Chairman Genachowski Statement on NTIA Report on 1755-1850 MHz Band
NEWS
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NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
March 27 , 2012Neil Grace, 202-418-0506
Email: neil.grace@fcc.gov
STATEMENT FROM FCC CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI
ON THE NTIA REPORT, “AN ASSESSMENT OF THE VIABILITY OF ACCOMMODATING
WIRELESS BROADBAND IN THE 1755 – 1850 MHZ BAND”
“Given the exponential increase in consumer demand for spectrum, it’s time to focus on the 1755-1780MHz band. This is a real and unique opportunity to free up 25 MHz of high-value spectrum in the near
future.
“NTIA's report demonstrates both the importance of making government spectrum available for
commercial mobile broadband, and the challenges to doing so. This is particularly true when considering
the full 1755-1850 MHz band, where repurposing the entire band would be very expensive, affect
important federal uses and commercial broadcast services, and could take a decade or more. Because
federal law requires that revenue from auctioning federal spectrum exceed the relocation costs, these are
serious issues and potential obstacles.
“The lower 25 megahertz in the 1755-1780 MHz band, where there appears to be a viable path forward
for mobile broadband, presents a near-term opportunity to free up spectrum that can help drive U.S.
economic growth and our global competitiveness.
“As NTIA notes, the future should include sharing between federal and commercial uses. The report
acknowledges that commercial systems may share the band with federal incumbents for several years.
Such sharing over a longer period of time should be pursued as an alternative to a costly, complex, and
disruptive relocation effort.
“The FCC looks forward to working closely with NTIA and all federal partners to maximize the value of
our nation’s spectrum resources and to make meaningful progress toward the President's goal of freeing
up 500 MHz for mobile broadband.”
-FCC-
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