STATEMENT OF
ACTING CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL

Re:	Facilitating Shared Use in the 3100-3550 MHz Band, WT Docket No. 19-348; 
	Auction of Flexible-Use Service Licenses in the 3.45-3.55 GHz Band

As the Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, I know firsthand that our nation’s economic recovery and security in a post-pandemic world depends on our ability to lead in fifth-generation wireless technologies, or 5G.  

	Every day I see this technology advancing and the innovation it can deliver growing.  And every day I am reminded that we have more work to do before the benefits of this service can reach everyone, everywhere.  

	That might sound like a lofty goal, but I am an optimist.  While we may disagree on some details from time to time, I know that each one of my colleagues at the Federal Communications Commission is equally committed to ensuring that the United States leads in 5G.  I welcome their ideas, their resolve, and their partnership, and I look forward to building this future for the benefit of the American people.

	Back to the here and now.  Most of the country has yet to experience the benefits of a true 5G network.  The out-there innovations it can deliver are still a ways off because so many of them are not about connectivity delivered via phones.  Plus, for so many consumers, the present is confusing, with carriers providing different versions of 5G, which can sometimes feel a lot like the 4G they already have.  In part, this is due to the fact that carriers don’t always have the airwaves they need to provide consistent and widespread coverage at this time.  

	Today we take action to change that.  We take action that will move us closer to 5G service that is fast, secure, resilient, and—most importantly—available everywhere in the country.  We accomplish that by adopting rules and auction procedures that will make available 100 megahertz of prime mid-band spectrum in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band available for 5G this year.  This offers real opportunity because during the past few years the United States was slow, relative to other countries, to recognize the importance of mid-band spectrum for 5G.  This meant we were late to bring these airwaves to market.  So mid-band spectrum has been the critical component that is missing and our action here helps fix that.  

Of course, our actions today are about much more than just spectrum.  They’re also about how we advance new network technology to build a better future.  So rather than just extending the same-old, same-old policies of the past, we are doing some things differently.	

	First, today’s decision includes the most aggressive build-out obligations of any spectrum auctioned for 5G to date.  As a result, we insist on getting infrastructure built twice as fast as what the agency has required in other recent 5G bands. 

	Second, today’s decision commits to the idea that successful auctions have many bidders.  To understand why this is important, take the FCC’s recent C-Band auction.  More than 90 percent of the 5,684 licenses that were available in that auction were won by the top two bidders.  So here we take steps to increase the range of actors willing to participate in our auctions.  We do this by adopting a pre-auction spectrum aggregation limit that will expand opportunity for service providers in every market in the United States.  In addition, thanks to the leadership of my colleague, Commissioner Starks, we will auction this spectrum in smaller blocks in order to encourage broader participation from smaller providers and create more opportunities to win licenses.

	Third, today’s decision thinks about this band in a coordinated way, so we don’t end up increasing interference and decreasing the utility of the limited mid-band resources we have available to us.  We do that by adopting rules that will ensure that the higher power uses in the 3.45 GHz band do not undermine the considerable investments that have been made in the adjacent CBRS band.  And while in the past different parts of our government have pulled in different directions when it comes to spectrum policy, here we have worked closely with our federal partners at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Defense to ensure a whole-of-government approach.

	Most importantly, the path we lay out today is the one that ensures that we will meet the requirement from Congress in last year’s appropriations law that we work with our federal partners to bring the 3.45 GHz band to auction by the end of this year.  It is also the path required to meet as our obligations under the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act that our auction recover 110 percent of the Congressionally-approved relocation costs for this band—which stand at roughly $15 billion.  

	So think of today’s decision as a spectrum stimulus for 5G.  It will boost the economy and encourage investment in our 5G future.  

That’s progress we can be proud of.  But we are not slowing down here.  I have begun to work with our federal partners to look at the next tranche of mid-band spectrum in the 3.1-3.45 GHz band.  And while the law compelled certain outcomes in our decision today, it is my hope that our future efforts to find more spectrum for 5G will enjoy the flexibility to explore every option available to us, including the opportunity to pursue more innovative spectrum sharing policies like we have in the CBRS band.  I also have instructed the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to consider opportunities to rationalize the entire 3 GHz band to increase efficiency while also being mindful of the importance of unlicensed use.  

	Thank you to those at the agency who worked on these items.  There are too many of you to name, but it includes staff from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, the Office of Economics and Analytics, the Office of Engineering and Technology, the Enforcement Bureau, the Office of General Counsel, the Office of the Managing Director, and last but not least, the Office of Communications Business Opportunities.