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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  News  Media  contacts:  June  6,  2002  Sam  Feder  at  (202)  418-  2100 
 Paul  Margie  at  (202)  418-  2000 


 Statement  of  Commissioners  Kevin  J.  Martin  and  Michael  J.  Copps  on  the  Spectrum  Policy  Task  Force’s  Public  Notice  On 


 Spectrum  Policies  (Public  Notice,  ET  Docket  No.  02-  135) 
 Spectrum  management  is  one  of  the  Commission’s  most  important  functions.  It  requires  full  Commission  attention  every  step  of  the  way.  Instead,  in  this  proceeding,  a 
 newly  created  task  force  is  seeking  comment  on  formulating  policy  on  fundamental  spectrum  management  issues  without  direct  input  or  oversight  by  the  Commission.  Task 
 forces  can  be  a  tremendous  help  to  the  Commission  in  meeting  the  many  challenges  we  face,  from  spectrum  management  to  media  ownership  to  homeland  security.  But  they 
 must  always  be  responsible  to  the  full  Commission  as  their  work  proceeds.  These  are  critically  important  issues,  and  we  believe  they  would  be  better  addressed  in  a  Notice  of 
 Inquiry  issued  by  the  Commission. 
 We  also  fear  that  without  Commission  input  critical  issues  may  be  left  out  of  consideration.  For  example,  we  are  concerned  and  surprised  that  our  obligation  to  use 
 our  rules  to  promote  service  to  rural  Americans  is  barely  mentioned  in  the  Public  Notice.  This  responsibility  is  too  important  to  be  ignored.  Additionally,  we  are  concerned  that,  in 
 drafting  their  report  without  Commission  guidance,  the  staff  may  become  wedded  to  certain  views  or  frame  the  debate  in  a  manner  that  is  ultimately  not  consistent  with  the 
 views  of  the  majority  of  the  Commission.  Finally,  we  fear  that  the  approach  used  here  could  ultimately  lead  to  greater  delay  because  it  will  necessarily  require  at  least  one 
 additional  round  of  notice  and  comment  before  the  Commission  itself  even  begins  to  engage  in  the  issues. 


 Accordingly,  we  believe  regulatory  certainty  and  expeditious  decision  making  would  be  better  promoted  –  and  critical  Commission  goals  like  serving  rural  America 
 would  have  been  better  served  –  by  having  the  Commission  itself  conduct  this  proceeding. 


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