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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 9, 2000 |
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: David Fiske at 202-418-0513 E-mail: dfiske@fcc.gov |
PRESS STATEMENT OF FCC CHAIRMAN WILLIAM E. KENNARD
ON DEVELOPMENT OF SECONDARY MARKETS FOR SPECTRUM
The tremendous success of wireless communications services has come at a price. All of the new technologies-- mobile phones, wireless internet devices, wireless computers, and two-way pagers -- are consuming spectrum faster than we can make it available. The demand for spectrum is simply outstripping supply.
We need to find spectrum to build the web of wireless applications that will continue to fuel our economic growth. One way to head off a spectrum drought and make spectrum available is to make sure that the spectrum that we have licensed is fully utilized. A robust secondary market for spectrum will provide incentives for licensees to make unused spectrum capacity available in the market place. Spectrum will flow more freely among users in response to economic demand.
The Policy Statement and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that we adopt today will facilitate the creation of fluid markets in spectrum so that spectrum users can efficiently match short-term supply with short-term demand. It will also promote more efficient spectrum usage through longer-term leases or spectrum trading agreements. I am convinced that we can create a secondary market in wireless bandwidth just as there is an emerging commodity market for wireline bandwidth.
- FCC -