FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable Richard Blumenthal 
United States Senate 
702 Hart Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
Dear Senator Blumenthal: 
September 1, 2015 
Thank you for your letter expressing your continuing support for increasing competition 
in the wireless marketplace. I share your view that the upcoming incentive auction is a unique 
opportunity to promote greater competition and choice by making additional low-band spectrum 
available for wireless broadband. 
One of our priorities for the Incentive Auction is to assure that competitive providers 
have a meaningful opportunity to access low-band spectrum. This is particularly important in 
rural areas, where low-band spectrum is necessary if competitors are to fill in their coverage 
gaps, and in urban areas, where low-band spectrum allows more reliable in-building coverage. I 
agree that facilitating access to low-band spectrum by multiple providers is important to preserve 
and promote competition in the mobile wireless marketplace, which brings consumers more 
choices, lower prices, and higher quality services. 
For these reasons, as you note, the Commission has established a groundbreaking 
spectrum reserve for competitors in every market nationwide. The market-based spectrum 
reserve for the incentive auction will facilitate an opportunity for mobile wireless providers that 
lack significant amounts of low-band spectrum to acquire such spectrum. This reserve is 
designed to promote competition as well as ensure that all bidders bear a fair share of the value 
of the spectrum for the public and the costs of broadcaster relocation. I share your goal that the 
Incentive Auction should help ensure that consumers will benefit directly from increased 
competition in all parts of the country - rural, suburban and urban areas included. Toward that 
end, I believe we struck the right balance when we set this first-ever reserve at up to 30 MHz. I 
am happy to report that this month. the Commission both affirmed the establishment of the 
reserve, and set a cap on the amount of reserve spectrum that any entity could obtain in markets 
with a population of less than 500,000. 
Thank you for your ongoing interest in and support of our efforts to promote competition 
and choice in mobile broadband. I look forward to working with you toward our mutual goal of 
a successful incentive auction in early 2016 for the benefit of America's consumers. 
s~/A?r/ 
Tom Wheeler 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable Maria Cantwell 
United States Senate 
311 Hart Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
Dear Senator Cantwell : 
September 1, 2015 
Thank you for your letter expressing your continuing support for increasing competition 
in the wireless marketplace. I share your view that the upcoming incentive auction is a unique 
opportunity to promote greater competition and choice by making additional low-band spectrum 
available for wireless broadband. 
One of our priorities for the Incentive Auction is to assure that competitive providers 
have a meaningful opportunity to access low-band spectrum. This is particularly important in 
rural areas, where low-band spectrum is necessary if competitors are to fill in their coverage 
gaps, and in urban areas, where low-band spectrum allows more reliable in-building coverage. I 
agree that facilitating access to low-band spectrum by multiple providers is important to preserve 
and promote competition in the mobile wireless marketplace, which brings consumers more 
choices, lower prices, and higher quality services . 
For these reasons, as you note, the Commission has established a groundbreaking 
spectrum reserve for competitors in every market nationwide. The market-based spectrum 
reserve for the incentive auction will facilitate an opportunity for mobile wireless providers that 
lack significant amounts of low-band spectrum to acquire such spectrum. This reserve is 
designed to promote competition as well as ensure that all bidders bear a fair share of the value 
of the spectrum for the public and the costs of broadcaster relocation. I share your goal that the 
Incentive Auction should help ensure that consumers will benefit directl y from increased 
competition in all parts of the country - rural , suburban and urban areas included. Toward that 
end, I believe we struck the right balance when we set this first-ever reserve at up to 30 MHz. I 
am happy to report that this month, the Commission both affirmed the establishment of the 
reserve, and set a cap on the amount of reserve spectrum that any entity could obtain in markets 
with a population of less than 500,000. 
Thank you for your ongoing interest in and support of our efforts to promote competition 
and choice in mobile broadband. I look forward to working with you toward our mutual goal of 
a successful incentive auction in early 2016 for the benefit of America' s consumers. 
Sincerely, ) j ~ 
- ~~(/{/ ~v~-
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable AI Franken 
United States Senate 
309 Hart Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
Dear Senator Franken: 
September 1, 2015 
Thank you for your letter expressing your continuing support for increasing competition 
in the wireless marketplace. I share your view that the upcoming incentive auction is a unique 
opportunity to promote greater competition and choice by making additional low-band spectrum 
available for wireless broadband . 
One of our priorities for the Incentive Auction is to assure that competitive providers 
have a meaningful opportunity to access low-band spectrum. This is particularly important in 
rural areas, where low-band spectrum is necessary if competitors are to fill in their coverage 
gaps, and in urban areas, where low-band spectrum allows more reliable in-building coverage. I 
agree that facilitating access to low-band spectrum by multiple providers is important to preserve 
and promote competition in the mobile wireless marketplace, which brings consumers more 
choices, lower prices, and higher quality services. 
For these reasons, as you note, the Commission has established a groundbreaking 
spectrum reserve for competitors in every market nationwide. The market-based spectrum 
reserve for the incentive auction will facilitate an opportunity for mobile wireless providers that 
lack significant amounts of low-band spectrum to acquire such spectrum. This reserve is 
designed to promote competition as well as ensure that all bidders bear a fair share of the value 
of the spectrum for the public and the costs of broadcaster relocation. I share your goal that the 
Incentive Auction should help ensure that consumers will benefit directly from increased 
competition in all parts of the country- rural, suburban and urban areas included. Toward that 
end, I believe we struck the right balance when we set this first-ever reserve at up to 30 MHz. I 
am happy to report that this month, the Commission both affirmed the establishment of the 
reserve, and set a cap on the amount of reserve spectrum that any entity could obtain in markets 
with a population of less than 500,000. 
Thank you for your ongoing interest in and support of our efforts to promote competition 
and choice in mobile broadband. I look forward to working with you toward our mutual goal of 
a successful incentive auction in early 2016 for the benefit of America's consumers. 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHA I RMAN 
The Honorable Edward J. Markey 
United States Senate 
218 Russell Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
Dear Senator Markey: 
September 1, 2015 
Thank you for your letter expressing your continuing support for increasing competition 
in the wireless marketplace. I share your view that the upcoming incentive auction is a unique 
opportunity to promote greater competition and choice by making additional low-band spectrum 
available for wireless broadband. 
One of our priorities for the Incentive Auction is to assure that competitive providers 
have a meaningful opportunity to access low-band spectrum. This is particularly important in 
rural areas, where low-band spectrum is necessary if competitors are to fill in their coverage 
gaps, and in urban areas, where low-band spectrum allows more reliable in-building coverage. 
agree that facilitating access to low-band spectrum by multiple providers is important to preserve 
and promote competition in the mobile wireless marketplace, which brings consumers more 
choices, lower prices, and higher quality services. 
For these reasons, as you note, the Commission has established a groundbreaking 
spectrum reserve for competitors in every market nationwide. The market-based spectrum 
reserve for the incentive auction will facilitate an opportunity for mobile wireless providers that 
lack significant amounts of low-band spectrum to acquire such spectrum. This reserve is 
designed to promote competition as well as ensure that all bidders bear a fair share of the value 
of the spectrum for the public and the costs of broadcaster relocation. I share your goal that the 
Incentive Auction should help ensure that consumers will benefit directly from increased 
competition in all parts of the country- rural, suburban and urban areas included. Toward that 
end, I believe we struck the right balance when we set this first-ever reserve at up to 30 MHz. I 
am happy to report that this month, the Commission both affirmed the establishment of the 
reserve, and set a cap on the amount of reserve spectrum that any entity could obtain in markets 
with a population of less than 500,000. 
Thank you for your ongoing interest in and support of our efforts to promote competition 
and choice in mobile broadband. I look forward to working with you toward our mutual goal of 
a successful incentive auction in early 2016 for the benefit of America' s consumers. 
~~~(__ 
Tom Wheeler 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable Ron Wyden 
United States Senate 
223 Dirksen Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
Dear Senator Wyden: 
September 1, 2015 
Thank you for your letter expressing your continuing support for increasing competition 
in the wireless marketplace. I share your view that the upcoming incentive auction is a unique 
opportunity to promote greater competition and choice by making additional low-band spectrum 
available for wireless broadband. 
One of our priorities for the Incentive Auction is to assure that competitive providers 
have a meaningful opportunity to access low-band spectrum. This is particularly important in 
rural areas, where low-band spectrum is necessary if competitors are to fill in their coverage 
gaps, and in urban areas, where low-band spectrum allows more reliable in-building coverage. 
agree that facilitating access to low-band spectrum by multiple providers is important to preserve 
and promote competition in the mobile wireless marketplace, which brings consumers more 
choices, lower prices, and higher quality services. 
For these reasons, as you note, the Commission has established a groundbreaking 
spectrum reserve for competitors in every market nationwide. The market-based spectrum 
reserve for the incentive auction will facilitate an opportunity for mobile wireless providers that 
lack significant amounts of low-band spectrum to acquire such spectrum. This reserve is 
designed to promote competition as well as ensure that all bidders bear a fair share of the value 
of the spectrum for the public and the costs of broadcaster relocation. I share your goal that the 
Incentive Auction should help ensure that consumers will benefit directly from increased 
competition in all parts of the country - rural, suburban and urban areas included. Toward that 
end, I believe we struck the right balance when we set this first-ever reserve at up to 30 MHz. I 
am happy to report that this month, the Commission both affirmed the establishment of the 
reserve, and set a cap on the amount of reserve spectrum that any entity could obtain in markets 
with a population of less than 500,000. 
Thank you for your ongoing interest in and support of our efforts to promote competition 
and choice in mobile broadband. I look forward to working with you toward our mutual goal of 
a successful incentive auction in early 2016 for the benefit of America' s consumers. 
~l!(t-
Tom Wheeler