STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI Re: Facilitating Shared Use in the 3100-3550 MHz Band, WT Docket No. 19-348 Most of you have probably heard the old adage that “good things come in threes.” And when it comes to the Commission’s efforts to make critical, mid-band spectrum available for 5G services, good things are happening in threes with respect to spectrum in the range of 3 GHz. First, our recently concluded auction of Priority Access Licenses in the 3.5 GHz band was a rousing success. A total of 228 bidders in that auction won 20,625 licenses for spectrum between 3550 and 3650 MHz (raising over $4.543 billion in net bids in the process). The 70 megahertz of spectrum offered in this auction is part of the larger 150 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.55-3.7 GHz band that we have made available for licensed and licensed-by-rule use under an innovative, three-tiered dynamic sharing framework. Second, we are on track to begin an auction of 280 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.7-3.98 GHz band on December 8. This C-band auction will make a wide swath of mid-spectrum available for 5G on an expedited timeframe due to all incumbent satellite operators in the band electing to relocate on an accelerated basis. And third, today we are making major steps toward freeing up 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for 5G. Last December, this Commission proposed removing existing non-federal secondary allocations from the 3.3-3.55 GHz band and relocating those operations to other frequencies, to ready all or a portion of this band for next-generation wireless services such as 5G. We took this initial step to further the aims of the MOBILE NOW Act, which required the Executive Branch to explore sharing of the 3.1-3.55 GHz band between federal operations and commercial wireless services. Today—a mere 9 months later—we adopt our proposal to eliminate these secondary, non-federal allocations. We relocate existing, non-federal radiolocation licensees to the 2.9-3.0 GHz portion of the S-band where they can continue to operate on a secondary basis. Amateur licensees have a variety of additional spectrum bands allocated for this service and can choose the alternative that works best for their particularized operations. And we allow incumbent radiolocation and amateur licensees to continue to operate in the 3.45-3.55 GHz segment of the band as we complete this rulemaking. Moreover, thanks in no small part to the hard work of stakeholders, Commission staff, the White House, the Department of Defense, and NTIA, we also propose to make the 100 megahertz of spectrum between 3.45 and 3.55 GHz available for flexible-use wireless services throughout the contiguous United States. Specifically, we propose to add a co-primary, non-federal fixed and mobile (except aeronautical mobile) allocation to the band. We seek comment on coordination requirements between federal incumbents and new, commercial flexible-use licensees, including the adoption of limited Cooperative Planning and Periodic Use Areas. We propose service, technical, and competitive bidding rules for licenses in the band. Our action today, in tandem with continued work by DoD and other federal partners, puts us on course to auction this spectrum next year. And when combined with our other efforts regarding 3 GHz spectrum, this will result in 530 megahertz of contiguous, mid-band spectrum being made available for 5G and other next-generation services. One might say that good things are coming in threes in the threes. Our 5G FAST action (pun intended) on this band is the direct result of formidable efforts by FCC staff, to whom I offer my sincere gratitude. Thanks to staff from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: Ken Baker, Kamran Etemad, Jessica Greffenius, Joyce Jones, Jon Markman, Roger Noel, Matthew Pearl, Jaclyn Rosen, Dana Shaffer, Don Stockdale, Becky Tangren, and Mary Claire York; from the Office of Engineering and Technology: Jamie Coleman, Michael Ha, Ira Keltz, Robert Pavlak, Ronald Repasi, and Thomas Struble; from the Office of Economics and Analytics: Jonathan Campbell, Patrick DeGraba, Giulia McHenry, Gary Michaels, Michelle Schaefer, Patrick Sun, Emily Talaga, and Margaret Wiener; from the Office of General Counsel: David Horowitz and Bill Richardson; and from the Office of Communications Business Opportunities: Chana Wilkerson.