Federal Communications Commission                                   FCC 12-55
STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER AJIT V. PAI
Re: Improving Spectrum Efficiency Through Flexible Channel Spacing and Bandwidth 
Utilization for Economic Area-based 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio Licensees, WT Docket 
No. 12-64; Request for Declaratory Ruling that the Commission’s Rules Authorize Greater than 
25 kHz Bandwidth Operations in the 817-824/862-869 MHz Band, WT Docket No. 11-110.
Today’s Report and Order illustrates the need for the Commission to review its rules 
regularly and assess whether they continue to be necessary in light of changing technological 
and/or market conditions.  In this item, we remove certain channel spacing and bandwidth 
limitations in the 800 MHz band that may have made sense almost twenty years ago but currently 
stand in the way of mobile broadband deployment.  I am pleased that we are taking this step in a 
thoughtful manner that will both benefit American consumers (including those in rural and 
underserved areas) and protect public safety operations.  
I commend Sprint for raising this issue with the Commission and encourage others in the 
private sector to call our attention to similarly outdated regulatory barriers to investment and 
broadband deployment.  I pledge to examine such proposals promptly and to work with my 
colleagues so that we can remove additional obstacles to broadband deployment at future 
Commission meetings.
I thank the staff of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for their swift and skillful 
work in crafting this item, thus allowing us to act on Sprint’s proposal in a timely manner.