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 STATEMENT  OF  CHAIRMAN  MICHAEL  K.  POWELL 
 Re:  Amendment  of  the  Commission’s  Space  Station  Licensing  Rules  and  Policies;  IB  Docket  No.  02-  34 
 The  growth  of  the  satellite  industry  and  demand  for  satellite  services  –  like  all  spectrum-  based  services  –  have  placed  an  increasing  strain  on  the  Commission’s  satellite 
 licensing  policies.  Today  we  take  a  regulatory  leap  forward  to  meet  this  challenge.  By  this  Order,  we  adopt  a  flexible  framework  that  accelerates  licensing,  increasing  access  to 
 satellite  spectrum  for  existing  providers  and  new  entrants  alike. 
 The  imperatives  of  the  broadband  marketplace  require  that  innovative  services  and  applications  blossom  quickly  or  lose  out  to  more  robust  competitors.  Unfortunately 
 under  the  existing  licensing  regime,  the  bloom  of  satellite  innovation  too  often  has  been  lost  to  the  frost  of  delay.  The  current  satellite  space  station  licensing  process  often  takes 
 years  to  complete,  as  applicants  become  tangled  up  in  technological  challenges,  international  coordination,  and  wrangling  with  competitors  over  the  terms  of  spectrum 
 sharing.  For  example,  in  our  recent  2  GHz  processing  round,  it  took  some  licensees  ten  years  from  the  moment  they  walked  through  our  doors  with  an  idea  to  the  date  they 
 received  a  license.  Advancing  the  twin  pillars  of  competition  and  broadband  through  satellite  platforms  requires  greater  expedition.  Our  regulatory  regime  must  provide  for 
 prompt  licensing,  so  that  entrepreneurs  can  test  their  ideas  in  the  marketplace.  Commercial  satellite  ventures  should  live  or  die  on  Wall  Street,  not  12  th  Street.  Today’s 
 action  moves  our  policies  in  that  direction. 
 Our  decision  is  expected  to  reduce  the  sometimes  decade-  long  wait  for  a  license  to  a  period  of  six  months.  This  change  should  translate  to  more  efficient  spectrum  use  overall 
 and  more  rapid  deployment  of  services  for  all  Americans.  One  of  my  core  priorities  as  chairman  has  been  to  modernize  the  agency  –  to  make  the  FCC  smarter  and  faster. 
 Today  we  re-  tool  our  satellite  space  station  licensing  processes  for  the  21  st  century  and  continue  America’s  satellite  leadership. 


 The  satellite  industry  is  a  vital  partner  in  the  digital  migration.  The  fundamental  changes  we  have  made  today  will  enhance  the  ability  of  the  market  to  encourage 
 competition  both  within  the  satellite  industry  and  across  technologies  with  other  types  of  facilities-  based  providers.  Today  satellites  provide  the  key  facilities-  based  competitor  to 
 cable  television.  Increasingly  satellite  services  are  also  playing  a  key  role  in  voice  and  data  applications.  This  role  has  been  highlighted  by  recent  events  in  Iraq,  where  satellite 
 communications  were  critical  to  the  military  effort  as  well  as  the  humanitarian  efforts  now  underway.  However,  satellites  are  not  only  useful  in  remote  areas  of  the  globe.  As 
 the  events  of  9/  11  illustrated,  homeland  security  requires  that  vital  communications  have  redundant  and  diverse  paths.  Satellite  capacity  is  an  essential  component  of  that  equation 
 as  well.  Today’s  licensing  changes  should  speed  the  deployment  of  these  valuable  technologies  –  and  move  us  closer  to  a  more  secure  homeland. 
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