STATEMENT OF 
CHAIRMAN KEVIN J. MARTIN
Re: Reexamination of Roaming Obligations of Commercial Mobile Radio Service 
Providers (WT Docket No. 05-265); Automatic and Manual Roaming Obligations 
Pertaining to Commercial Mobile Radio Services (WT Docket No. 00-193); 
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Consumers increasingly expect that their mobile phones will function where they work, 
where they play, and where they travel.  Automatic roaming fulfills these expectations in 
a manner that is seamless and transparent to the consumer.  Today’s Report and Order 
will help ensure that all consumers including those living in rural areas receive this 
benefit.  
The order adopted today, however, also recognizes that a reasonable roaming request 
does not include a request for roaming in areas where a provider already has access to 
spectrum. In this respect the Report and Order continues to support the overarching goal 
of encouraging facilities-based competition in the wireless market. It also does not 
impose a price cap or any other form of rate regulation. 
While the Report and Order adopted today does not impose automatic roaming 
obligations on carriers’ broadband data services, the Further Notice adopted today seeks 
additional comment on automatic roaming for broadband data.  I am sympathetic to some 
of the concerns raised regarding access to data roaming.  Some companies, however, 
have also suggested that part of their business model for the 700 MHz band includes 
wholesaling capacity to provide broadband roaming to other carriers as a kind of anchor 
service.  I am concerned that extending the roaming obligation to broadband data services 
at this time could undermine the wholesale model that some have advocated.  
I look forward to the further development of the record on these issues, and to working 
with my colleagues to address the questions raised.