NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th Street, S.W. Washington, DC 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. Cir. 1974). News Media Information 202-418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: July 15, 2013 Matthew Berry, 202-418-2005 Email: Matthew.Berry@fcc.gov STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI ON UPCOMING AUCTION OF H BLOCK SPECTRUM LICENSES I welcome today’s Public Notice from the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau which, among other things, announces that we will be ready to auction licenses to the H Block spectrum on January 14, 2014. The Commission last held a major auction over five years ago, and consumer demand for mobile data has grown exponentially since. I’ve proposed conducting this auction by late 2013 or early 2014 for two basic reasons. The sooner we get the currently fallow H Block spectrum into the commercial marketplace, the sooner it can be used to deliver bandwidth-intensive mobile services and applications, and the sooner the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) will receive its initial infusion of funds from auction revenues. Of course, getting the auction rules and procedures right is extremely important. I encourage commenters to provide comprehensive feedback so that there is a robust record upon which to issue final auction procedures, and I hope that we will commence the H Block auction on January 14, 2014.