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WASHINGTON, DC 20510 
Chairman Tom Wheeler 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street SW 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Chairman Wheeler, 
October 6, 2016 
We write to urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve the transfer 
of Charter's three 700 MHz licenses to T-Mobile and the accompanying request to waive 
acceleration of the final buildout deadline for these licenses. Unlike Charter, T-Mobile can 
quickly deploy this spectrum and bring better service and additional competition to rural areas in 
Montana. The sale of this spectrum and the requested waiver are consistent with Commission 
precedent and will further our shared goal of increasing access to advanced communications 
services for rural Americans. 
In our home state, the unique geography, low-density population, and extreme weather 
conditions make it significantly more challenging to provide residents with the communications 
services most Americans take for granted. Charter incidentally obtained these spectrum licenses 
when it purchased another cable company, Bresnan Communications. And while the unusual 
characteristics of our state make deployment especially challenging for a company like Charter 
that is not a major wireless carrier, T-Mobile is well positioned to deploy this spectrum 
quickly. T-Mobile enjoys a proven track record building facilities to serve this part of the 
country and desires to buttress its coverage in these areas. 
Granting the requested waiver is warranted under Commission rules, and T-Mobile has 
made significant commitments regarding build-out that will ensure the licenses are quickly put to 
use. T-Mobile has committed to cover 40 percent of the geographic area covered by the licenses 
by the later of June 13, 2017 or six months from the time the Commission's approval becomes 
final, to cover 70 percent of the licensed geographic area by the later of December 13, 2018, or 
two years from the time the Commission's approval becomes final, and to file an interim 
progress report. Importantly, if the FCC moves expeditiously on the applications, T-Mobile's 
commitments may result in the final buildout milestone being completed as much as a year ahead 
of schedule. 
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T-Mobile states in its filings to you that, without the requested waiver, it could not meet 
the accelerated buildout deadlines that would otherwise apply and is therefore unwilling to 
purchase the licenses from Charter. Importantly, the filing also states that it is unlikely that 
Charter or, indeed, anyone, would be able to meet the deadline-likely postponing use of this 
spectrum for years. This would be an unfortunate outcome for the citizens of Montana. We urge 
you to grant the license transfers and extension as quickly as possible and thereby allow T­
Mobile to deploy the spectrum and provide advanced services to rural consumers who need them 
the most. 
Sincerely, 
Steve Daines on Tester 
United States Senator United States Senator