STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MICHAEL O’RIELLY Re: Authorizing Permissive Use of the “Next Generation” Broadcast Television Standard, GN Docket No. 16-142. While the recent development of spectrum uses in the U.S. overall has been characterized by experimentation leading to amazing breakthroughs in capabilities and efficiency, broadcasters have been relatively locked in by their existing transmission standard developed over twenty years ago. Today, the Commission opens the door to innovation, allowing interested broadcasters to move forward with plans to introduce ATSC 3.0 content to the market. The item before us is the next step in the overall process, with finalization hopefully by Halloween. Ultimately, consumers will determine the future of television broadcasting. And, I think there will be a lot for them to like in the new standard, or set of sub-standards as is the case here, to the extent that broadcasters adopt and deploy these technologies. The availability of Internet and over-the-top (OTT) content has allowed consumers to become ever more accustomed to increasingly more personalized and localized information and entertainment that can be accessed anytime and anywhere. ATSC 3.0 may allow broadcasters to compete much more effectively with their own customized content, available to a much greater extent on mobile devices, not just TV sets. And the unparalleled picture and audio quality made possible by the standard will likely be in high demand. While teeing up all of the important questions about the effects ATSC 3.0 could have on every aspect of our content distribution system, this item appropriately makes clear that any use of the new standard will be completely voluntary for all participants – broadcasters, distributors, and consumers alike. Similarly, I am particularly interested in learning what exactly commenters believe we absolutely must include in our rules regarding ATSC 3.0, because I want to leave as much flexibility as possible for the industry to innovate and change in the future to meet consumer demands. Ultimately, I’d like it to be next to nothing – just as it is with regards to how we handle the latest wireless standard. Along those lines, any suggestions for mandates governing a potential future transition would be premature, in my opinion. I appreciate the Chairman’s willingness to accommodate my suggestions to clarify that this is an experiment and we need to see how the market reacts before moving any further ahead.