Federal Communications Commission	FCC 23-51
STATEMENT OF
CHAIRWOMAN JESSICA ROSENWORCEL

Re:	Shared Use of the 42-42.5 GHz Band, WT Docket No. 23-158; Use of Spectrum Bands Above 24 GHz For Mobile Radio Services, GN Docket No. 14-177 (June 8, 2023)

I spent the first half of this week in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt at a gathering of the International Telecommunication Union.  It was a whirlwind of a trip.  But it was worth every minute.  Because in these international fora the United States can make clear to our counterparts around the world that we intend to lead on spectrum policy.  
So much of what is creative in wireless happened here first, on our shores.  And this agency played no small part in making this true.  We were the first to borrow the academic ideas of Ronald Coase and reimagine the distribution of airwaves with auctions.  More than three decades later we have raised $233 billion using this tool—one we need Congress to continue.  We were also the first to take a handful of underused frequencies known as “garbage bands” in the 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz range and do something radical—give the public access to these airwaves.  It worked because this is the unlicensed spectrum where Wi-Fi was born.  More recently, we blazed a trail for incentive auctions—again, the first to do this in the world.  We also created an innovative structure with a hierarchy of rights in the 3.5 GHz band combined with new systems to support dynamic spectrum access.  
Our goal today is to continue that creative streak.  This time we are going to do it with a millimeter wave band.  When I took over at the Federal Communications Commission, I believed the agency had overinvested in millimeter wave auctions at the expense of moving to market the mid-band spectrum essential for nationwide 5G service.  So we pivoted—fast.  With the help of my colleagues, we quickly launched auctions in the 3.45 GHz band and 2.5 GHz band.  With those successful mid-band efforts in the rear-view mirror, we are now turning back to millimeter wave.  But this time we want to consider something different.  
In Egypt, so many of my global counterparts are wrestling with the same thing.  They look at the wireless future and wonder what to do with high-band airwaves that have so much capacity but such limited propagation.  In the United States, we have already auctioned nearly five gigahertz of this spectrum for traditional exclusive use.  I believe now it’s time for something new.  
In the 42 GHz band we have 500 megahertz of greenfield airwaves with no federal or commercial incumbencies.  So we are putting out ideas.  We are exploring non-exclusive access models.  This could entail using a technology-based sensing mechanism to help operators actively detect and avoid one another.  It could involve non-exclusive nationwide licenses that leverage a database to facilitate co-existence.  It could also entail site-based licensing.  To get even more out of this effort we ask if our approaches could be combined with shared-used models in other spectrum bands, like the lower 37 GHz band.  
Our goal here is to come up with a new model to lower barriers, encourage competition and maximize the opportunities in millimeter wave spectrum.  In short, it’s time to be creative.  I look forward to the record that develops—and then look forward to sharing our creativity with the world.
I want to thank the staff responsible for getting this effort underway: John Lockwood, Susan Mort, John Schauble, Blaise Scinto, Catherine Schroeder, Joel Taubenblatt, and Jennifer Tomchin from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; Bahman Badipour, Michael Ha, Ira Keltz, Nicholas Oros, Ron Repasi, and Dana Shaffer from the Office of Engineering and Technology; Judith Dempsey, Evan Kwerel, Paul Lafontaine, Catherine Matraves, Giulia McHenry, Gary Michaels, Martha Stancill, and Don Stockdale from the Office of Economics and Analytics; Karl Kensinger and Troy Tanner from the Space Bureau; Deborah Broderson, Doug Klein, and William Richardson from the Office of General Counsel; and Michael Gussow, Joy Ragsdale, and Chana Wilkerson from the Office of Communications Business Opportunities.