WASHINGTON OFFICE 1605 LONGWORTH WASHINGTON. D.C. 20515 (202) 225-8045 FAx: (202) 225-9073 CHULA VISTA OFFICE 333 F STREET, SUITE A CHULA ViSTA, CA 91910 (619) 422-5963 FAx: (619) 422-7290 Qiougress of tqe ;l!fuitea ~hdes ;M:oust of ~1hprtztniatitn:5 EL CENTRO OFFICE 380 NoRTH 8TH STREET, #14 EL CENTRO, CA 92243 (760) 355-8800 J)uan ~argas FAx: (760) 321-9664 VARGAS.HOUSE.GOV April16, 2014 The Honorable Tom Wheeler Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 Twelfth Street, SW Washington, DC 20554 Dear Chairman Wheeler, 51st Jllistrid, O:::a!iforttia CoMMITTEE ON FoREIGN AFFAIRS MIDDLE EAsT AND NoRTH AFRICA TERRORISM, NoNPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE GENERAL FARM COMMODITIES AND RISK MANAGEMENT HORTICULTURE, RESEARCH, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING I am writing regarding the Federal Communications Commission's implementation of the spectrum provisions of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. Congress passed those provisions to achieve a number of important goals: (1) to provide funding to build a nationwide, wireless, interoperable public safety network; (2) to meet consumers' demand for mobile broadband and (3) to generate proceeds to reduce the national debt. In order to meet the revenue goals, television broadcasters must be fairly compensated to give up some of their spectrum. Achieving these goals will be challenging for the Commission but critical for our nation. Additionally, it is my hope that smaller local stations, such as the low-power broadcaster KSDY, in my district, can be given full and fair consideration during the spectrum auction process. It is my understanding that the incentive auction has been postponed until mid-2015. I strongly urge you to use this time to consider the positive impact stations like KSDY can make on our communities. While these smaller stations can be preempted by other broadcasters and forced to move channels, I hope the Commission is cognizant of the void these stations fill. I recommend the Commission consider allowing stations to either upgrade to Class A full-power licensing or be allocated left-over broadcast spectrum. As you may recall, the 9/11 Commission recommended the construction of a state of the art communications network. However, twelve years later this has yet to be implemented. The construction and operation of this network will be essential when the next disaster strikes, be it manmade or natural, and our first responders may be called upon to protect our homeland and save lives. Equally important is the country's ability to meet exploding consumer demand for mobile broadband technology. A recently-released survey by Cisco indicated that American demand for mobile broadband will increase by eight-fold over the next five years. The technology and wireless industries' ability to meet this increasing demand will depend on the availability of spectrum. Private investment in hardware innovation, mobile application development, and wireless network infrastructure are among the most promising sources of economic growth for our country. The success of the spectrum auction will have a significant impact on the United States economy, given that so many industries rely on advanced, mobile and reliable communications to expand, hire and invest. For the auction to be a success, the Commission should maximize participation by both broadcasters incented to relinquish their spectrum rights and bidders seeking to buy those rights. Inviting as many bidders as possible will allow for the full market price to be realized and, in turn, will incentivize greater broadcaster participation resulting in more spectrum for the auction. This approach will ensure sufficient funding for the construction of a world class, high-speed wireless broadband public safety network, make spectrum available to keep pace with the nations mobile broadband needs, and support a pro-growth economy.