STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI Re: Amendment of Parts 1, 2, 22, 24, 27, 90, and 95 of the Commission’s Rules to Improve Wireless Coverage Through the Use of Signal Boosters, WT Docket No. 10-4. When the FCC fails to confront challenges in a timely manner, it just makes those problems more difficult to solve. This item illustrates that simple truth. In November 2007, wireless companies asked the Commission to address the use of signal boosters. Since then, consumers have purchased millions of boosters to improve wireless coverage, particularly in rural areas and indoor environments. But sometimes, these boosters also harmfully interfere with commercial and public safety networks. At this point, it is too late for us to put the genie back in the bottle. Instead, we have to focus on ensuring that new boosters entering the market do not cause harmful interference and mitigating as best we can the problems caused by technically deficient boosters now in use. Today’s item is the product of compromise. So naturally, no stakeholder likes every aspect of these rules. But I commend those carriers and booster manufacturers who came to the negotiating table and hammered out the proposals that formed the basis of this morning’s order. Because the rules we adopt today represent a plausible path forward, I am voting to approve this item. Whether these rules ultimately work, however, will depend upon how they are implemented. As they say, the proof will be in the pudding. I therefore want to set forth my expectations for what will happen following today’s vote. First, the carrier-consent requirement should be implemented in a consumer-friendly manner. Some carriers have signaled that they will give blanket consent to all boosters that comply with our rules. Others may provide consent on a model-by-model basis. Either of these options should work well. On the other hand, I do not expect carriers to require customers purchasing boosters to submit consent requests that would be evaluated on an individualized basis. Such a process would be inefficient for carriers and unnecessarily burdensome for consumers. Second, the Commission should keep close tabs on how well the registration mechanism works. Are most boosters that are sold actually being registered? Is the registration system collecting enough information to make it easier for both the Commission and carriers to resolve interference issues? These are just some of the questions that we will need to ask, and I am pleased that my colleagues agreed to the suggestion that I made along with Commissioner McDowell to review our registration requirements in 2016. Third, the Commission should enforce these rules in a firm but fair manner. If booster manufacturers put technically deficient devices into the marketplace, we must act swiftly and impose tough penalties. On the other hand, we cannot expect that every American who currently uses a booster will know that he must register that booster and obtain his carrier’s consent. Indeed, I very much doubt that most individuals will learn about these requirements in the foreseeable future. For some reason unbeknownst to me, most Americans just don’t watch FCC open meetings or read FCC orders. I therefore appreciate my colleagues’ willingness to incorporate my suggestion that the Enforcement Bureau provide consumers who fail to register or obtain consent for the use of a booster with a warning and an opportunity to shut down that booster before any forfeiture is imposed. This will help ensure that unsuspecting Americans will not be sanctioned as a result of our action today. Finally, I would like to thank the staff of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for all of their hard work on this item in collaboration with staff from the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, the Office of Engineering and Technology, the Office of General Counsel, and the Enforcement Bureau. The good news is that today’s order is a significant accomplishment for which all of you deserve great credit. The bad news is that today’s order creates even more work for you, especially for the engineers at the FCC Lab in Columbia whom I had the privilege of visiting two weeks ago and who will soon be establishing new testing protocols and testing many boosters. I look forward to working with you in the months ahead.