STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
Re: Amendment of the Commission’s Rules with Regard to Commercial Operations in the 3550-3650 
MHz Band, Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order, GN Docket No. 12-354
Welcome to the future of spectrum policy.  It’s happening right here and right now—with the 3.5 
GHz band.  
To understand why, roll back to the spectrum policy that has come before.  There was a time, not 
that long ago, when wireless bands for mobile use were strictly licensed or unlicensed.  One or the other.  
Pick one.  No in-between.  But as the demands on our airwaves have grown, we see new strain on this old 
binary model.  
Enter the 3.5 GHz band.  More than five years ago, the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration identified the 3.5 GHz band as suitable for shared use between government 
and commercial interests, provided existing incumbents—including Department of Defense radars and 
fixed satellite services—were offered protection.  The response to this proposal was a collective shrug.  
Enthusiasm for this band and its possibilities was hard to find.
But what a difference a few years make.  That’s because the Commission decided to take this 
band and experiment.  We put in place a multi-tiered approach to spectrum access that is creative, 
efficient, and forward looking.  Its system of tiered access simultaneously protects existing users, creates 
new licensed possibilities, and opens up the remaining spectrum to unlicensed services.  This is a whole 
new way of making effective use of our airwaves.  It is a blueprint for the future of spectrum policy.
Plus, with this multi-tiered approach, we finally ditch the tired notion that we face a choice 
between licensed and unlicensed airwaves.  This is a good thing.  That’s because the next generation of 
wireless devices and coming Internet of Things will not rely on a single spectrum band to function.  
Instead, services will overcome spectral and physical challenges by moving from frequency to 
frequency—sometimes on spectrum that is licensed and sometimes on spectrum that is unlicensed.  That
is why our experiment in this band is so important.    
Today we refine our multi-tiered framework.  In particular, we increase opportunities for licenses 
in rural areas.  We also increase power levels in this band for licensed and unlicensed devices in non-rural 
areas.  In addition, we add flexibility to the measurement of emission limits.  Taken together, these 
adjustments mean new services in this band will have a little more room to operate.  
These changes may seem small, but the impact of this band and this approach is bound to be big.  
So thank you to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology for 
their continuing efforts to develop, refine, and put in place the future of spectrum policy—in the 3.5 GHz 
band.