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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  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  Contact: 
 November  13,  2003  Lauren  M.  Van  Wazer  (202-  418-  0030) 


 FCC  COMPLETES  FIRST  PHASE  OF  IMPLEMENTATION  FOR  2003  WORLD  RADIOCOMMUNICATION  CONFERENCE  (WRC-  03)  FINAL  ACTS 


 Washington  -  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  and  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Commerce’s  National  Telecommunications  and  Information  Administration 
 (NTIA)  today  announced  that  they  had  completed  the  first  phase  of  the  implementation  plan  for  the  Final  Acts  of  the  2003  World  Radiocommunication  Conference  (WRC-  03).  As  specified  in 
 the  WRC-  03  Implementation  Plan  issued  on  August  7,  2003,  all  of  the  Commission  actions  targeted  for  completion  by  year  end  2003  have  been  implemented.  These  actions  will  ensure  that 
 federal  government,  state  and  local  governments,  and  private  sector  spectrum  users  promptly  derive  maximum  benefits  from  the  WRC-  03  results. 


 The  International  Telecommunication  Union  (ITU),  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  Nations,  convened  WRC-  03  from  June  9  to  July  4,  2003,  in  Geneva,  Switzerland  with  over  140 
 countries  participating.  The  U.  S.  delegation  was  led  by  Ambassador  Janice  Obuchowski.  WRC-2003  considered  48  conference  agenda  items  concerning  the  deployment,  growth  and  evolving 
 use  of  a  broad  range  of  spectrum-  based  services.  The  changes  adopted  by  the  WRC  2003  directly  impact  global  spectrum  use  for  government  and  commercial  use  of  the  spectrum.  The 
 U.  S.  achieved  its  goals  at  WRC-  03  and  the  FCC,  in  concert  with  NTIA,  developed  a  plan  to  implement  the  results  of  the  Conference. 


 Under  the  WRC-  03  Implementation  Plan,  the  FCC,  in  coordination  with  NTIA,  committed  to  considering  the  results  of  WRC-  03  in  several  key  proceedings.  For  the  Fourth 
 Quarter  2003,  these  proceedings  include: 


 o  Revisions  of  Parts  2  and  15  of  the  Commission’s  rules  to  permit  Unlicensed  National  Information  Infrastructure  (U-  NII)  devices  in  the  5  GHz  band  --  Report  and  Order; 


 o  Procedures  to  govern  the  use  of  satellite  earth  stations  on  board  vessels  --  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking; 
 o  Amendment  of  Parts  2,  25,  and  87  of  the  Commission's  rules  to  implement  decisions  from  World  Radiocommunication  Conferences  concerning  frequency  bands  between  28  MHz 
 and  36  GHz  and  to  otherwise  update  the  rules  in  this  frequency  range  --  Report  and  Order;  and 


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 o  Extension  of  the  allocation  to  the  mobile-  satellite  service  (Earth-  to-  space)  on  a  secondary  basis  in  the  band  14-  14.5  GHz  to  permit  operation  of  the  aeronautical  mobile-satellite 
 service  –  Report  and  Order. 


 FCC  Chairman  Michael  Powell  said,  “I  am  pleased  to  recognize  the  completion  of  this  first  milestone  of  the  WRC-  03  implementation  plan.  Taken  together,  these  actions  are  a 
 significant  step  toward  extending  the  reach  of  the  benefits  of  broadband  communications  --  to  airplanes  and  ships,  and,  most  importantly,  to  rural  communities.  At  the  same  time,  our  success 
 at  meeting  this  goal  reflects  the  positive  results  derived  from  continued  cooperation  and  coordination  with  NTIA.  Working  together,  we  have  achieved  a  win-  win  –  opening  the  door  for 
 new  and  innovative  commercial  services  while  safeguarding  the  critical  missions  of  federal  spectrum  users,”  Powell  said. 


 Acting  NTIA  Administrator  Michael  D.  Gallagher  said,  "With  the  FCC,  we  are  moving  quickly  to  implement  policy  improvements  that  will  benefit  all  spectrum  users.  Collaborative 
 teamwork  like  that  represented  in  this  Order  yields  one  clear  winner-  the  American  people.  By  staying  on  schedule,  we  will  maintain  the  global  leadership  position  of  the  U.  S.  in 
 telecommunications  and  technology." 
 The  Communications  Act  assigns  joint  jurisdiction  for  spectrum  management  to  the  FCC  and  the  NTIA  at  the  Department  of  Commerce.  The  FCC  is  responsible  for  non-  federal 
 spectrum  uses,  e.  g.,  broadcast,  commercial,  public  safety,  and  state  and  local  government  users,  and  NTIA  is  responsible  for  Federal  spectrum  uses. 


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