payphone service’’ means the provision of public or semi- public pay telephones, the provision of inmate telephone service and advanced communications services described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (D), and (E) of section 153(1) of this title in correc- tional institutions, and any ancillary services. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 276, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title I, § 151(a), Feb. 8, 1996, 10 Stat. 106; amended Pub. L. 117–338, § 2(a), Jan. 5, 2023, 136 Stat. 6156.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2023—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 117–338, § 2(a)(1), struck out ‘‘per call’’ before ‘‘compensation plan’’ and ‘‘each and every’’ before ‘‘completed intrastate’’, inserted ‘‘, and all rates and charges are just and reasonable,’’ after ‘‘fairly compensated’’ and ‘‘or other calling de- vice’’ after ‘‘their payphone’’, and substituted ‘‘commu- nications using’’ for ‘‘call using’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 117–338, § 2(a)(2), inserted ‘‘and ad- vanced communications services described in subpara- graphs (A), (B), (D), and (E) of section 153(1) of this title’’ after ‘‘inmate telephone service’’. SUBCHAPTER III—SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO RADIO PART I—GENERAL PROVISIONS § 301. License for radio communication or trans- mission of energy It is the purpose of this chapter, among other things, to maintain the control of the United Page 125 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 302a States over all the channels of radio trans- mission; and to provide for the use of such chan- nels, but not the ownership thereof, by persons for limited periods of time, under licenses grant- ed by Federal authority, and no such license shall be construed to create any right, beyond the terms, conditions, and periods of the license. No person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission of energy or communications or signals by radio (a) from one place in any State, Territory, or possession of the United States or in the District of Columbia to another place in the same State, Territory, possession, or District; or (b) from any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or from the Dis- trict of Columbia to any other State, Territory, or possession of the United States; or (c) from any place in any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or in the District of Co- lumbia, to any place in any foreign country or to any vessel; or (d) within any State when the effects of such use extend beyond the borders of said State, or when interference is caused by such use or operation with the transmission of such energy, communications, or signals from within said State to any place beyond its bor- ders, or from any place beyond its borders to any place within said State, or with the trans- mission or reception of such energy, commu- nications, or signals from and/or to places be- yond the borders of said State; or (e) upon any vessel or aircraft of the United States (except as provided in section 303(t) of this title); or (f) upon any other mobile stations within the juris- diction of the United States, except under and in accordance with this chapter and with a license in that behalf granted under the provisions of this chapter. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 301, 48 Stat. 1081; Pub. L. 97–259, title I, §§ 107, 111(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1091, 1093.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, known as the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 609 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 1982—Pub. L. 97–259 struck out ‘‘interstate and for- eign’’ after ‘‘channels of’’ in first sentence, substituted ‘‘State, Territory,’’ for ‘‘Territory’’ after ‘‘from one place in any’’ and inserted ‘‘State,’’ after ‘‘to another place in the same’’ in cl. (a), and inserted ‘‘(except as provided in section 303(t) of this title)’’ in cl. (e). § 302. Repealed. June 5, 1936, ch. 511, § 1, 49 Stat. 1475 Section, act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 302, 48 Stat. 1081, divided United States into five zones for pur- poses of this subchapter. § 302a. Devices which interfere with radio recep- tion (a) Regulations The Commission may, consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity, make reasonable regulations (1) governing the interference potential of devices which in their operation are capable of emitting radio fre- quency energy by radiation, conduction, or other means in sufficient degree to cause harm- ful interference to radio communications; and (2) establishing minimum performance stand- ards for home electronic equipment and systems to reduce their susceptibility to interference from radio frequency energy. Such regulations shall be applicable to the manufacture, import, sale, offer for sale, or shipment of such devices and home electronic equipment and systems, and to the use of such devices. (b) Restrictions No person shall manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, or ship devices or home electronic equipment and systems, or use devices, which fail to comply with regulations promulgated pursuant to this section. (c) Exceptions The provisions of this section shall not be ap- plicable to carriers transporting such devices or home electronic equipment and systems without trading in them, to devices or home electronic equipment and systems manufactured solely for export, to the manufacture, assembly, or instal- lation of devices or home electronic equipment and systems for its own use by a public utility engaged in providing electric service, or to de- vices or home electronic equipment and systems for use by the Government of the United States or any agency thereof. Devices and home elec- tronic equipment and systems for use by the Government of the United States or any agency thereof shall be developed, procured, or other- wise acquired, including offshore procurement, under United States Government criteria, stand- ards, or specifications designed to achieve the objectives of reducing interference to radio re- ception and to home electronic equipment and systems, taking into account the unique needs of national defense and security. (d) Cellular telecommunications receivers (1) Within 180 days after October 28, 1992, the Commission shall prescribe and make effective regulations denying equipment authorization (under part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal Regu- lations, or any other part of that title) for any scanning receiver that is capable of— (A) receiving transmissions in the fre- quencies allocated to the domestic cellular radio telecommunications service, (B) readily being altered by the user to re- ceive transmissions in such frequencies, or (C) being equipped with decoders that con- vert digital cellular transmissions to analog voice audio. (2) Beginning 1 year after the effective date of the regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (1), no receiver having the capabilities described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1), as such capabilities are defined in such regula- tions, shall be manufactured in the United States or imported for use in the United States. (e) Delegation of equipment testing and certifi- cation to private laboratories The Commission may—