STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN Re: Amendment of the Commission’s Rules with Regard to Commercial Operations in the 3550-3650 MHz Band, Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order, GN Docket No. 12-354 In the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II, there were many predictions of what life in the second decade of the 21 st century would look like. There were hoverboards and drones, mobile payment technology and flying cars. So while they clearly did not get everything right, the writers correctly foretold the importance of spectrum as well as our reliance on wireless technologies. Spectrum is critical to continued growth and innovation in nearly every segment of our society. It is an essential tool for connecting communities. From that entrepreneur in Manning, SC, who is now able to market and sell her goods globally from a town with a population of less than 4,100, to that college- bound high school student who can take advanced online courses not offered in his neighborhood inner- city high school, it is clear that access to adequate spectrum has the power to exponentially maximize our collective potential. With global data traffic expected to increase nearly eightfold between 2015 and 2020, it is imperative that we find creative and flexible ways to maximize this valuable and finite resource, so that we may continue to unleash the possibilities of tomorrow. Our action today will better enable us to do just that. The new Citizens Broadband Radio Service is a unique spectrum sharing regime that will, in a word, revolutionize the way we do things. It establishes a three-tier framework for making the entirety of the 3.5 GHz band available for shared commercial use, while putting in place protections for the band’s incumbents. With Spectrum Access Systems taking on the complicated and vital role of frequency coordination, the three tiers: Incumbent Access users, Priority Access Licensees and General Authorized Access users, will soon be able to cohabitate in the band and maximize spectrum efficiency. To be sure, there are parts of this novel regime that some parties wish were different. I understand that and hear you loud and clear. But what we must all realize is that in order to deliver on the promise of unlocking much needed additional spectrum, we need to embrace unconventional approaches that challenge, and sometimes up-end, the way we have done things in the past. We should not be so quick to predict failure simply because the tools are new and the terrain is changing. The possibilities are limitless; our talents are extraordinary; and the time is now to be bold and visionary. I want to thank the staff of the Wireless Bureau, the Office of Engineering and Technology, and the International Bureau, for their dedicated and tireless contributions throughout this proceeding. I know I am not alone when I say that I eagerly await the cutting-edge innovations that will inure to our collective benefit because of your hard work.