NEWS
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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).
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
January 30, 2014 Justin Cole, 202-418-8191
Email: justin.cole@fcc.gov
FCC CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER NAMES HOWARD J. SYMONS
VICE CHAIR, INCENTIVE AUCTION TASK FORCE
Washington, D.C. – FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler today named Howard J. Symons Vice Chair of the 
Incentive Auction Task Force.  He will join Task Force Chair Gary Epstein in the management of the 
Commission’s implementation of the first-ever incentive auction. 
Chairman Wheeler said, “We are excited to have such a capable and experienced new Vice Chair in 
Howard on the Task Force. Implementing the incentive auction is a top priority of the Commission. Not 
only will his vast experience enhance the core leadership of the team, his deep expertise will help take the 
incentive auction through the finish line.”
Task Force Chair Gary Epstein said, “Howard is a longtime friend and colleague and I look forward to 
working with him. Recognizing the need to increase Task Force resources as we move toward the next 
phase of our work on the incentive auction, Howard’s name was at the top of the list.” 
Symons has been working in telecommunications in both the public and private sectors for thirty years. 
Most recently, as the Chair of the Communications practice at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and 
Popeo, P.C., Symons represented communications companies and trade associations on a wide range of 
issues before Congress, regulatory agencies and the Courts.  Before joining the firm, he served as senior 
counsel to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications in the US House of Representatives. From 1978 to 
1981, Symons was a staff attorney with the public interest organization founded by Ralph Nader, Public 
Citizen’s Congress Watch.
Symons has taught a course in telecommunications law and regulation as an adjunct professor at George 
Washington University’s National Law Center. He is the author of “The Communications Policy 
Process,” in New Directions in Telecommunications Policy (Duke University Press, 1989)
Symons graduated from Yale University and earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.
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