STATEMENT OF 
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
Re: 	Incentive Auction of Upper Microwave Flexible-Use Service Licenses in the Upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz for Next-Generation Wireless Services, AU Docket No. 19-59. 
No song has ever received more awards than Shallow, the now-iconic song from last year’s remake of A Star is Born.  And to quote Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, “we’re far from the shallow now” when it comes to spectrum auctions.  Later this year, we will be auctioning 3,400 megahertz of spectrum for the commercial marketplace in the upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands.  This is an astounding milestone:  It’s the most spectrum we ever will have auctioned at one time.  On top of that, it will be our second incentive auction.  In short, we’re ready to venture off the deep end in order to secure American leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity.  
With today’s public notice, we dive into the procedures for this large spectrum auction.  For example, we’re seeking comment on plans for an incentive auction in which we propose to use an ascending clock auction format for the offered licenses and then hold a sealed-bid assignment phase.  Together, the upper 37 GHz and the 39 GHz bands will offer the largest amount of contiguous spectrum in the millimeter-wave bands for flexible-use wireless services—a total of 2,400 megahertz.  And the 47 GHz band, no slouch itself, will provide an additional 1,000 megahertz of millimeter-wave spectrum for such services.  Combined with the 28 GHz and 24 GHz auctions, the FCC is making available almost five gigahertz of spectrum for commercial use.  
Ultimately, the biggest winners of these auctions will be the American people.  As taxpayers, they’ll benefit from the money raised for the U.S. Treasury.  And more important, as consumers, they’ll be better off from the advanced services that will be delivered using these airwaves.   
I’d like to thank the dedicated FCC team that worked on this item: Craig Bomberger, Shabnam Javid, Evan Kwerel, Paul Lafontaine, Giulia McHenry, Mark Montano, Martha Stancil, and Margaret Wiener from the Office of Economics and Analytics; Simon Banyai, Stephen Buenzow, Jonathan Campbell, Erin Fitzgerald, John Schauble, Blaise Scinto, Dana Shaffer, Donald Stockdale, Joel Taubenblatt, and Jennifer Tomchin from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; and Douglas Klein and William Richardson from the Office of General Counsel.  I look forward to continuing to work with all of you and my colleagues to make this auction a reality.