otnngr.e11s nf tq.e 1ltttit.eh §tat.es 34 lrnla.aqington, iBC!t 20515 January 17, 2019 The Honorable Ajit Pai Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12'11 Street SW Washington, DC' 20554 Dear Chairman Pai: We are encouraged that the Federal Communications Commission is demonstrating its sincerity with respect to advancing policies to enable new and enhanced high-speed broadband services for our constituents. Broadband is essential to our increasingly connected lives, economic growth, and national competitiveness. While we supp011 effo11s to close the digital divide, we write to ensure that any forthcoming broadband proposals reflect the importance of existing services that may be affected by changes in Commission policy. With respect to the FCC's spectrum management responsibility, this balance must consider protection of the existing services upon which consumers rely, as well as the associated investment by incumbent users of this spectrum. These considerations are especially critical for the Commission as it considers pe1mitting new commercial wireless services and shared use in the 3.7 - 4.2 GHz spectrum band, as proposed in the Order and Notice ofPropos ed Rulemaking adopted on July 12, 2018. This spectrnm band, also known as the."C-band," is licensed to satellite companies and is heavily relied upon by a vast number of stakeholders in rural and non-rural areas alike, including those that deliver content for television and cable programming. This content is distributed to more than 100 million American households through thousands of cable and satellite providers, over 1,000 broadcast television stations, and a growing number of over-the-top service providers. Additionally, radio services use C-band frequencies to connect local public and commercial stations to popular national networks and syndicated programming. In fact, nearly every television viewer and radio listener depends on C-band spectrum to reliably receive content. Additionally, the C-band satellite licensees and their content delivery customers have invested billions of dollars in the launch of satellites and construction of earth station infrastructure to deliver this content to consumers across the nation. In seeking a balanced approach, the Commission must fmther endeavor to avoid disruptions in the services American consumers currently enjoy. The Commission must also carefully consider the potential for interference from new terrestrial users to incumbent operations and, if it finds the benefits outweigh the harms, tailor its technical rules appropriately to avoid such interference. PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER To be clear, we do not oppose examination of new, additional uses of the C-band. This mid­ band spectrum could prove to support coverage and capacity for next-generation technology that is critical to the nation, including 5G wireless services. However, in the event the Commission opens the C-band for spectrum reallocation, the Commission should, at minimum, ensure that incumbents are made whole for costs incurred as a result of any new services or shared uses in the band. Finally, any reallocation ofthis impo1iant spectrum band must be overseen by the FCC, who has a responsibility to facilitate and manage spectrum policy in a manner that promotes the public interest. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this request. Should you wish to discuss these matters fmiher, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Tony Cardenas Adam Kinzinger Member of Congress Member of Congress