Federal Communications Commission FCC 12-55 STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN Re: Improving Spectrum Efficiency Through Flexible Channel Spacing and Bandwidth Utilization for Economic Area-based 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio Licensees, WT Docket No. 12-64; Request for Declaratory Ruling that the Commission’s Rules Authorize Greater than 25 kHz Bandwidth Operations in the 817-824/862-869 MHz Band, WT Docket No. 11-110. With today’s Order, the Commission takes another important step towards facilitating the use of more spectrum for mobile broadband service. By removing the channel spacing and bandwidth limitations in our Part 90 rules, we are enabling mobile service providers with certain 800 MHz licenses to transition from narrow band operations to networks that can support the most advanced mobile broadband services. Since some of these providers have SMR licenses that cover the entire country, these technical rule changes should result in improved service and more innovative offerings for many consumers. This will enhance the ability of these companies to respond to ever increasing consumer demand for innovative services. It will also promote deployment of advanced wireless services to rural, unserved, and underserved areas. In order to arrive at today’s rule changes, the Commission had to carefully consider any impact on public safety communications. This is because a number of public safety licensees are still in the process of transitioning their networks to the frequencies that the Commission adopted in 2004, in order to address interference, that commercial mobile providers were causing public safety operations. Today’s Order properly adopts measures, such as a 30-day notice procedure and other technical requirements, to ensure that these rule changes will not harm public safety communications. I commend the Wireless Bureau for working so diligently to prepare this Order just two months after we adopted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that initiated this proceeding.