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 STATEMENT  OF  CHAIRMAN  MICHAEL  K.  POWELL 
 Re:  Revisions  to  Parts  2  and  15  of  the  Commission’s  Rules  to  Permit  Unlicensed  National  Information  Infrastructure  (U-  NII)  Devices;  Notice  of  Proposed 
 Rulemaking;  ET  Docket  No.  03-  122. 
 Our  action  today  furthers  twin  goals  of  the  Spectrum  Policy  Task  Force:  promoting  spectrum  access  and  furthering  development  of  unlicensed  technologies.  Once  the 
 backwater  of  baby  monitors  and  cordless  telephones,  the  unlicensed  sector  has  developed  into  a  hotbed  of  growth  and  innovation.  Earlier  this  week,  I  was  privileged  to  see  first-hand 
 the  fruits  of  this  entrepreneurial  activity  at  the  Wireless  Innovations  Technology  Showcase  sponsored  by  the  Commerce  and  State  Departments  and  the  FCC.  The 
 innovators  on  display  at  the  Showcase  are  eager  to  run  in  new  spectrum  pastures  –  today  we  open  a  large  new  field  for  these  thoroughbreds  of  innovation. 


 The  Notice  proposes  to  make  available  an  additional  255  MHz  of  spectrum  for  unlicensed  use  –  nearly  doubling  the  amount  of  spectrum  available  for  unlicensed 
 operations  in  the  5  GHz  band.  Moreover,  we  propose  to  forego  exclusive-  use  licensing,  allowing  market  forces  to  determine  how  the  band  will  be  used,  and  providing  potential 
 users  the  greatest  possible  flexibility. 
 The  Commission’s  action  would  not  be  possible  without  the  assiduous  efforts  of  our  colleagues  at  NTIA  and  the  Department  of  Defense.  Assistant  Secretary  Victory  and 
 Deputy  Assistant  Secretary  Price  demonstrated  exceptional  leadership  in  negotiating  a  compromise  that  will  allow  unlicensed  devices  and  military  radars  to  share  the  5  GHz 
 band.  In  this  regard,  our  Office  of  Engineering  and  Technology,  our  International  Bureau  and  the  commercial  interests  in  this  band  also  deserve  particular  credit  for  shaping  the 
 compromise  that  is  before  us  today. 
 Our  work  is  not  yet  complete,  however.  Our  proposal  does  create  the  possibility  of  aligning  the  frequency  bands  used  for  U-  NII  devices  domestically  with  those  in  other 
 parts  of  the  world,  creating  the  potential  for  economies  of  scale  for  equipment  manufacturers  and  a  declining  cost  structure  for  consumers.  But  global  harmonization  is 
 not  yet  a  reality.  That  task  falls  to  Ambassador  Obuchowski  and  her  fine  WRC  team,  including  Commissioners  Copps  and  Abernathy.  I  am  optimistic  about  the  prospects  for 
 global  harmonization  and  look  forward  to  working  with  the  delegation  to  move  us  closer  to  the  dawn  of  a  new  era  of  unlicensed  wireless  innovation  at  5.8  GHz. 
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