Title 47 — Telecommunications
407 sections across 15 chapters.
Click a chapter to expand its sections, or click a section to view its full text and change history.
Ch. 1 — Subsidized companies required to construct and operate lines 4 inactive 8 sections
- § 6 Repealed. July 16, 1947, ch. 256, § 1 , 61 Stat. 327 Repealed
- § 7 Omitted Omitted
- § 8 Repealed. July 16, 1947, ch. 256, § 1 , 61 Stat. 327 Repealed
- § 9 Subsidized companies required to construct and operate lines
- § 10 Equal facilities to connecting lines; discrimination in rates
- § 11 Powers of Federal Communications Commission
- § 12 Interference with liens of United States
- § 13 Violations; punishment; action for damages
- § 14 Contracts filed with Federal Communications Commission; reports; failure to make
- § 15 Reservation of power to alter, amend, or repeal act; power to fix rates and purchase lines
- § 16 Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System; money transfers; portion of receipts withheld
- § 17 Repealed. Pub. L. 105–119, title VI, § 620 , Nov. 26, 1997 , 111 Stat. 2519 Repealed
Ch. 2 — Submarine cables 19 sections
- § 21 Submarine cables; willful injury to; punishment
- § 22 Negligent injury to submarine cables; punishment
- § 23 Injury to submarine cables in efforts to save life excepted
- § 24 Vessels laying cables; signals; avoidance of buoys
- § 25 Fishing vessels; duty to keep nets from cables
- § 26 Duties of commanders of warships
- § 27 Offending vessels to show nationality
- § 28 Penalties not to bar suits for damages
- § 29 Master of offending vessel punishable
- § 30 Definitions
- § 31 Summary trials
- § 32 Application
- § 33 Jurisdiction and venue of actions and offenses
- § 34 Licenses for landing or operating cables connecting United States with foreign country; necessity for
- § 35 Withholding or revoking of licenses by President; terms and conditions of licenses
- § 36 Preventing landing or operating of cables; injunction
- § 37 Violations; punishment
- § 38 “United States” defined
- § 39 Amendment, modification, etc., of rights granted
Ch. 3 1 inactive 0 sections
Ch. 4 6 inactive 0 sections
- § 83 Repealed. June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 602(a) , 48 Stat. 1102 Repealed
- § 83e Omitted Omitted
- § 84 Repealed. June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 602(a) , 48 Stat. 1102 Repealed
- § 84b Repealed. Pub. L. 89–554, § 8(a) , Sept. 6, 1966 , 80 Stat. 647 Repealed
- § 119 Repealed. June 19, 1934, ch. 652, § 602(a) , 48 Stat. 1102 Repealed
- § 121 Omitted Omitted
Ch. 5 — Duty to provide 9–1–1 and enhanced 9–1–1 service 5 inactive 243 sections
- § 1 Duty to provide 9–1–1 and enhanced 9–1–1 service
- § 2 Provision of evidence of certain robocall violations to Attorney General
- § 151 Purposes of chapter; Federal Communications Commission created
- § 152 Application of chapter
- § 153 Definitions
- § 154 Federal Communications Commission
- § 155 Commission
- § 155a Authority of Chief Information Officer
- § 156 Authorization of appropriations
- § 157 New technologies and services
- § 158 Application fees
- § 159 Regulatory fees
- § 159a Provisions applicable to application and regulatory fees
- § 160 Competition in provision of telecommunications service
- § 161 Regulatory reform
- § 162 Additional research authorities of the FCC
- § 163 Communications marketplace report
- § 201 Service and charges
- § 202 Discriminations and preferences
- § 203 Schedules of charges
- § 204 Hearings on new charges; suspension pending hearing; refunds; duration of hearing; appeal of order concluding hearing
- § 205 Commission authorized to prescribe just and reasonable charges; penalties for violations
- § 206 Carriers’ liability for damages
- § 207 Recovery of damages
- § 208 Complaints to Commission; investigations; duration of investigation; appeal of order concluding investigation
- § 209 Orders for payment of money
- § 210 Franks and passes; free service to governmental agencies in connection with national defense
- § 211 Contracts of carriers; filing with Commission
- § 212 Interlocking directorates; officials dealing in securities
- § 213 Valuation of property of carrier
- § 214 Extension of lines or discontinuance of service; certificate of public convenience and necessity
- § 215 Examination of transactions relating to furnishing of services, equipment, etc.; reports to Congress
- § 216 Receivers and trustees; application of chapter
- § 217 Agents’ acts and omissions; liability of carrier
- § 218 Management of business; inquiries by Commission
- § 219 Reports by carriers; contents and requirements generally
- § 220 Accounts, records, and memoranda
- § 221 Consolidations and mergers of telephone companies
- § 222 Privacy of customer information
- § 223 Obscene or harassing telephone calls in the District of Columbia or in interstate or foreign communications
- § 224 Pole attachments
- § 225 Telecommunications services for hearing-impaired and speech-impaired individuals
- § 226 Telephone operator services
- § 227 Restrictions on use of telephone equipment
- § 227a Consumer education materials on how to avoid scams that rely upon misleading or inaccurate caller identification information
- § 227b Call authentication
- § 228 Regulation of carrier offering of pay-per-call services
- § 229 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act compliance
- § 230 Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material
- § 231 Restriction of access by minors to materials commercially distributed by means of World Wide Web that are harmful to minors
- § 251 Interconnection
- § 251a State authority over fees
- § 252 Procedures for negotiation, arbitration, and approval of agreements
- § 253 Removal of barriers to entry
- § 254 Universal service
- § 255 Access by persons with disabilities
- § 256 Coordination for interconnectivity
- § 257 Market entry barriers proceeding
- § 258 Illegal changes in subscriber carrier selections
- § 259 Infrastructure sharing
- § 260 Provision of telemessaging service
- § 261 Effect on other requirements
- § 262 Ensuring the integrity of voice communications
- § 271 Bell operating company entry into interLATA services
- § 272 Separate affiliate; safeguards
- § 273 Manufacturing by Bell operating companies
- § 274 Electronic publishing by Bell operating companies
- § 275 Alarm monitoring services
- § 276 Provision of payphone service
- § 301 License for radio communication or transmission of energy
- § 302 Repealed. June 5, 1936, ch. 511, § 1 , 49 Stat. 1475 Repealed
- § 302a Devices which interfere with radio reception
- § 303 Powers and duties of Commission
- § 303a Standards for children’s television programming
- § 303b Consideration of children’s television service in broadcast license renewal
- § 303c Television program improvement
- § 304 Waiver by license of claims to particular frequency or of electromagnetic spectrum
- § 305 Government owned stations
- § 306 Foreign ships; application of section 301
- § 307 Licenses
- § 308 Requirements for license
- § 309 Application for license
- § 309a Reports related to spectrum auctions
- § 310 License ownership restrictions
- § 311 Requirements as to certain applications in broadcasting service
- § 312 Administrative sanctions
- § 312a Revocation of operator’s license used in unlawful distribution of controlled substances
- § 313 Application of antitrust laws to manufacture, sale, and trade in radio apparatus
- § 314 Competition in commerce; preservation
- § 315 Candidates for public office
- § 316 Modification by Commission of station licenses or construction permits; burden of proof
- § 317 Announcement of payment for broadcast
- § 318 Transmitting apparatus; operator’s license
- § 319 Construction permits
- § 320 Stations liable to interfere with distress signals; designation and regulation
- § 321 Distress signals and communications; equipment on vessels; regulations
- § 322 Exchanging radio communications between land and ship stations and from ship to ship
- § 323 Interference between Government and commercial stations
- § 324 Use of minimum power
- § 325 False, fraudulent, or unauthorized transmissions
- § 326 Censorship
- § 327 Naval stations; use for commercial messages; rates
- § 328 Repealed. Pub. L. 103–414, title III, § 304(a)(10) , Oct. 25, 1994 , 108 Stat. 4297 Repealed
- § 329 Administration of radio laws in Territories and possessions
- § 330 Prohibition against shipment of certain television receivers
- § 331 Very high frequency stations and AM radio stations
- § 332 Mobile services
- § 333 Willful or malicious interference
- § 334 Limitation on revision of equal employment opportunity regulations
- § 335 Direct broadcast satellite service obligations
- § 336 Broadcast spectrum flexibility
- § 337 Allocation and assignment of new public safety services licenses and commercial licenses
- § 338 Carriage of local television signals by satellite carriers
- § 339 Carriage of distant television stations by satellite carriers
- § 340 Significantly viewed signals permitted to be carried
- § 341 Carriage of television signals to certain subscribers
- § 342 Process for issuing qualified carrier certification
- § 343 Conditions on commercial terrestrial operations
- § 351 Ship radio stations and operations
- § 352 Exemptions
- § 353 Radio equipment and operators
- § 353a Operators and watches on radiotelephone equipped ships
- § 354 Technical requirements of equipment on radiotelegraph equipped ships
- § 354a Technical requirements of equipment on radiotelephone equipped ships
- § 355 Survival craft
- § 356 Approval of installations by Commission
- § 357 Safety information
- § 358 Master’s control over operations
- § 359 Certificates of compliance; issuance, modification, and cancellation
- § 360 Station licenses; inspection of equipment by Commission
- § 361 Control by Commission; review of decisions
- § 362 Forfeitures; recovery
- § 363 Automated ship distress and safety systems
- § 381 Vessels transporting more than six passengers for hire required to be equipped with radiotelephone
- § 382 Vessels excepted from radiotelephone requirement
- § 383 Exemptions by Commission
- § 384 Authority of Commission; operations, installations, and additional equipment
- § 385 Inspections
- § 386 Forfeitures
- § 390 Declaration of purpose
- § 391 Authorization of appropriations
- § 392 Grants for construction
- § 392a Repealed. Pub. L. 95–567, title II, § 201 , Nov. 2, 1978 , 92 Stat. 2409 Repealed
- § 393 Criteria for approval and expenditures by Secretary
- § 393a Long-range planning for facilities
- § 394 Establishment of National Endowment
- § 395 Assistance for demonstration projects
- § 396 Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- § 397 Definitions
- § 398 Federal interference or control
- § 399 Support of political candidates prohibited
- § 399a Use of business or institutional logograms
- § 399b Offering of certain services, facilities, or products by public broadcast station
- § 401 Enforcement provisions
- § 402 Judicial review of Commission’s orders and decisions
- § 403 Inquiry by Commission on its own motion
- § 404 Reports of investigations
- § 405 Petition for reconsideration; procedure; disposition; time of filing; additional evidence; time for disposition of petition for reconsideration of order concluding hearing or investigation; appeal of order
- § 406 Compelling furnishing of facilities; mandamus; jurisdiction
- § 407 Order for payment of money; petition for enforcement; procedure; order of Commission as prima facie evidence; costs; attorneys’ fees
- § 408 Order not for payment of money; when effective
- § 409 Hearings
- § 410 Joint boards and commissions
- § 411 Joinder of parties
- § 412 Documents filed with Commission as public records; prima facie evidence; confidential records
- § 413 Designation of agent for service; method of service
- § 414 Exclusiveness of chapter
- § 415 Limitations of actions
- § 416 Orders of Commission
- § 501 General penalty
- § 502 Violation of rules, regulations, etc.
- § 503 Forfeitures
- § 504 Forfeitures
- § 505 Venue of trials
- § 506 Repealed. Pub. L. 96–507, § 1 , Dec. 8, 1980 , 94 Stat. 2747 Repealed
- § 507 Violation of Great Lakes Agreement
- § 508 Disclosure of payments to individuals connected with broadcasts
- § 509 Prohibited practices in contests of knowledge, skill, or chance
- § 510 Forfeiture of communications devices
- § 511 Enhanced penalties for pirate radio broadcasting; enforcement sweeps; reporting
- § 521 Purposes
- § 522 Definitions
- § 531 Cable channels for public, educational, or governmental use
- § 532 Cable channels for commercial use
- § 533 Ownership restrictions
- § 534 Carriage of local commercial television signals
- § 535 Carriage of noncommercial educational television
- § 536 Regulation of carriage agreements
- § 537 Sales of cable systems
- § 537a Carriage of certain programming
- § 541 General franchise requirements
- § 542 Franchise fees
- § 543 Regulation of rates
- § 544 Regulation of services, facilities, and equipment
- § 544a Consumer electronics equipment compatibility
- § 545 Modification of franchise obligations
- § 546 Renewal
- § 547 Conditions of sale
- § 548 Development of competition and diversity in video programming distribution
- § 549 Competitive availability of navigation devices
- § 551 Protection of subscriber privacy
- § 552 Consumer protection and customer service
- § 553 Unauthorized reception of cable service
- § 554 Equal employment opportunity
- § 555 Judicial proceedings
- § 555a Limitation of franchising authority liability
- § 556 Coordination of Federal, State, and local authority
- § 557 Existing franchises
- § 558 Criminal and civil liability
- § 559 Obscene programming
- § 560 Scrambling of cable channels for nonsubscribers
- § 561 Scrambling of sexually explicit adult video service programming
- § 562 Requirements relating to charges for covered services
- § 571 Regulatory treatment of video programming services
- § 572 Prohibition on buy outs
- § 573 Establishment of open video systems
- § 601 Interstate Commerce Commission and Postmaster General; duties, powers, and functions transferred to Commission
- § 603 Repealed. Pub. L. 103–414, title III, § 304(a)(13) , Oct. 25, 1994 , 108 Stat. 4297 Repealed
- § 604 Effect of transfer
- § 605 Unauthorized publication or use of communications
- § 606 War powers of President
- § 607 Effective date of chapter
- § 608 Separability
- § 609 Short title
- § 610 Telephone service for disabled
- § 611 Closed-captioning of public service announcements
- § 612 Syndicated exclusivity
- § 613 Video programming accessibility
- § 614 Telecommunications Development Fund
- § 615 Support for universal emergency telephone number
- § 615a Service provider parity of protection
- § 615b Definitions
- § 615c Emergency Access Advisory Committee
- § 616 Internet protocol-based relay services
- § 617 Access to advanced communications services and equipment
- § 618 Enforcement and recordkeeping obligations
- § 619 Internet browsers built into telephones used with public mobile services
- § 620 Relay services for deaf-blind individuals
- § 621 Rulemaking on loud commercials required
- § 622 Optional electronic labeling of communications equipment
- § 623 Configuration of multi-line telephone systems for direct dialing of 9–1–1.
- § 624 Disclosure requirements for United States-based foreign media outlets
- § 641 Definitions
- § 642 Broadband maps
- § 643 Enforcement
- § 644 Improving data accuracy
- § 645 Cost
- § 646 Other provisions
Ch. 6 — Implementation of policy 8 inactive 19 sections
- § 701 Omitted Omitted
- § 702 Definitions
- § 703 Repealed. Pub. L. 115–141, div. P, title IV, § 402(b) , Mar. 23, 2018 , 132 Stat. 1089 Repealed
- § 721 Implementation of policy
- § 735 Omitted Omitted
- § 744 Omitted Omitted
- § 752 Omitted Omitted
- § 753 Implementation of policy
- § 756 Repealed. Pub. L. 103–414, title III, § 304(b)(5) , Oct. 25, 1994 , 108 Stat. 4298 Repealed
- § 757 Definitions
- § 761 Federal Communications Commission licensing
- § 761a Incentives; limitation on expansion pending privatization
- § 763 General criteria to ensure a pro-competitive privatization of INTELSAT and Inmarsat
- § 763a Specific criteria for INTELSAT
- § 763b Repealed. Pub. L. 109–34, § 2 , July 12, 2005 , 119 Stat. 377 Repealed
- § 763c Space segment capacity of the GMDSS
- § 763d Encouraging market access and privatization
- § 765 Access to INTELSAT
- § 765a Signatory role
- § 765b Elimination of procurement preferences
- § 765c ITU functions
- § 765d Termination of provisions of this chapter
- § 765e Repealed. Pub. L. 115–141, div. P, title IV, § 402(a) , Mar. 23, 2018 , 132 Stat. 1089 Repealed
- § 765f Satellite auctions
- § 765g Exclusivity arrangements
- § 767 Methods to pursue privatization
- § 769 Definitions
Ch. 7 1 inactive 0 sections
Ch. 8 — Spectrum management activities 1 inactive 15 sections
- § 901 Definitions; findings; policy
- § 902 Establishment; assigned functions
- § 903 Spectrum management activities
- § 904 General administrative provisions
- § 905 Omitted Omitted
- § 921 Definitions
- § 922 National spectrum allocation planning
- § 923 Identification of reallocable frequencies
- § 924 Withdrawal or limitation of assignment to Federal Government stations
- § 925 Distribution of frequencies by Commission
- § 926 Authority to recover reassigned frequencies
- § 927 Existing allocation and transfer authority retained
- § 928 Spectrum Relocation Fund
- § 929 National security and other sensitive information
- § 941 Child-friendly second-level Internet domain
- § 942 Coordination of 9–1–1, E9–1–1, and Next Generation 9–1–1 implementation
Ch. 9 — Assistance capability requirements 11 sections
- § 1001 Definitions
- § 1002 Assistance capability requirements
- § 1003 Notices of capacity requirements
- § 1004 Systems security and integrity
- § 1005 Cooperation of equipment manufacturers and providers of telecommunications support services
- § 1006 Technical requirements and standards; extension of compliance date
- § 1007 Enforcement orders
- § 1008 Payment of costs of telecommunications carriers to comply with capability requirements
- § 1009 Authorization of appropriations
- § 1010 Reports
- § 1021 Department of Justice Telecommunications Carrier Compliance Fund
Ch. 10 1 inactive 0 sections
Ch. 11 — Federal Communications Commission duties 5 sections
Ch. 12 — Advanced telecommunications incentives 5 sections
Ch. 13 — Rule of construction 33 sections
- § 1401 Definitions
- § 1402 Rule of construction
- § 1403 Enforcement
- § 1404 National security restrictions on use of funds and auction participation
- § 1411 Reallocation of D block to public safety
- § 1412 Flexible use of narrowband spectrum
- § 1413 470–512 MHz public safety spectrum
- § 1421 Single public safety wireless network licensee
- § 1422 Public safety broadband network
- § 1423 Public safety Interoperability Board
- § 1424 Establishment of the First Responder Network Authority
- § 1425 Advisory committees of the First Responder Network Authority
- § 1426 Powers, duties, and responsibilities of the First Responder Network Authority
- § 1427 Initial funding for the First Responder Network Authority
- § 1428 Permanent self-funding; duty to assess and collect fees for network use
- § 1429 Audit and report
- § 1430 Annual report to Congress
- § 1431 Public safety roaming and priority access
- § 1432 Prohibition on direct offering of commercial telecommunications service directly to consumers
- § 1433 Provision of technical assistance
- § 1441 State and Local Implementation Fund
- § 1442 State and local implementation
- § 1443 Public safety wireless communications research and development
- § 1451 Deadlines for auction of certain spectrum
- § 1452 Special requirements for incentive auction of broadcast TV spectrum
- § 1453 Unlicensed use in the 5 GHZ band
- § 1454 Guard bands and unlicensed use
- § 1455 Wireless facilities deployment
- § 1456 System certification
- § 1457 Public Safety Trust Fund
- § 1471 Definitions
- § 1472 Parity of protection for provision or use of Next Generation 9–1–1 services
- § 1473 Commission proceeding on autodialing
Ch. 14 — Identifying 255 megahertz 13 sections
- § 1501 Definitions
- § 1502 Identifying 255 megahertz
- § 1503 Millimeter wave spectrum
- § 1504 Broadband infrastructure deployment
- § 1505 Unlicensed services in guard bands
- § 1506 Rulemaking related to partitioning or disaggregating licenses
- § 1507 Unlicensed spectrum policy
- § 1508 National plan for unlicensed spectrum
- § 1509 Spectrum Challenge Prize
- § 1510 Wireless telecommunications tax and fee collection fairness
- § 1511 Rules of construction
- § 1512 Relationship to Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012
- § 1513 No additional funds authorized
Ch. 15 — Determination of communications equipment or services posing 9 sections
- § 1601 Determination of communications equipment or services posing national security risks
- § 1602 Prohibition on use of certain Federal subsidies
- § 1603 Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program
- § 1604 Reports on covered communications equipment or services
- § 1605 Hold harmless
- § 1606 Enforcement
- § 1607 NTIA program for preventing future vulnerabilities
- § 1608 Definitions
- § 1609 Severability