STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR

Re:	Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band, GN Docket No. 18-122

	I can say it no better than my colleague, so I’ll just quote her: “When it comes to mid-band spectrum for 5G I think one thing is clear: we need to move more and move faster.”  Those who call for more and faster FCC movement on mid-band should celebrate this morning, because the order before us accomplishes precisely those goals.  It moves more mid-band spectrum to 5G, and it moves the spectrum at a fast clip.

	First, the “more” part.  The latest 5G standard is optimized for wide spectrum channels, ideally 100 MHz or more in size.  But the mid-band is a crowded neighborhood, with government users and legacy technologies making those wide, clear channels illusive.  Recognizing the imperative of mid-band for 5G, this Commission opened a mid-band proceeding in 2017.  

Since then, we have taken action.  At 3.5 GHz, we ensured mid-band spectrum works in the real world and will now auction it off this summer.  With EBS, which had not been assigned in roughly half the country, we are pushing mid-band out into the commercial marketplace.  At 2.5 GHz, our decision in Sprint/T-Mobile enables the combined company to build out this valuable mid-band nationwide.  At 2 GHz AWS-4, we now have a binding commitment from DISH to build broadband using its mid-band licenses—an intensive use of the spectrum that DISH wasn’t planning on absent the transaction and our demands.  We are pressing ahead with 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz, as well.  And on top of all of that diligent progress on mid-band, today we set up the clearing of 300 MHz of C-band.

	It’s not just the amount but also the speed that matters.  Time is of the essence, because we know what is at stake with 5G.  $275 billion of private sector investment, with not a penny of new taxes.  Three million jobs.  Another half trillion dollars in economic growth.  What’s more, the country that builds strong 5G first will reap the benefits of early adopter jobs and services.  The trillion-dollar club—those companies with market caps above $1 trillion—has just four members: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.  They’re all American, and they all ride on our world-leading mobile networks.  That’s not a coincidence, and when the next Amazons and Apples are invented, we want them to be invented here; we want the jobs, and services, and opportunities centered here. 

Beyond global competitions and unfathomable dollar figures, we act with a sense of urgency because we know what a connection means to American families.  Every day that a family lacks adequate Internet access may be a day a doctor’s appointment is missed, a picture to loved ones goes unsent, and, yes, homework remains unfinished.  But pointing at the digital divide while doing nothing about it isn’t leadership; it’s policy tourism.  Here again, I’m proud to say that this Commission has acted decisively.  We examined our authority, we thought creatively about the technology options, and we pressed the parties to their limits to clear this spectrum now.

	This has been a tremendously complicated and important policy puzzle to solve.  It involves nearly every industry that the Commission regulates, and the outcome was not obvious.  The best minds at this agency ground away at this for two years, relying on all of our capabilities: engineering, economics, and law.  The Chairman and staff deserve immense credit and our gratitude for, if nothing else, their endurance.  

After all of that, I think we landed this item in the perfect spot.  We will clear 300 MHz, which is more than incumbents ever thought they could give up and is enough to enable a number of providers to offer truly mobile 5G services.  Americans will start benefiting from these services next year with a full clearing coming in 2023—again, pushing the speedometer to its limit.  And we will do all of this using the FCC’s tried and true auction process, using rules that are fair and known, and which will result in tens of billions of dollars being returned to the American taxpayer.  

You might know that we got it right, ironically, by the grumbles we hear from both sides.  You didn’t send enough money to the Treasury; you sent too much money to the Treasury.  The equipment you’re providing to incumbent operators is gold-plated; the equipment you’re providing isn’t good enough.  On mid-band, it’s “go, go, go,” but when the politics change, it’s “slow, slow, slow.”  And on and on.  At the end of a long and difficult road to compromise—and that’s certainly the road we’ve been on—sometimes a little criticism from opposing sides is a sign that you landed in just the right place.  

I want to thank my colleagues for agreeing to move up the election and clearing dates so that this spectrum can be used for 5G as quickly as possible.  And I want to thank and congratulate everyone in this agency and all of the public commenters who made this landmark decision what it is.  In particular, I thank WTB, OEA, OET, IB, OGC, OMD, EB, and the Chairman and his staff for their work on this item.  It has my strong support.