STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN TOM WHEELER
Re: Comprehensive Review of Licensing and Operating Rules for Satellite Services, IB Docket No. 
12-267.
Since becoming Chairman, I’ve spoken often about the importance of streamlining the FCC’s 
processes. In my first week at the Commission, I asked Diane Cornell to prepare a comprehensive set of 
recommendations on what the FCC could do to make this agency as agile, efficient, and transparent as 
possible. Early this year, Diane’s team released its Report on Process Reform, which provides a roadmap 
for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency.
Today, we are advancing one of the most comprehensive rule reforms yet to emerge from the 
Process Reform Report -- a rulemaking proposal that would streamline, eliminate and clarify numerous 
provisions of the Commission’s Part 25 rules governing the licensing and operation of space and earth 
stations providing satellite communications. These proposed changes would go a long way in making the 
regulatory approval process for satellite licenses easier and more efficient.
Among other things, the rulemaking notice would facilitate international coordination of satellite 
networks and afford licensees more operational flexibility. For example, proposed revised milestone 
requirements would simplify space station licensing while ensuring scarce orbital slots are only made 
available to those entities that are truly prepared to build and operate satellites in them. 
These proposed rule changes would ultimately benefit consumers by increasing the speed and 
ease of introducing new satellite services, while promoting competition among service providers.
Today’s Further Notice is also a great example of a process in which there was extensive input 
from stakeholders in advance of the NPRM, which enabled FCC staff to put a large number of detailed 
streamlining proposals on the table for comment. I’d also like to thank my colleagues for their thoughtful 
comments and edits to the item.
I’m pleased that we are taking this next step forward in our process reform initiative - making 
things easier and less expensive by becoming more flexible in our processes.
Thank you to all the staff for their work on this important initiative, including Mindel De La 
Torre, Troy Tanner, Jose Albuquerque, Bill Bell, Chip Fleming, Cassandra Thomas, Diane Garfield, Kal 
Krautkramer, Cindy Spiers, Jennifer Gilsenan and Steve Spaeth.