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 SEPARATE  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  KEVIN  J  .  MARTIN, 
 APPROVING  IN  PART  AND  DISSENTING  IN  PART 
 Re:  Auction  of  Licenses  in  the  747-  762  and  777-  792  MHz  Bands  (Auction  No.  31)  Postponed  Until  January  14,  2003,  Auction  of  Licenses  in  the  698-  746  MHz  Band 
 (Auction  No.  44)  Will  Proceed  as  Scheduled,  Public  Notice 
 I  approve  the  Commission’s  decision  to  delay  the  upper  700  MHz  auction  and  dissent  from  its  decision  to  proceed  with  the  lower  700  MHz  auction  as  currently 
 scheduled  for  June  19,  2002.  I  believe  the  public  interest  would  best  be  served  by  delaying  both  auctions  to  allow  the  Commission  time  to  develop  a  more  comprehensive 
 approach  to  these  spectrum  issues. 
 The  Commission  has  previously  concluded  that  it  has  the  authority  to  delay  the  700  MHz  auctions,  so  long  as  a  delay  would  further  our  “statutory  mandate  to  design  our 
 auction  rules  and  procedures  so  as  to  manage  the  radio  spectrum  effectively  and  efficiently  in  the  public  interest.”  Cellular  Telecommunications  Industry  Ass’n  et  al’s 
 Request  for  Delay  of  the  Auctions  in  the  747-  762  and  777-  792  MHz  Bands  Scheduled  for  September  6,  2000  (Auction  No.  31),  Memorandum  Opinion,  15  FCC  Rcd  17,406  ¶  6 
 (2000)  (Commission  deciding  to  delay  the  auction  for  the  upper  700  MHz  band).  This  item  does  not  alter  this  conclusion. 


 I  believe  the  public  interest  would  best  be  served  by  delaying  both  700  MHz  auctions  indefinitely.  The  Commission  is  currently  involved  in  a  number  of  other 
 proceedings  involving  complex  spectrum  management  issues,  such  as  our  proceeding  to  identify  additional  spectrum  for  advanced  wireless  services  and  our  proceeding  to 
 improve  public  safety  communications  in  the  800  MHz  band.  In  my  opinion,  we  should  consider  these  issues  in  a  more  comprehensive  manner  before  proceeding  with  the  700 
 MHz  auctions.  A  delay  would  also  allow  the  Commission  to  shed  light  on  the  considerable  uncertainty  concerning  when  the  spectrum  in  this  band  will  actually  become 
 available  to  public  safety  and  commercial  users.  The  pathway  to  the  transition  to  digital  television  –  which  would  allow  the  spectrum  in  the  700  MHz  band  to  become  available  – 
 is  unclear  at  best.  While  the  Commission  has  allowed  voluntary  mechanisms  for  relocating  incumbent  broadcasters,  we  do  not  know  whether  and  when  such  measures 
 will  bear  fruit.  And  there  remain  outstanding  issues  here  at  the  Commission,  such  as  the  pending  short-  spacing  applications  by  some  stations  in  the  upper  700  MHz  band,  that  will 
 impact  the  transition.  Members  of  Congress,  the  administration,  and  the  public  safety  community  have  called  for  a  delay  of  the  700  MHz  auction  for  many  of  these  same 
 reasons. 
 I  support  the  Commission’s  decision  to  postpone  the  upper  700  MHz  band  auction  but  would  have  preferred  to  delay  auctions  for  the  entire  700  MHz  band.  In  addition, 
 although  I  agree  with  one  of  the  Commission’s  goals  in  this  item  –  “to  provide  additional  time  for  Congress  to  consider  legislation”  addressing  these  spectrum  issues  –  I  am 
 troubled  by  the  implication  that  we  are  placing  a  deadline  by  which  Congress  must  act. 
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 As  I  indicated  above,  the  Commission  has  already  determined  that  it  has  the  authority  to  delay  this  auction.  Particularly  in  such  circumstances,  the  Commission  should  not 
 impose  artificial  deadlines  on  congressional  action.  I  thus  would  have  preferred  merely  to  announce  that  the  auctions  would  be  delayed  at  this  time. 
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