STATEMENT OF 
ACTING CHAIRWOMAN MIGNON L. CLYBURN
Re: Comprehensive Review of Licensing and Operating Rules for Satellite Services, IB Docket No. 12-
267
It may not get the press attention of 4G LTE wireless services or Gigabit fiber networks, but the 
satellite industry is a $190-billion-a-year business and an important part of the communications sector.  
Satellite service can be offered in areas where there is no terrestrial infrastructure and the costs of 
deploying a fiber or microwave network are prohibitive.  It can also provide additional bandwidth in areas 
where existing infrastructure is outdated, heavily congested, or damaged by natural disasters.  Fixed and 
mobile satellite services offered important temporary solutions in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 
attacks and for weeks after Hurricane Katrina.  
So it is with this Order, that the International Bureau continues its excellent work to update and 
streamline the Part 25 rules to facilitate rapid deployment of new commercial satellite services to the 
public.  We began the process of updating Part 25, in January of 2010, by issuing a Public Notice seeking 
comment on changes that would merely clarify rules or make corrections and in 2012, we adopted those 
modest changes.  But building upon the recommendations of the industry, we also issued a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking that set forth comprehensive changes to Part 25’s rules.  Today, I am pleased that 
we are revising more than 150 rule sections and these changes include:  updating filing requirements for 
space and earth stations to reflect evolving technology; eliminating filing requirements that are no longer 
needed; increasing the number of earth station applications eligible for streamlined processing; and 
providing greater flexibility to earth station applicants in complying with rules on antenna performance.
Overhauling these requirements for annual reporting, licensing, and filing, should lead to substantial 
reductions in the administrative costs necessary to offer satellite services. This, in turn, should lead to 
greater investment in enhanced benefits for consumers.  
I thank Mindel De La Torre and the International Bureau for their outstanding work throughout 
this proceeding.