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 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  03-  248 
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 SEPARATE  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 Re:  Allocations  and  Service  Rules  for  the  71-  76  GHz,  81-  86  GHz  and  92-  95  GHz  Bands;  WT  Docket  No.  02-  146 
 One  of  my  goals  as  a  policymaker  is  to  maximize  the  services  and  information  that  flow  over  our  airwaves.  We  already  have  seen  the  great  success  of  WiFi,  the  rollout  of  broadband  over  satellite,  and  the 
 continued  deployment  of  high-  speed  connections  over  cellular  and  PCS  spectrum  and  in  the  MDS/  ITFS  bands.  Today,  we  continue  to  promote  the  development  of  wireless  broadband  by  adopting  service  rules 
 for  wireless  devices  in  the  71-  76  GHz,  81-  86  GHz  and  92-  95  GHz  bands  (70/  80/  90  GHz  bands).  Some  of  the  services  proposed  for  these  bands  include  fiber-  like  first  and  last  mile  connections  and  wireless  local 
 area  networks. 
 I  am  particularly  pleased  with  our  service  rules  for  the  70/  80/  90  GHz  bands  because  the  licensing  approach  we  adopt  today  truly  serves  the  public  interest.  In  Commission  parlance,  the  item  provides  for  a 
 non-  exclusive  nationwide  licensing  approach  with  site-  by-  site  coordination.  In  layman’s  terms,  we  are  making  it  easy  for  our  licensees  to  get  access  to  spectrum  for  really  fast  connections  –  gigabit  speeds.  Of 
 course,  we  do  not  yet  know  what  the  market  will  look  like  or  what  the  equipment  will  cost,  but  we  have  made  the  FCC  part  of  the  equation  as  simple  as  possible. 


 While  I  continue  to  support  auctions  to  resolve  cases  of  mutual  exclusivity  for  applicants  seeking  wide-area  licenses  (such  as  in  the  Advanced  Wireless  Services  item  we  also  adopt  today),  the  public  interest  is 
 not  always  served  by  adopting  a  licensing  scheme  that  creates  mutual  exclusivity.  We  already  have  held  auctions  for  spectrum  similar  to  70/  80/  90  GHz,  only  to  see  that  spectrum  lay  relatively  unused  for  years  – 
 that  outcome  does  not  serve  the  public  interest. 
 We  had  an  opportunity  here  to  break  that  mold,  and  I  am  glad  we  did.  In  the  context  of  spectrum  management,  I  have  said  before  that  different  spectrum  bands  require  different  approaches.  It  would  be 
 easier  for  all  of  us  if  we  could  do  a  “one  size  fits  all”  approach,  but  we  cannot.  Simply  put,  some  bands,  like  70/  80/  90  GHz,  may  be  better  suited  for  coordinated  use;  some  bands  (like  the  AWS  bands)  are  not. 
 Just  as  some  bands  will  require  unique  interference  criteria  based  on  propagation  characteristics,  others  may  be  subject  to  frequent  coordination  with  NTIA. 


 But  no  matter  what  licensing  approach  we  choose,  we  can,  and  have  today,  put  in  place  a  framework  of  rules  and  policies  that  will  foster  innovation  in  the  70/  80/  90  GHz  bands  more  naturally.  A  framework 
 that  ensures  interference  issues  are  addressed,  but  allows  technologies  to  flourish.  A  framework  that  encourages  a  market-  based  approach  to  spectrum  management.  A  framework  that  gets  spectrum  and 
 wireless  broadband  in  the  hands  of  people  who  will  use  it  –  no  matter  where  they  are,  and  no  matter  when  they  realize  they  might  need  the  spectrum. 
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