Federal Communications Commission FCC 12-32 STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI Re: Service Rules for Advanced Wireless Services in the 2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz Bands, WT Docket No. 12-70; Fixed and Mobile Services in the Mobile Satellite Service Bands at 1525- 1559 MHz and 1626.5-1660.5 MHz, 1610-1626.5 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz, and 2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz, ET Docket No. 10-142; Service Rules for Advanced Wireless Services in the 1915-1920 MHz, 1995-2000 MHz, 2020-2025 MHz and 2175-2180 MHz Bands, WT Docket No. 04-356. For the past three years, this Commission has pushed relentlessly to free up spectrum for broadband. We have been working to address the spectrum crunch, and to enable the continued acceleration of the mobile revolution that is driving economic growth, investment, and valuable new services for consumers and businesses. With this item, we are moving to free up 40 MHz of 2 GHz spectrum for mobile broadband – a significant step in the Commission’s spectrum agenda. How much is 40 megahertz? Consider that the 700 MHz auction in conjunction with the DTV transition freed up about 70 MHz for broadband. So we’re talking about more than half as much spectrum as that important digital dividend. It’s at a different place on the spectrum chart, but it’s a significant amount. Today’s NPRM proposes freeing up spectrum by removing regulatory barriers and providing for flexible use of MSS spectrum. The specific barriers we propose to remove are rules that have limited this spectrum to satellite use. This effort is part of the Commission’s broad commitment to allow flexible use of spectrum. Because of the international allocation for mobile broadband and the large blocks of contiguous spectrum in the 2 GHz band, the National Broadband Plan recommended that we remove regulatory barriers to flexible use in this band through a rulemaking. Addressing the growing demand for spectrum use is hard work, and freeing up spectrum for broadband isn’t easy, and that is why we must pursue multiple strategies to unleash spectrum for broadband. Removing outdated rules to free up spectrum is one of many the Commission has been and will continue to use. In addition to freeing up spectrum for licensed use, we have also, by removing unnecessary regulatory barriers, freed up “white spaces” spectrum – the largest release of unlicensed spectrum in 25 years. And we work to maximize the potential of traditional Wi-Fi. Another strategy: incentive auctions, a market-based mechanism to reallocate spectrum for flexible use. And Congress of course recently gave the FCC authority to conduct the world’s first incentive auctions. We are also committed to removing barriers to the buildout of mobile broadband infrastructure. We have taken many steps. This past August, for example, we adopted an order to remove barriers to use of spectrum for wireless backhaul, which will help accelerate the deployment of 4G networks across the country. We are also encouraging the rapid deployment of new infrastructure and device technologies that increase efficient spectrum use and help address the demand curve, such as small cell networks and software defined radio. Federal Communications Commission FCC 12-32 2 We are working with NTIA and our federal partners to free up more government spectrum for flexible commercial use, and enable spectrum sharing. Today, the Commission builds on this work, and reasserts our unanimous commitment to freeing up spectrum for mobile broadband to grow our economy and enhance our global competitiveness. We aim to bring this proceeding to a close expeditiously. I look forward to working with my colleagues and all stakeholders inside and outside government to get this spectrum in use quickly. I want to thank the many FCC staff who have worked on this item for their fast and excellent work.