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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 June  13,  2002 
 RE:  In  the  Matter  of  Service  Rules  for  Use  of  the  71-  76  GHz,  81-  86  GHz  and  92-  95  GHz  Bands,  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking. 


 I  want  to  commend  the  Chairman,  the  Wireless  Bureau  and  OET  for  initiating  this  proceeding.  Today’s  we  really  begin  the  process  of  commercializing  around  13  GHz  –  or 
 13,000  MHz  –  of  spectrum.  We  may  be  dealing  with  apples  and  oranges  in  comparing  this  spectrum  with  other  bands,  but  that’s  as  much  spectrum  as  currently  occupied  by  all 
 AM  and  FM  broadcasting,  all  the  television  channels,  all  of  the  CMRS  spectrum,  all  the  way  up  to  the  DBS  bands.  That’s  a  lot  of  room  to  cover  with  one  NPRM,  so  good  work. 


 I’m  especially  glad  that  we  leave  this  NPRM  open,  with  few  tentative  conclusions.  These  bands  are  very  different  than  most  of  our  other  bands,  and  we  need  to 
 keep  our  minds  and  options  open.  I’m  particularly  glad  to  see  that  we  seek  comments  on  where  unlicensed  operations  are  feasible.  Unlicensed  service  has  had  great  success 
 elsewhere,  and  we  should  do  our  best  to  explore  this  option  when  we  encounter  new  opportunities. 
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