FRED UPTON, MICH IGAN 
CHAIRMAN 
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 
FRANK PALLONE, JR ., NEW JERSEY 
RANKING MEMBER 
(!Congress of tbe ilniteb ~tates 
f!>ou%e of l\epre%entatibe% 
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 
2125 RAYBURN HousE OFFICE Bu1 LDING 
WASHI NGTON, DC 20515-6115 
The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street, S.W. 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
Major ity (202) 225- 2927 
Minori ty (202) 225- 3641 
August 8, 2016 
As the Commission continues forward toward a successful first-of-its-kind incentive 
auction, we are writing to request that you consider the importance of wireless microphones to 
small-to-mid-sized stakeholders. As you are well aware, in 2014, the Commission decided to 
expand license eligibility for professional sound companies, owners, and operators of large 
venues that routinely use 50 or more wireless microphones.' These large users of wireless mies 
would be permitted to register in a database permitting prioritization of their spectrum usage. 
The FCC also determined that smaller organizations that do not regularly use 50 microphones or 
more would be unable to seek such protection. 
At the last oversight hearing of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, 
several members raised concerns regarding the impact of the FCC's decision on smaller entities, 
and we appreciate your receptiveness to the issue. Many of these smaller organizations are non­
profit theatres, arts presenters, symphony orchestras, as well as opera and dance companies. 
These groups rely heavily on the use of wireless microphones to educate and delight audiences 
across the nation. Absent changes to allow small entities to license their current microphones, 
these non-profits will have to obtain new equipment that will operate in the new frequencies, to 
operate their equipment at lower power, and to pay registration fees for entry into TV white 
spaces databases. It would be particularly devastating for these organizations to invest in new 
wireless microphone equipment only to discover that their use of the equipment is significantly 
1 See in re Revisions to Rules Authorizing the Operation of Low Power Auxiliary Stations in the 698-806 MHz Band; 
Public Interest Spectrum Coalition, Petition for Rulemaking Regarding Low Power Auxiliary Stations, Including 
Wireless Microphones, and the Digital Television Transition; Amendment of Parts 15, 74 and 90 of the 
Commission's Rules Regarding Low Power Auxiliary Stations, Including Wireless Microphones, Second Report and 
Order, WT Docket No. 08-166, WT Docket No. 08-167, ET Docket No. 20-14, 29 FCC Red 6103 (2014). 
631
Letter to Chairman Wheeler 
Page 2 
impaired by interference. Organizations, such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, 
Oregon, will no longer be able to guarantee that the wireless microphones they use will help 
carry an actor's voice to the furthest seats, coordinate grips and gaffers behind the scenes, or 
provide video description to the visually impaired. 
There are several options the Commission could consider to provide relief to low-volume 
wireless microphone users, including the offer of a waiver process that might permit registration 
for smaller entities during signature events and the reconsideration of the SO-microphone 
threshold. At the least, the FCC should continue to review the situation to determine how its 
rules may be impacting these organizations and the audiences they serve. We hope that the FCC 
will take action to ensure the nations' non-profit arts organizations and their audiences do not 
suffer from the impact of these rules. 
Greg Wald 
Chairman 
Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology 
Sincerely, 
Ranking Member 
Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology