NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: March 27 , 2012 Neil 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 1755-1780 MHz 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-