F E DERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable Diane Feinstein 
United States Senate 
331 Hart Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
Dear Senator Feinstein: 
August 8, 2014 
Thank you for your letter encouraging the Commission to take prompt steps to act on the 
Metrolink applications and related waiver requests related to spectrum that could be used for 
Positive Train Control {PTC). Your views are very important and will be included in the record 
of the proceeding and considered as part of the Commission's review. 
PTC is a transformative technology that has the power to save lives, prevent injuries, and 
avoid extensive property damage. It is a priority of the Commission to facilitate this important 
safety measure. FCC staff has been working and will continue to work with the Department of 
Transportation, the National Transportation Safety Board, railroads, and spectrum license 
holders to identify and facilitate secondary market transactions to make spectrum available for 
PTC operations. 
With respect to Metrolink's specific requests, in April2011 , the Commission adopted an 
Order to Show Cause, Hearing Designation Order, and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing 
(OSCIHD0)1 designating Maritime Communications/Land Mobile, LLC' s (MC/LM) basic 
qualifications to be a Commission licensee for hearing. The Commission also released a Public 
Notice, WT Docket 13-85, on March 28, 2013, which sought comment on whether the 
Commission should: (1) consent to the assignment of some or all ofMC/LM's AMTS licenses 
to Choctaw under Second Thursday;2 (2) consent to the assignment of some ofMC/LM's AMTS 
licenses pursuant to footnote 7 of the OSC/HDO; (3) waive the construction and discontinuance­
of-service rules for MC/LM's AMTS site-based stations; and (4) terminate its formal hearing, 
partially or otherwise, regarding MC/LM' s basic qualifications.3 
1 See Maritime Communications/Land Mobile, LLC, Order to Show Cause, Hearing Designation Order, and 
Notice of Opportunity f or Hearing, EB Docket No. 11-71 , 26 FCC Red 6520 (2011) (OSCIHDO) 
2 See Second Thursday Corp., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 22 FCC 2d 515, recon. granted, Memorandum 
Opinion and Order, 25 FCC 2d 11 2 ( 1970) (permitting a bankrupt licensee, whose basic qualifications are at issue, 
to assign its licenses for the benefit of innocent creditors). 
3 Comment Sought on Choctaw-MC/LM Assig nment and Second Thursday Request, Public Notice, 28 FCC Red 
3358 (WTB 20 13). 
Page 2- The Honorable Diane Feinstein 
On August 8, 2014, I circulated a draft item to my fellow Commissioners that addresses 
the Metrolink applications and other issues raised in the Public Notice. I am required to state 
that this proceeding is restricted under the Commission's ex parte rules (47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1200(a), 
1.1208.) While 1 am restricted from discussing the merits ofthis case, 1 am hopeful that the 
Commissioners will vote expeditiously on this item. I recognize that the complexities of this 
issue are frustrating, but I am confident that the Commission's determination will be in the 
public interest, convenience, and necessity. 
I appreciate your interest in this matter. Please let me know if I can be of any further 
assistance. 
Sincerely,// ( 
~~~--
Tom Wheeler