if there isn't, there won't be. >> does the prime minister -- does the prime minister think it fair that a war widow has to pay income tax on her war widow's pension? >> my honorable friend raise asvery good point and i think that we need to look at all of these sorts of issues under the work we're doing on the military covenant. they are very complicated issues about pensions and interactions with taxes. i don't want to give a flip answer from the dispatch box but we do have a proper process of looking at the military covenant and that's the right way to do it. >> caroline, lukes. -- lucas. >> when i welcome the fact that the government has pledged 2.9 billion to the global climate fund, can the prime minister confirm that any future money pledged would be additional to existing aid budgets? and can he say the funding mechanisms he plans to employ

and the $100 billion pledged annually at copenhagen? >> well, i think the honorable lady is right to address this issue and why there will not be any binding agreement we want can it can make important steps so we can stay on track. first of all, we will stick to what was set out previously about having a limit in the aid budget. about money used for climate change purposes. although there are very real connections between climate change and poverty. the second point is that there is a commitment which we will keep 2.9 billion. i think britain is a leader on this as she says we've got to look at innovative ways of leveraging more money in other parts of the world. frankly including from some of the fast-growing parts of the world that when kyoto was part of and are underdeveloping countries and are now fast-developing countries and we should help but the finance should not only flow from us. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

would the prime minister have urgent talks with the leader of the house and the business secretary to bring forward legislation for a national regulator ombudsman for supermarkets before more suppliers are decimated by their conduct? >> well, we do have new arrangements in terms of supermarkets and making sure that they are doing -- they are treating farmers fairly. all of us as constituent mp's have heard stories of supermarkets behaving aggressively to farmers and there's a way to police this independently so that our farmers have a fair deal for the food that they produce. >> order. point of order.

>> fcc chairman genachowski warned that the growth of wireless phones is outpacing infrastructure and soon americans could face a spectrum crutch. the warning happened earlier at the fcc's public meeting in washington, d.c. federal regulators voted 5-0 to start writing the rules for reclaiming spectrum from broadcasters and auction it for wireless internet and smart phone usage. this meeting is about an hour 40 minutes. >> well, good morning, everyone and welcome to the november 2010 meeting of the federal communications commission. madam secretary, would you please introduce our agenda this morning. >> thank you, mr. chairman. good morning, to you. and good morning commissioners.

today's agenda includes three items for your consideration and one presentation. first, you will consider a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comment on rules to facilitate the most efficient use of the uhf and vhf tv bands. these proposals an important step to the agency spectrum goals as outlined in the national broadband plan would take steps to enable mobile broadband use with spectrum currently referred for use by tv broadcasters including through innovation such as channel-sharing and generating increased value within the vhf band. second, we'll consider a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comment on steps to promote innovation and efficiency in spectrum use under part 5, experimental radio service. for your third item, you will consider a notice of inquiry seeking comment on promoting more intensive and efficient use of the radio spectrum thereby

potentially enabling more effective spectrum management through dynamic spectrum use technologies. last on your agenda, the consumer and governmental affairs bureau will present an overview of the 21st century communications and video accessibility act. and the commissions implementation plans and demonstrate accessibility technologies. this is your agenda for today. all three items will be presented by the office of engineering and technology, julius knaap chief of the office will give the introduction. >> thank you, mr. knaap? >> thank you. >> three important items. please go ahead. >> good morning, mr. chairman and commissioners. we'll be presenting three items for your consideration today. each of which serve to advance the commission's spectrum goals and as a result, boost the economy and jobs. the first item is a notice of proposed rulemaking that would lay the groundwork for improving efficiencies in the spectrum

currently used for tv broadcasting to make more spectrum available for wireless broadband services. here with me at the table is allen still well who's the deputy chief of oet, bill lake who's the chief of the mass media bureau along with eloise gore who's associate chief of the bureau and barbara christman who is chief of the video division. the item will not presented by alan still well but before turning the floor over to alan, i would like to extend my thanks to the people who have worked on this item. from the wireless telecommunication and from the office of general counsel austin, david and bill. and aside from alan and oet bruce and nancy. alan will present the item. >> good morning, mr. chairman and commissioners.

the notice of proposed rulemaking before you would initiate a process to further the commission's ongoing commitment to addressing america's growing demand for wireless broadband services, spur innovation and investment in wireless broadband systems and ensure that america leads the global wireless revolution. the notice would take preliminary steps towards making additional spectrum available for wireless broadband from a portion of the spectrum that is currently used for broadcast television. at the same time, the notices recognizes the benefits and to help preserve that service is a healthy viable medium. the notice proposes three actions that are intended to set the underlying regulatory framework to accommodate wireless broadband uses of the tv bands. the proposals in the notice if adopted would also provide new options for broadcasters. first, the notice proposes to

add new allocations for fixed and land-mobile services in the tv bands to be coprimary with the existing broadcasting allocation in those bands. this proposal would make all the spectrum and the tv bands available for fixed, mobile, and broadcast use and thereby provide the maximum flexibility for the commission's planning efforts including the possibility of auctioning a portion of the spectrum for new broadband services in the future. second, this notice proposes to establish a framework of rules that would permit two or more television stations to share a single 6 megahertz channel. excuse me. that is to operate from the same transmission facilities on the same channel and thereby freeing up one or more of the original channels for use by wireless broadband services. under this framework, stations entering into channel-sharing arrangements would retain their

rights to mandatory carriage on cable and dbs systems. the proposed sharing rules would neither increase nor decrease the carriage rights of any broadcaster on any type of multiple video distribution system. finally, the notice proposes to create value for television viewers and broadcasters by increasing the utility of the vhf bands for the operation of television services. the goal in this initiative is to resolve digital broadcast reception problems in the vhf bands. the notice specifically proposes to increase the maximum power allowed for vhf stations subject to avoidance of interference to other services and to establish minimum performance standards for indoor antennas. these actions will lay the groundwork for the goals set in the national broadband plan to make available up to 120 megahertz from the broadcast television bands for new wireless broadband services.

they would pave the way for future actions by which the commission could propose plans for recovery of tv spectrum including service, licensing and auctionables for new wireless broadband operators. the staff recommends adoption of this item and request editorial privileges. thank you. >> allen, thank you. consistent with our goals of spectrum efficiency and inefficient presentation on an important topic. we will hear comments from the bench, commissioner copps? >> i approach this notice with cautious optimism as we begin to kind of buy spectrum innovation and how to make the best use of the limited spectrum we have. i agree that we need to act in a strong forward-looking manner to realize the tremendous promise of wireless broadband. there are a number of ways to help accomplish this but we are going to be called upon to think

very creatively. [inaudible] >> in order to make this effect. i think this item is continuously planning for the better allocation of spectrum and that applies to the concept of channel-sharing. we have legislative option or economic conditions to allow for implementation for a full spectrum of recommendations for our international broadband plan but we do know that we need to be smarter about spectrum utilization and that we need to maximize spectrum performance so that it may better serve the many communications needs of the american people. i am, of course, mightily interested in the future of broadcasting. at the outset, i commend the notice's recognition of the public value that free to all over the air television can bring to america's citizens. many broadcasters have worked hard to turn this value into reality. i believe in the power of broadcasting. and the potential for broadcasters not only to survive

but to thrive if they will but recognize their strengths and the advantages that localism and the public spirited administration of the airways bring to them. it's an advantage that not all, in fact, not nearly enough broadcasters have pursued. it is no secret that i have been disappointed that so much of the spectrum dividend that aconstrue to broadcasters as a result of the dtv transition was dramatically underauto lighted. i'm not interested in pushing broadcasters somewhere else or in discouraging their enhanced public interest stewardship of the airways. but the public interest multicasting remains all too often the concept and not a reality. i speak only for myself in saying that had this spectrum been put to such positive use as i have just discussed, i would have little interest in contemplating other uses of it. but here we are trying to define how scarce and sometimes underutilized spectrum can serve

consumers and citizens. from now until such time as channel-surfing and all the rest come our way, maybe more broadcasters will come see the wisdom of harvesting greater benefits of the spectrum of their license to use. one of the greatest challenges facing us as we work to identify spectrum for wireless broadband and other uses is to make sure that we have a comprehensive understanding of the current spectrum landscape. surely, our future success will depend not only an understanding of current allocations and assignments but also on its actual use. that's why i am so glad that we continue to make progress on our spectrum dashboard which will require ongoing commitment and resources to achieve its full potential. i know from my experience during the digital tv transition that major changes in spectrum use can raise many issues, some unforeseen. and that they require concerted outreach to and work with both consumers and industry. consumers generally don't concern themselves much about

the arcane details of spectrum allocation nor should they have to. but they do rightly care that when they turn on a tv or make a call on a smart phone it works. and so we must begin a balancing act weighing the needs and requirements of today and tomorrow. i'm pleased we ask some difficult questions in this notice. we need to understand the regulatory framework under which channel-chairing would be allowed. -- channelder sharing would be allowed. and how any changes would effect over the air broadcasting. we also examine ways to improve tv reception in the vhf spectrum. this ladder will not be easy, believe me. we looked everywhere we could under every rock and around every corner during the dtv transition. and real remedies were few and far between. let's hope the months ahead lead us to some genuine innovation. we do seem to have a consensus that some considerable new amount of spectrum will be required in the wireless world. without additional spectrum,

wireless consumers could face degraded service or higher prices. this concerns me. but it also concerns me that without other safeguards, auctioning off massive amounts of spectrum to incumbent wireless providers may not necessarily result in more consumer-friendly pricing or service. additional spectrum is to be sure an important part of the wireless solution. the whole solution it isn't. and i suppose that's the difference between physical spectrum and spectrum policy. so this is a good and necessary item. we are teeing up questions that need to be answered and if there are questions that don't get asked, i hope commenters will answer them anyhow. we'll all pay attention, i guarantee you that. thank you to julius knaap and the team of the office of engineering and technology for the thorough job they did on a very complicated item. their work continues to amaze me. and thanks to all of the other

bureaus who cooperated in bringing us to us. thank you. >> with this notice we launched with you key initial active with the commission's larger ongoing quest to make the most productive use of our nation's spectrum uses and the future uses of the television broadband is only part of the spectrum issues but it may be the most prominent one. as we go forward in this proceeding i will remain mindful of the significant public interest benefits that broadcasters deliver. i also understand the need ensure that any new rules for allowing more flexible uses within the tv band must leave incumbent broadcast licensees with viable opportunities to experiment with their own mix of wireless services including not limited to traditional broadcasting. at the same time, i'm excited about the prospects of exploring options for wireless broadband services within the frequencies

currently devoted to over-the-air television. although this notice directs much of its attention to the concept of voluntary channel-sharing among broadcasters, i have not reached any conclusion as to whether that approach is the best possible option for getting the most out of the tv band. i would like -- i would like commenters to tell us more about the feasibility of alternatives that may be used in lieu -- in lieu of or in conjunction with channel-sharing. for example, broadcasters already are empowered under section 336 of the communications act to offer a flexible range of ancillary or supplemental wireless services in addition to their primary broadcast program stream. i've been a long time proponent of encouraging broadcasters to lease some of their spectrum for wireless broadband purposes. and now is the time to dig into this concept seriously. how would this approach work in the context of increasing the availability of wireless broadband? what are the technical issues as well as the business feasibility

issues? would this approach be a faster means of getting more spectrum for broadband into the marketplace than the channel-sharing concept? what are the relative strengths and weakness of the plan for channel-sharing, eventual spectrum-clearing and repacking versus the concept of allowing broadcasting and broadband uses to be interwoven throughout the existing tv band? i will also review with great interest the submissions we receive on the topic of potential technical improvements for digital broadcasting on vhf channels. as one of the two remaining veteran commissioners of the digital television transition and sitting next to the director of nti at the same time i've not forgotten the difficult and unanticipated challenges that we and broadcasters on those channels faced at the time of the analog shutoff. both industry and fcc engineers scrambled throughout the spring and summer of 2009 to try to overcome interference and other reception problems associated with vhf channels.

what had been part time real estate in the days of analog broadcasting sometimes became a rough neighborhood in the new digital era. before the commission takes action that might lead to more broadcasters moving back into those channels, i will want to fully understand the ramifications of such a decision. and i also thank members of oet and the media bureau and everyone involved in working on this notice is terrific. thank you. >> thank you. commissioner clyburn. >> i strongly support efforts to encourage more efficient use of all spectrum including broadcast spectrum. so if certain broadcasters are underutilizing the spectrum we have licensed to them and for those who are willing to do so on a voluntary basis, i am supportive of any recovery mechanism that would best benefit the public interest. additionally, i endorse actions that give all of our licensees more flexibility which will allow for more innovation and competition that will ultimately benefit consumers.

we also have, however, a significant obligation to protect the important public interest that over the air broadcast tv provides for our nation. as we progress through this, and other proceedings related to the national broadband plans, recommendation for reallocating 120 megahertz of broadcast spectrum for broadband services, we should carefully study the possible impact that removing broadcast spectrum could have on all consumers in local communities. but i cannot stress enough we must pay close attention, careful attention, to those who are the most vulnerable to the loss of broadcast television. we learned during the dtv transition that a large number of americans such as seniors and the very poor continue to rely on broadcast tv to stay informed. those communities that heavily depebbled on broadcast programming should not have to

sacrifice those benefits in order for our nation to wireless broadband services. i encourage our staff to work closely with broadcasters and consumer advocates so that we arrive at a long-term solution that properly balances both of these important interests. i also wish to thank all of those who worked so hard on this item. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. commissioner baker? >> thanks, mr. chairman. this proceeding is the beginning of a process to evaluate the best means to modernize our spectrum rules for the tv bands. this should be a collaborative process and we should not begin with a preconceived end state or assumptions about particular future uses. over the air broadcasters, mobile broadband providers and other innovators need the opportunity to help craft rules that will serve the public interest and provide for a robust future for broadcasting and broadband. i believe strongly that we cannot lock in today's technology or business plan for any spectrum user, whether it

would be broadcast or broadband. central to that principle we should always aim to provide a future path for innovation and investment and i'm hopeful we can achieve the proper balance in this proceeding. a path focused on future opportunity necessarily requires all stakeholders to demonstrate a willingness to question the status quo and to work cooperatively. we should start every decision of the tv bands with the recognition that it has only been a year and five months since full-power broadcasters completed their transition to digital. any successful transition of an additional tv bands to mobile broadband should be a consensus-driven process. to facilitate it, we should encourage new technology and innovation in and more broadly new thinking how broadcasters and broadband providers coexist. this notice takes a number of steps to optimize spectrum usage in the tv bands and provide broadcasters with greater flexibility and how spectrum is used.

a hallmark for our modern spectrum policy across bands. to that end, i support the commission's effort to add allocations for fixed and mobile services in the uhf and vhf bands. our overall flexible approach is also evident in the fact that the item does not specify future brand plan for recovered spectrum. i also support proposals to improve operating conditions in the vhf band. as we all know there were real consequences for reception of vhf signals as a result of the dtv transition. i accept this represents an initial step in updating our tv rules. significant and fundamental rules are deferred. in the future there needs to be a full discussion on additional innovative proposals to address sharing of broadband and broadcast in the tv bands including the possibility of a transition from inpeg 2 to inpeg 4. the adoption of a more

cellularized broadcast system or a transition from atsc to fdm technologies. these are by no means the only potential approaches and may have their own weakness and strengths. and in all fairness, we should also ask additional questions about the future applicability on broadcast licensees. if the tv bands are to shift towards a more flexible spectrum model, it is only right to ask whether those use restrictions should be revisited. we should also acknowledge that we need to partner with and have to have a good relationship with congress to give us the tools to potentially -- that are potentially necessary to effectuate our policy decisions. in particular, i'm hopeful that congress will soon provide the commission with the authority to conduct incentive auctions as well as other tools to manage spectrum more effectively. these tools can help the commission offer win-win situations to incumbent and new users of spectrum. importantly, these are not tools nor an approach that should be

limited to the tv bands. indeed, it is critical that we stress that this proceeding is part of a much broader, overreaching, cross-governmental spectrum reform effort to ensure our nation's long-term competitiveness and a bright future for the spectrum-hungry mobile broadband services. as we fully consider the future of the tv bands, we should also work to avoid the mistakes of the past where the practical impact of allocations in one band had a ripple effect across other users or inhibited future efforts. in the tv bands these challenges caused by wireless microphones are the ones that have been most discussed but the issues surrounding tv channel 51 warrant greater focus. channel 51 is adjacent to the lower block a and the 700 megahertz. the presence of high powered broadcast operations in many operations may foreclose the opportunity to build out a broadband offering in the 700 megahertz.

i appreciate that we ask questions directly about that issue here. and more generally, we seek comment on how to best avoid such situations particularly as it relates to channel 37 and the uppermost channel dedicated to over the air broadcasting. if we view the tv bands and our spectrum policy more comprehensively, we can avoid some of these pitfalls going forward. we also cannot ignore the unintended consequences of our prior actions. we need to address existing impediments to investment like the channel 51 issue in an equitable and expedited manner. i look forward to addressing all of these challenges with my fellow commissioners. many thanks to the staff who worked so hard on this item over thanksgiving. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, commissioner baker. this item is the first of three the commission is considering today that will help meet our nation's need for cutting edge wireless services and technologies for the 21st century. helping spur our economy and create jobs.

one way to think of spectrum is as invisible infrastructure, though you can't see it, spectrum is the backbone of our mobile communications infrastructure and so it was essential to one of the most robust and promising sectors of our economy. we are at an inflection point with our invisible infrastructure. the explosive growth in mobile communications threatens to out-pace the infrastructure on which it relies. i've said this before, but it bears repeating an emphasis. if we don't act to update our spectrum policies for the 21st century, we're going to run into a wall, a spectrum crutch that will stifle american innovation and economic growth and cost us the opportunity to lead the world in mobile communications. the spectrum crutch also threatens to create millions of dissatisfied mobile consumers.

who if we don't tackle this challenge we'll be forced to choose between poor service and higher prices. drop mobile internet connections won't be any less frustrating than dropped calls. as we outlined in the national broadband plan more recently in our fcc spectrum summit we have a two pronged plan for bridging the gap for spectrum supply and demand. first we'll pursue policies to drive the efficient use of spectrum. second, we'll bring forces of bands of spectrum where markets are not given the opportunity to work. this item advances both goals. it starts what i hope will become a landmark rule-making to bring efficiency to the use of our tv broadcast spectrum and it lays essential groundwork for market-based policies in the form of voluntary incentive auctions which i strongly hope congress authorizes in the near future. the roughly 300 megahertz of spectrum in the tv bands is

among the most robust available. some people call it beach front property. the transition to digital made it possible to transmit over the air broadcast programming using less spectrum than before. while some stations are seizing the opportunity to offer multicast streams or mobile tv and serve that public interest and i commend them, others are not. we might think of the steady stream of broadcast tv transmissions as trains with a fixed number of box cars delivering digital content. but many of the box cars now are empty. the spectrum is too valuable and our spectrum needs too great for it tore used inefficiently in this manner especially given that less than 10% of americans receive broadcast television only through over the air spectrum signals, itself, a significant inefficiency. yet, our rules currently don't permit certain types of efficient use like channel-sharing. ..

for the treasury. is fair to broadcasters providing additional options. wind/win as commissioner baker

put it. recognizing broadcasters's obligation to serve the public interest and the needs of viewers who continue to rely only on over the air broadcasting. we take today at our first formal step to set the stage for incentive options. perhaps reminiscent of an action taken 20 years ago by the commission, when the fcc started a process for digital television. it wasn't headline news that the time it ultimately led to the emergence of a new generation of tv technology and freed 100 megawatts of spectrum to usher in 4 g wireless service technology and new broadband service. it won't be easy to free of spectrum of mobile broadband from the existing tv bands. neither was the process that led to the dtb transition that created the specter of. but it is at least as necessary

as the process that began more than 20 years ago and because of how fast our global competitors are moving it is essential we move rapidly. we don't have anywhere close to 20 years this time. we can't afford to fall behind. that is why today we take the important step to begin the process of freeing up significant amount of spectrum for noble broadband. i thank julie and everyone who participated in the development of this item and the wireless and media bureau decided the right example of how we can achieve the right product by close collaboration among bureaus and offices and i thank each of my commissioners -- each of the commissioners, each of my colleagues and their staff for working closely together. with that, we are proceeding to a vote at this point so unless

there's more discussion all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say nay. the is have it. order to request for editorial privileges is granted. madam secretary, please announce the next item on the agenda. the next two items. >> the second and third item on the agenda will be presented together. i am 2 on your agenda is entitled promoting expanded opportunities for radio experimentation and studies under part 5 of commission rules. and streamlining of the related rules. 2006 by an annual review for communications regulation. item 3 on your agenda is entitled promoting more efficient use of spectrum through dynamic spectrum use technology and the wireless telecommunications bureau will join the office of technology. >> thank you. you have the floor again, mr

net. >> my pleasure to present two items for investment in wireless technology by encouraging research and development of new product and services and by finding ways to increase access to federal resources. the first item is a notice of proposed rulemaking that proposes an overhaul of our experimental licensing program to make it easier for places like university, research institutions, health care institutions and other organizations to develop and study new wireless technology. the second item is a notice of inquiry on dynamic spectrum access which was prepared with the wireless telecommunications bureau. the items seeks to promote value much of a time by opening it up to new services and devices that use dynamic spectrum access techniques. it also explores how we might

modify our secondary market rules to further encourage use of services based on dynamic spectrum access. the two items will be presented by deputy chief of 0 et with us at the table. the chief of the wireless telecommunications bureau end assistant bureau chief. before presenting the items, allow me to take a moment to prepare -- as i was looking at the list, i get by with help from friends and rookies who get by with help from a lot of our friends. with the experimental item from the wireless bureau and roger noel. and gary michael. and john long, gordon guthrie and jim brad shaw. the general council office of

david horowitz and steve space from the chief technology, bruce romano, davidson prime and dave miller, dr. young, and nancy bob brooks. i still have more names. for the dynamic spectrum item, wind up in paul murray, gary mark cote and gary, from the office of strategic planning deficit, benjamin and a boost from jerry mattis. >> good morning. we have two items before you that will promote innovations

technology. and updating the commission's experiment radius service rules and a notice of inquiry that examines how advanced radio technologies with new models of spectrum management to advance innovations, increase and use and stretch the capacity of a valuable spectrum resources. many innovative ideas in an all sectors of the economy can be traced back to ideas and inspiration developed under experimental radio licenses. and the city of may technology found in the 3-peat system as well as the ltv powering the latest high-tech devices. the experiment radius service has been instrumental in development of cutting edge medical devices. a camera and april provides an examination of high resolution images of internal organs.

to assure the united states remained at the forefront of innovation, we accelerate to rate birdies ideas transformed to a consumer devices -- each program must be approved by the commission and if researchers make the decisions for changes and operating authority they must seek prior approval for modification of their licence. we now propose to create a new type of experimental license, the program license. these provide broad authority over a wide variety of random operating parameters without the need to obtain prior authorization of experiments. specifically we propose to create three program licenses. the first would be available to universities and national laboratories so they can leverage their vast resources and expertise in basic research

to bring about innovation. second we propose to create an innovation zone program where researchers can conduct specified geographic locations in these conditions. and others we propose to create a medical program license that would be available to qualified hospitals, veterans administration facilities and other institutions for advancement in technology to improve patient care and save lives. we also propose a broader opportunity for market trials to provide greater opportunities for equipment manufacturers and service providers to conduct product development and market trial. the proposed rules will allow market trials to more fully engage consumers so developers can better meet their needs. the notice also proposes greater experimentation by consolidating, streamlining and making targeted modifications where existing rules and procedures collectively the rule changes proposed in the notice

will spark innovation and promote robust experimentation. additionally we believe proposals for experimental radio service will provide new opportunities for innovators to examine ways the 9 than expected maxus technology and opportunistic radio technology can help address the challenge proposed by the looming spectrum crunch enabling more efficient usage of our special resources. for these latter seems in greater detail in the notice of inquiry which seeks to promote and facilitate wireless innovation. specifically to increase comments in ways in which access radius and techniques can promote more efficient use of spectrum to seek information on development of spectrum sensing and other dynamic capabilities and techniques that can identify temporarily and use spectrum's. the inquiry all the requests information on how the commission can promote development of these technologies by establishing a dynamic actress radio and how

dynamic radios manage techniques to be deployed in the future on licensed and unlicensed basis. additionally, the inquiry examines whether the database access oh finds unlicensed devices proceeding might be deployed in other spectrum bands. it is information on which bans might be tentative with spectrum use. for example spectrum use and held by the commission do not receive bids at auction or was returned in rural areas or other things. the inquiry also asks with spectrum honoring to be used for dynamic spectrum use. further the increase on hot spectrum use in the secondary market arrangement employs dynamic spectrum access and techniques to incentivize efficient spectrum use. licensees and spectrum lessees

already have wide latitude to enter these arrangements and ask whether further improvements are made in dynamic specter maxus technologies and techniques there are additional steps the commission should take to facilitate dynamic spectrum leasing or private arrangements. finally the inquiry asks if there are additional steps the commission could take to facilitate more efficient use of spectrum's. we believe the proposed rule changes and results of our inquiry will result in advancement in devices and services available to the american public can lead to greater spectrum efficiency over the long term promoting economic growth, jobs, global competitiveness and service for all americans. the office recommends adoption of notice of proposed rulemaking and in korea request these privileges. thank you. >> commissioner skop?

>> today's meeting is all about micromanaging the power and efficiency of our public spectrum research and the specter as we all stand has never been greater and we all know the laws of physics prevent us from being able to create more of this finite resource. even as we look to free up existing spectrum to meet the needs for wireless broadband we can explore ways to make more dynamic and opportunistic use of the spectrum than we had. given the technology, i have been privileged to witness over nearly a decade at the commission i am a strong believer in the creative power of spectrum engineers and innovators both inside and outside the agency. to help us use our spectrum resources more intensively and efficiently we need to hear from these experts as we move forward making sure we have the complete picture of the dynamic specter maxus tools available and doing what we can to encourage their

development and use. we also propose much-needed improvements to our system perspective experimentation and proposed rulemaking. many of you have heard by not infrequent and the rotations on the need to encourage research and development to ensure america going forward global competitiveness. we have concrete proposals to a chance that front. worse out the burdens of getting preapproved leverage time. in a similar vein we seek to create innovation and experimentation to allow greater flexibility to conduct and modify the spectrum experiment. nowhere is the potential for innovation more exciting than the area of promoting advances in health care technology to paralyzed land and creating advanced body since the

networks. we propose to create a new experimental program for hospitals and other health-care institutions with the food and drug administration. over the years our experimental radio service program has been a tool innovators used for exciting services that are taken for granted. we looked to build upon an additional commentary that mentioned utilization of the secondary market techniques. we look forward to record of that and what follows, we would compile the record we have. we have a feel for how secondary markets served as the bowls to what extent we meet the

potential, as we designed the future we need to know where we are. and look up the procedures we have in place a few years ago. it is a truly excellent team and the milkman, and we have innovations of the sec, and we look forward to working with you and distinguished colleagues. and expeditious proceeding, we have solid benefits of such action to remain competitive mistranslated and to jobs in the global economy. >> i am delighted to report these items and i want to thank the team, armies stand behind people sitting at the table today. none of this would be possible

without their dedication and talent. the work has been fantastic. the american wireless marketplace is dynamic and explosive. it is a world leader in innovation and competition. it offers the brightest rays of growth and opportunity in the american economy. given this context i am pleased we are starting to do the heavy lifting today with longer-term second planning. i look forward to working with all of my colleagues to begin the process of putting more spectrum is in the hands of the american consumers. the notice of proposed rulemaking seeks comments on new ideas throughout innovation and efficiency in spectrum use in our experimental radio service rules. our program is a wonderful example of success as evidenced by the variety of new technology began as an experiment deployed as valuable service relied upon

by american consumers every day. successes include personal communications service, and new life changing licenses to name a few. as an overarching matter i hope our updated rules will adhere to the commission's more recent flexible use policy. old-style command and control, prescriptive rule not only hampered creative entrepreneurs to understand and satisfy consumer demand but caused spectral in efficiency as well. as far as encouraging dynamic spectrum use, i have long emphasized spectral efficiency and seeking new ideas for dynamic uses the crucial in light of the reality shaping america's wireless future. when it comes to resolve a spectrum crunch issue in practical terms, even if we

could identify 500 megahertz of spectrum reality today, the better part of the decade passed by before we had great proposed auction rules, analyze public comments, adopt rules, hold an auction the personal connect the proceeds, clears the van and watch terriers go out and turn on their networks. in the meantime helping innovators create and deploy new technology to and hence more efficient use of the airwaves has to be a top priority for all of us. as we sort through the complex issues associated with more spectrum for longer-term i look forward to learning more about technologies that will allow wireless providers to take better advantage of the immediate fixes already available in the marketplace. these include more robust deployment of enhanced antenna

systems, improved development testing and rollout of creative technology's like cognitive radios and-consideration of the use of cells. there's a terrific radio outlining some of these. each of these technological options augments capacity and coverage which are especially important for data and multimedia transmission. we are at the very beginning of what is a lengthy and complicated process. i look forward to giving these and other issues a careful and proper reserve. thank you for bringing forth these issues today. >> i commend the chairman for his leadership in promoting policies for these companion items. if our nation wants to compete more effectively we must encourage greater research and development and more efficient spectrum use. such r&d is not only for monumental communications innovation but the internet and

world wide web but it is also critically important the success of individual businesses and an overall national economy. whitehouse study conducted in september of 2009 found research and development is one of the most important pillars in building a foundation for an economy that could create jobs and drive sustainable growth. all of the initiatives in the experimental license encourage greater r&d which will enable individual entities to do more with their experimental authorization, facilitate collaboration among industry and academics and streamline rules. the two initiatives i find no worthy are the research and medical program experimental radio licences. universities and nonprofit institutions have proven they have enhanced oversight and streamlined application process

that the research program license would give. using experimental licenses, have not only had 1 gigabytes per second with broadband networks but they also demonstrated public service leadership by advocating we help connect those communities or networks to enter institutions in low income communities. this recommendation can lead to important short-term and long-term economic benefits. community connection projects are by their nature job creators so connecting these research and education networks to low-income communities can lead to immediate job creation and investment opportunities. for instance rutgers university reports the global environment for network innovation projects which involve 29 universities have created hundreds of jobs in new jersey alone.

the national broadband plan also explains how case western university project ultrafast when presenting that work to homes, schools, libraries and museums in a low-income community in cleveland, of ohio is creating jobs. this project also leading to software and service development for environmental efficiency, health and many other application the. these are if you examples of why we should do as much as we can as quickly as we can to encourage universities and research institutions to engage in more research and development of communication technology. designing the medical program experiment authorization to promote more facilities for new wireless medical devices could see the development of important achievements in health care. i thank the food and drug administration as the american society for health care innovation for collaborating with us on this issue.

the item encourages physicians to work with veterans of their facilities and military services early in the development of these devicess i am pleased to see. our wounded warriors have made great sacrifices in defense of our nation and we owe it to them to create an environment that could lead to faster medical breakthroughs and help them return to civilian life. the medical program experimental license could also accelerate innovation to further -- advances in video technology and medical broadband applications are allowing physicians to collaborate with their colleagues across the globe in real time on difficult cases. for those suffering long-term decline in ellises remote patient monitoring offers greater mobility and independence.

our agency continues to promote technology and policies that will give those in greatest need of medical care more flexibility in finding this. scholarship in today's inquiry on dynamic spectrum use technology also sends a proper message that we must encourage more efficiency in the spectrum. the notice recognizes that to best advance these technologies the commission must have a clear understanding of how various parts of the spectrum are being used today. detailed technical questions to ensure that we have a comprehensive record on the latest development in dynamic spectrum technology and promoting flexible use policy such as leasing of licensed spectrum through the secondary market, the notice present a cogent analysis across the girl techniques of policies we

permit. i would like to thank julie knapp and the other technologically evangelist in the office of engineering and technology, the office of another favorite, wireless telecommunications borrow again, and other favorite for their hard work on these items. thank you. >> commissioner baker? >> thank you. everybody is my favorite. this holiday season kicks off a new cycle of fundamental change in the wireless market. consumers everywhere especially in my house are choosing powerful smart phones. worldwide smart phone sales grew 96% from the third quarter last year and smart phones accounted for 30% of overall mobile phone subscriptions by 2010 in the united states. tablets that use hundreds of times more data than the most

advanced smart phones may well be the stars of the giving season. yesterday's wall street journal cites a research survey that found 9% of holiday shoppers plan to buy and ipad in the next 90 days. i already bought mine. i have little doubt whether smart phones or tablets these devices will challenge networks as much as they would like their owners. we find additional spectrum to power these devices and all those going forward constitute half the battle for dramatically exploding needs of the wireless consumers. we also promote greater innovation to helped ease the spectrum we have today and what we allocate tomorrow as efficiently as possible. this is a good place to start. the innovation they support will provide the tools we will need to unlock the full potential of the broadcast bans.

i am excited about today's items for expanding opportunities for radio experimentation. i am a firm believer in research and development efforts whenever and however we can making it easier and more straight forward to conduct real-world research and a natural straightforward task we can take. our action offers support to our nation's inventors by enhancing their ability to test their theory and innovation streamlining procedures we must do so. and this will benefit consumers and operators across the country by reducing the time it will take to get new devices to market. it will also help maintain our country's leadership and development of wireless technology applications and services. dynamic spectrum access is thought to be a key medical advance that could improve the way spectrum is used for commercial and noncommercial services as an area in which the

department of defense has shown leadership and innovation and over the years. it has proven difficult to apply the research and development in the area's dynamic spectrum access to commercial radio systems. technical issues have been too complex and costs too high. it is my hope that in issuing dynamic spectrum access we can focus our collective attention on what it will take to overcome these challenges. if we are successful dynamic spectrum access technology could become one of the go to tools operators can rely on to more efficiently manage their commercial spectrum resources. coupled with an enhanced spectrum-board and other ways to get information available to spectrum this for prospective users dynamic spectrum access across the secondary markets for short-term or spot transactions which is another potentially useful way to manage

investments. so i join in thanking the army of people who worked on this. you guys are great. you did this in an innovative and rapid way and we're grateful to you. >> i have to say those whereas excellent a set of statements as i remember and to fatima i say you brought out the enthusiastic geek in all of us and also the shared commitment that we have, each of the commissioners and staff with respect to our fundamental responsibility when it comes to spectrum. recognizing how important that is and how important the rep eternity is for the country on the economic side, the health side, i couldn't be more appreciative of the work on this and i particularly enjoyed my interactions with the team as we developed these items and we are a commission that is committed

to a robust agenda. we have been working hard despite some time earlier this year. thanks to some of the people on the panel right now we unleashed spectrum, recovered spectrum or freed up spectrum of 25 megahertz. we took an important step that i am looking forward to conclude with respect to bring in additional flexibility to mobile satellite service spectrum in addition to 90 mhz. for the first time in twenty-five years we freed up spectrum below 5 gigahertz. license is launching a new platform for innovation that we hope will lead to new product and services as significant as wi-fi which is one of the innovations that came out of the release of the spectrum. what we have been calling superwi-fi. one of the applications we

expect from our newly released white paper spectrum has been helped and accelerated by sec -- fcc experimental licenses. let me address the first of the two items presented. wi-fi, superwi-fi, new potentially life-saving antipollution systems in cars. you might have seen the tv ads. this requires spectrum and developed using an fcc at license. we heard that experimental licenses have also played an essential role in development of life-saving medical devices. i am very pleased that we take concrete steps for our experimental licensing program. we are proposing to ease testing restrictions on university, research organizations and other institutions that are developing new services for the allies

spectrum and propose innovations of the-one of the most exciting areas for innovation and improving health care and reducing health-care costs. our goal is to accelerate innovation for experimental licenseing to reduce the time of an idea to get to the market. a more extensive experimental licensing program would help the fcc make smarter, faster decisions particularly when it comes to interference issues by giving us on the ground intelligence on interference questions and insight into the development of new cutting edge technology. encouraging research and development vital to our objective, responding globally to the great technological advances of tomorrow, passed advances in technology like improvements in digital

transmission techniques have led to a vastly efficient, vastly improve the efficiency and consistent with our focus on maximizing the efficiency of the spectrum we are also beginning an inquiry on how we can spur new technologies that share spectrum dynamic. today's spectrum that is allocated sitting idle during time periods won the primary licensee is not using airwaves, geographic locations. doesn't make sense given the growing demands on spectrum. the goal of this proceeding is to be a vehicle for identifying steps we can take to unleash and accelerate new spectrum efficiency policies and technologies. i'm interested in ideas to jump-start secondary markets, dynamic spectrum access. 7 cells have been mentioned. a spot spectrum sales and transaction. i am interested in how to encourage better information, building on our innovative

spectrum of -- historically the u.s. has led the world in spectrum policy innovation. options are one example. auctioned like the spectrum and release of unlicensed spectrum is. those are two key examples of groundbreaking policy innovation that was implemented in the united states. incentive options are the third major spectrum policy innovation. i would like to set a goal for this proceeding. that it will lead to another historically significant spectrum policy innovation. i would like to call for broad participation in helping us meet that goal. from all of the stakeholders have an interest -- traditional

innovators but also a new generation of innovators who are looking at spectrum for first-time as a platform for the next generation of innovative technology, medical products and energy products. i don't assume the spectrum management model and policies used today are those that will make the most sense tomorrow especially given rapidly evolving technology, both involving dynamic information based markets and devolving spectrum sensing devices. the opportunity is not only for the development of new spectrum efficient policy as important as that is also to spur the development of new spectrum efficiency technology and product. which we would like to see developed, perfected, launched in the united states to the rest of the world. spectrum proceedings today are vital parts of ensuring that the

u.s. lead the world in mobile in the twenty-first century promoting economic growth, job creation and our global competitiveness. julie, you mentioned that you were reciting the names of people who participated and helped develop these items that was done with a little bit of help from our friends, the deals are available on the ipad, and of her tablets as well but i don't want to thank all the staff from the wireless bureau and everyone else. others have mentioned doug sicker. he is a relatively new ceo here for a few months on travel, fulfilling his role in exactly the way we would hope. coming in from the outside

spurring new thinking, being a bridge to new engineers, other technologists outside so i am enthusiastic as we all are about the directions launched by these proceedings. i look forward to working with my colleagues and all of you to turn these ideas into major policy innovations for our country and seeing the next wave of innovative products relying on those. unless there is more discussion let's proceed to a vote on each of the light of the. we will take two folks. on experimental licensing all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say nay. it is so ordered an the request for editorial privileges is granted. the second and, opportunistic use. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say nay. is so ordered. the request for editorial

privileges is granted. madam secretary? >> the final item on your agenda is a presentation with an overview of the 20 first century communications video accessibility act. the implementation plan and a demonstration of accessibility technology. >> good morning, mr. chairman and commissioners. you will hear from the consumer and government affairs bureau about a major new initiative. the twenty-first century communications and video access ability act takes historic steps to improve access to people with

disabilities and the fcc has the major responsibility for implementing this act. this act will do more for the communications needs of people with disabilities than any loss since the 1996 amendment to the communications act. in addition to ensurin will flexibility gaps ling full broadband access it will flexibility gaps left by early disability laws and the national broabilityand plan recommended legislation and we are now implementing that recommendation. we are fortunate to have two national leaders in the field in the consumer bureau to lead this effort. greg is the new chief of the disability office for the consumer bureau. he began his career as an activist where he successfully led the student movement and served as an attorney for nearly a decade and we are very pleased that he will now leave that office. karen strauss rejoins the commission earlier this year as deputy chief of the consumer and government affairs bureau with a

special focus on disability. she has been a leading national advocate in this field and literally wrote the book entitled a new civil rights that chronicle the legal effort to provide better communications access for people with disabilities. she will describe the act's requirements and the commission's implementation plan and larry golbilityerg will introduce the new technologies the act will put into use. i want to thank everyone around the commission for the hard work they have already begun to implement this new law. in implementing this act and in the other work we have done on this issue, we are joined by every other bureau and s we are offices. we are grateful and very appreciative for their collaboration and work on these issues and i would like to turn to greg to begin the presentation.

>> thank you, commissioners. is a pleasure for me to appear here today in my new role as chief of the disability rights office. begin the slide. thank you. the 20 first century act was passed by congress to update our nation's telecommunications protection for disabilities. this follows a string of lives, in the 1980s and 1990s. those were designed to ensure television access. these laby e will not not be ab to keepturp fast pace of technological changes that our society has witnessed over the past decade. this new law contains

groundbreaking protection to enable people with disabilities to access broabilityand, dhe bid mobile innovation. emerging 20 first century technology for which the act is named. there are approximately thirty-six million deaf and hard of hearing americans, seventy-five million with sufficient vision loss. in 2009 a study conducted by the fcc revealed people with ãwaisabilities are less likely use internet based communicatiourn 65% of americans have broadband at home but only 42% of americans with disabilities have these services. this gap is due in part to d

disabilities find when using the internet. it is for this reason that the national broadband plan adopted by the commission in march of this year recommended that congress and the fcc modernize accessibility lt bs toccess.eep with broadband technologies. the new lt b enan acesturs to po this recommendation. >> thank you, commissioners. it is an honor to be here to talk about the accessibility of legislation. for people with disabilities broadband and techno -- digital technologies provides wonderful opportunities for greater independence and social integration but only if they are designed to be successful. the twenty-first century act will provide tools these people need to better participate in employment, eof

life. and also encourage innovation and competition acry-fis communication and video programming industry as companies strive to compete for new market shares within the disability community. the act is divided into two titles. the first addresses communication access expands upon section 255 of the communications act to make product and services using broadband fully accessible to people with disabilities. this requires access to voice offering, electronic messaging and videondonferencing. in addition this section requires internet browsers on smart phones and other mobile devices such as thy-fie discuss this morning to be accessin acey people who are blind or visually impaired so that these persons can use devices to find on-line information, local services or use the same way she bhted peop can. manufacturers and sepcaice provnduers fill this through

integrated or external hardware or sofpcoare solutions. title one also requires smart phones and other advanced mobile ãwa we arices to be compatin ac hearing aids. also update the definition of relay sepcaices and reqgratres providers to contribute to the telecommunications relay fund. the new law authorizes funding to distribute telecommunications equuryment to people who are def and blind. the first time ever that federal policy address the communication needs of these indiviof ^ coinally this lawturnder this title gives the fcc to ensure people with disabilities are able toturse the next generatio of 911 emergency services. ti ape one agh o direct a clearg house of accessible product and services. ãwairectors to improve the complaint procedures as well. they will bring their concerns

morenoro twe are submitting reports to congress that report on our own compliance with the act and accessibility of new communications technology. we arery five years the comptrr general will report to congress on how well we comply to understand the development of a program in the audio track. this requires programs shown on television with captions continue to include those captions when they are shown on

the internet. most importantly type ii requires emergency information on television to be provided in a manner accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. until now emergency information that breaks into originally scheduled television shows only appears in a crawl on the bottom of the tv screen which blind people cannot read. this measure will shore blind people have access to this critical information. title ii extends captioning to devices beyond standard television sets. video devices of all screen sizes including computers and smart phones will be required to display closed captions if capable, making use of the new technologies we talked about this morning. legislation also makes it easier for people who are deaf or blind to use newer video devices as they are developed for people with hearing loss. the devices have to include

buttons or icons to make it easier for users to use captions, to activate captions and for people who are blind or visually impaired it will make it possible to navigate controls on their tvs and d v rs including premium channel, accessing video description and exploring on-screen programming guides and menus. right now these onscreen controls are virtually impossible to use without sight. in the short time since the law's passage the commission has lost feedback on the provisions dealing with advanced communications services, hearing in combat ability, national deaf line equipment distribution program and two advisory committees we must create to meet our obligations. the first of these committees is video programming and emergency access committee which will address various requirements for captioning, video description an

emergency access. the second is the emergency access committee which will work to ensure access for next generation 911 service. the final prize to the statute implementation deadline. in 2011 we will promulgate rules on the deaf blind equipment distribution program, advanced communications services, hearing in compatibility and various modifications. this will be followed in 2012 with rules requiring closed captioning on certain internet programs and closed captioning capabilities on video devices. finally in 2013 we will issue several orders to make communication, video programming and emergency access on television more 6 the -- more accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. there's a lot to be done. but we are very energized by the challenges ahead. the new law is unprecedented in its capacity to offer new

communication tools that people with disabilities need to live independent productive lives. they have agreed to make rules in agreement. and look forward to collaborating with consumers to implement this new law. and a national center for accessible media in boston. both larry and w gb h have been leaders in successful programming technology for the past several decades. larry will demonstrate the accessibility solution that will become more widely available as a result of the planned landmark legislation. >> thank you, thank you for the opportunity to show some of these technologies that are available today and will be promoted and required by the new act. most are familiar with closed captioning the description of a

lesser-known but equally essential service to access tv. video description is defined as recorded narration of visual elements of a tv program or movie time to fit into gaps and dialogue and scripted to enable understanding and enjoyment of visual media by people who are blind or visually impaired. video description is available in some movie theaters, on dvds, on line and a number of television shows. here's a sample, from arthur. listened to the additional voice in the video. ..

>> as increasingly complex home media components -- excuse me just a moment -- begin to proliferate over the past decade consumers were lied are officially compared to lose the ability to control their own viewing environment. even the ability to change channels or not what program is on. with the advent of dtv the level of complexity increased even more. are in the project in u.s., u.k. and elsewhere begin building prototypes to enable talking venues of all onscreen controls including electronic program guide.

in england the result in technology is now available on the market. in the u.s. a grant from the department of education enabled wgbh's national center for successful need to create the following prototype using the open-source tv platform. the following clip shows how a blind person can navigate an onscreen programming menu using audio prompts. >> schedule recordings. program guide. welcome to the program guide. who wants to be a millionaire. news at 5:30.

channel two news. >> finally, web surfing via mobile devices is becoming increasingly common. tv and video viewing on mobile devices is also becoming more common especially with the recent launch into the mobile tt standard and devices that support it. and in terms of access to multimedia, both blackberry and apple, support closed captions on their smartphones. here's what close captions look like on an iphone. >> u.s. treasury secretary and -- henry paulson is meeting with chinese officials to try to reduce tensions over trade.

>> thank you. those are just a few the technologies that are readily available today and are ready to be deployed widely. >> excellent. thank you very much. i will have comments in a minute, but if there's nothing further i just want to make sure, commission, do you have any comments? >> these are great reports by a group of people who are obviously dedicated to making good and things to happen. for so, i i want to congratulate greg in his new position. i am thrilled that you're there. i'm thankful for everything you have already contributed to the commission. i am looking forward to all of the stellar contribution shall make any future.

thanks to karen, one more time for all of the wealth of experience and creativity and commitment that she brings here. jolt, for his outstanding leadership for the bureau. you have really got a stellar team. i want to thank the chairman for his leadership here in this regard. it seems several of our meetings with had, items and reports, proceedings of interest to the disabilities and communities. and just giving at that level of attention and visibility i think has been a tremendous good and we all ought to be grateful for your leadership on this. thanks to larry for his report, and for all the creative and good things you're doing there. i really wanted to hear the end of that story. this is congress and the commission really meeting their

responsibilities, making sure that the protections that were intended for all in the previous generation are there for all of us in the digital age that we are in. it's an area where we can do so much good and create opportunity for people who really ask nothing more than the chance to be fully participating and productive members of our society. so you mentioned at the outset this is a historic act, an historic opportunity. i think these have come together here now, and i am thrilled to have you folks working on this, thankful that congress has underlined the importance and given us a really substantive piece of legislation. and also some timelines, which we welcome and help fashion i

think some of the timeline. so that's great. working with the disabilities communities i think has been one of the highlights of my years here at the fcc. and i was so happy to see us move so aggressively at this breed of time. so thanks to one and all. >> thank you, commissioner copps. >> thank you, mr. chairman. jolt from and congratulations to greg as well. look forward to working with you as well, and karen, excellent job. and mr. goldberg, thanks for that presentation. it was outstanding. that was a very informative presentation overall. on numerous occasions i recognize the surest path to america's continued vitality, strength and vibrancy is to realizing and enabling the contributions and full potential of all of its citizens. along with my colleagues, i work hard to encourage the commission to do all that it can to foster