illnngr.enn of fq.e Nnif.eil ~fat.en 
Ba.sqington, il([ 20515 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th St SW 
Washington, DC 20554-0004 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
July 28, 2015 
We urged the Commission to preserve the duplex gap for use by wireless microphones in all 
markets. We are encouraged by the Commission' s willingness and openness to study a wide 
range of options to accommodate wireless microphones but such openness should maximize the 
amount of spectrum available to accommodate wireless microphones. 
In particular, local broadcast television stations in our communities would be severely impacted 
by the FCC's recent decision to do away with the 4 MHz duplex gap. Wireless microphones 
play an important role in news .gathering. It is an essential tool that enables local broad.casters to 
cover local and national news, including· breaking news and natural and man-made disasters. 
Last year, the Conunission took the controversial" step of eliminating the exclusive channels that 
are reserved in the broadcast television spectrnm band to ensure that broadcasters have access to 
some spectrum for wireless microphones. The Commission also adopted ·a compr,omise proposal 
, that would have allowed wireless microphones to use 4 MHz of spectrum in the "duplex gap", a 
guard band between .. the_ uplink and downlink portions of the new wireless band to continue to 
operate following the upcoming broadcast incentive auction. Now, ' we understand that the 
Commission has reversed course, and intends to move forward with a new proposal that will 
leave local broadcasters in some markets with no reserved spectrum for the wireless 
microphones that are essential to cover breaking news. 
We urge the Conunission to reject this proposal, and instead to preserve the duplex gap for use 
by wireless microphones in all markets, which will enable broadcasters and other news outlets to 
continue to rely on this critical technology in their reports. 
Thank you for your attention to this matter. 
11~LR Sincerely, -C~l9:~ 
Membe · f Congress Member of Congress 
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