The bill would require the Federal Communications Commission to auction off spectrum now not being used. The winner would agree to build a network accessible by 95 percent of the country within the next 10 years.

At the least, one tier of service would be free and include tools to protect underage people from seeing obscene content. In a statement, Cannon said the bill would help many in rural America where high-speed broadband access is spotty. And he said the bill would assist the United States to catch up to other nations that have more advanced broadband networks.

"We must ensure that this alarming trend is reversed and that all Americans, including those living in our states in the West, have reliable and affordable high bandwidth broadband Internet connections."

The bill is sure to be opposed by at least some Internet service providers who will chafe at the increased competition from a free-nationwide carrier.

The bill has been forwarded to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. - Matt Canham