The record

LegislationLegislation· Nov 2025
S 503 Passed Senate — in House

Sponsored by John W. Hickenlooper (D)

NET Act

Requires the FCC to report biennially on how network equipment availability affects broadband deployment.

Tradeoff

The bill adds a reporting requirement to the FCC's existing marketplace assessments. It doesn't require broadband providers to share more information than they already do.

What's in it

See official bill text

Less than $500,000 in federal costs over 2026-2030; net cost to the FCC is negligible.

The $500,000 is just the federal cost for the FCC to conduct the assessment; the real burden falls on telecom companies through slightly higher FCC fees, but that incremental cost is estimated to be well below the legal threshold for private-sector mandates.

S. 503, NET Act · Aug 2025

The Senate passed this by on November 4, 2025 — now in the House.

  1. Senate

    Introduced

    (Feb 10, 2025)

  2. Senate

    Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation(Feb 10, 2025)

  3. Senate

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted to send it to the floor

    Reported(May 21, 2025)

    Committee report S. Rept. 119-66.

  4. Senate

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Nov 4, 2025)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. House

    Received from the Senate

    Received(Nov 10, 2025)