STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN
Re: Promoting Expanded Opportunities for Radio Experimentation and Market Studies under Part 5 
of the Commission’s Rules and Streamlining Other Related Rules, ET Docket No. 10-236, 2006 
Biennial Review of Telecommunications Regulations—Part 2 Administered by the Office of 
Engineering and Technology (OET), ET Docket No. 06-155
Research and development, or R&D, has always been an important pillar of a country’s economy.  
It spurs innovation, which in turn, drives economic growth, and job creation.  Last year, the Department 
of Commerce, estimated that R&D accounted for more than 16 percent of our nation’s total growth. So I 
enthusiastically support this Order, which substantially advances a policy goal, critical to maintaining the 
United States’ leadership in communications services and technology.
The evolution we are seeing in the communications field has underscored the importance of R&D 
to those services.  When you consider that, in January 2008, there were no mobile apps on the market and 
now there are more than 1.3 million available, you come to terms with the fact that technological change 
in the communications industry is moving at a breathtaking pace. To promote our Nation’s global 
competitiveness in communications, the federal government must do its part to encourage industry to 
invest more in research and development.
Today’s Order furthers this goal by comprehensively updating and streamlining our experimental 
radio service rules. We are establishing three new types of experimental licenses and are changing other 
rules to create stronger incentives for industry to innovate in service and product offerings. The program 
experimental license will allow universities, research labs, health care facilities, and manufacturers of 
radio frequency equipment to plan more broadly and creatively as they design experiments requiring an 
FCC license. By giving these entities more flexibility, these licenses will allow them to follow their 
research wherever it leads them without the administrative constraints of a conventional experimental 
license.  The compliance testing license will give laboratories authority to certify more products, which
together with changes to our market trial rules, should accelerate the delivery of new products to 
consumers.  The medical testing license will allow entities to conduct clinical trials, most notably, for 
those devices used for home care.  This could lead to technologies and innovations that offer patients
greater mobility and independence.   
I also want to commend the staff of the Office of Engineering and Technology for the 
collaborative approach they took in arriving at the final rules for these new experimental licenses. Using 
their technical expertise, combined with decades of experience with experimental licensing, they 
presented us with creative proposals in the November 2010 NPRM that I and my colleagues unanimously 
praised.  They also carefully considered comments filed in the proceeding and incorporated those ideas 
that would improve on the proposals in the NPRM.  As a result, we are adopting a structure that will offer 
entities greater authorizations, reduced oversight, and more streamlined procedures, than our previous 
experimental license rules. In addition, this Order includes new practical notification rules that will 
further protect primary and secondary incumbent licensees from potential interference.  
Special thanks are due to Julie Knapp, Ira Keltz, Bruce Romano, Rodney Small, and the other 
talented staff members in OET, for their excellent work throughout this proceeding.