FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WASHINGTON OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN The Honorable Marco Rubio United States Senate 317 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Rubio: April15, 2014 Thank you for your letter concerning the importance of preserving sufficient bandwidth for wireless microphones as the Commission considers how to proceed in its incentive auction rulemaking. I agree with you that many important institutions in our country- including places of worship, the music industry, journalists, theater, sports, and the film industry- provide a wide variety of beneficial services through use of wireless microphones. In directing the Commission to design and implement the incentive auction in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of2012, Congress made no accommodation for wireless microphone use in the 600 MHz band. However, recognizing the importance of wireless microphones, the Commission is evaluating how best to accommodate their continued operations as it conducts the auction and reorganizes the broadcast television bands. Currently, in markets in which they are available, up to two channels in the UHF band are designated for wireless microphone use. In the most spectrally congested markets, however, there are often no designated channels. As a result of the UHF band reorganization, following the auction, it is possible that there will be even fewer markets in which these channels are available, and other unlicensed devices are also interested in having access to these bands, in addition to wireless microphones. We are exploring a range of options to promote the most efficient use of this spectrum while allowing wireless microphones to continue operating in the repacked television bands, in a manner which balances the needs of wireless microphone users and others using the available 600 MHz spectrum. Finally, we envision finding additional spectrum for the use of wireless microphones in other bands. We will continue to work with the wireless microphone industry to develop a suitable framework for wireless microphone transition. Your letter will be placed in the record of the proceeding as the Commission endeavors to ensure that sufficient spectrum remains available for wireless microphones. I appreciate your interest in this matter. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. JM. Tom Wheeler