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 NEWS  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).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACTS:  May  18,  2004  Meribeth  McCarrick,  202-  418-  0654 
 David  Fiske,  202-  418-  0513 


 FCC  Chairman  Michael  K.  Powell  Statement  at  Official  Unveiling  of  the  Commission’s  New  RF  “Anechoic”  Measurement  Chamber 
 in  Columbia,  Maryland 
 Washington,  DC  –  I  established  the  Commission’s  "Excellence  in  Engineering"  Program  to  enhance  the  FCC’s  independent  technical  and  engineering  expertise.  The  creation  of  this 
 measurement  chamber  is  one  of  many  efforts  we  have  undertaken  to  ensure  the  Commission  has  the  most  talented  staff  and  the  latest  tools  to  perform  sound  engineering  analysis. 


 One  of  the  Commission’s  core  functions  is  to  measure  RF  interference.  This  chamber  will  allow  FCC  engineers  to  perform  sophisticated  RF  measurements  on  consumer  radio  devices 
 such  as  cellphones  and  on  commercial  devices  such  as  wall  penetrating  radars  and  wireless  meter  readers. 


 It  is  clear  that  state-  of-  the-  art  engineering  provides  the  necessary  foundation  for  state-  of-the-  art  policymaking.  The  communications  revolution  is  being  driven  by  advances  in  technology 
 and  the  FCC  must  have  innovative  facilities  in  order  to  consider  the  policy  ramifications  of  these  developments. 


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