4/9/09
FCC Adopts Rules to Expand, Enhance First Responders' Use of Broadband Communications.
News Release: Word | Acrobat
Order: Word | Acrobat
Copps Statement: Word | Acrobat

3/20/09
FCC Proposes New Rules for Implanted Neuromuscular Microstimulators.
News Release: Word | Acrobat
NPRM: Word | Acrobat
Copps Statement: Word | Acrobat
Adelstein Statement: Word | Acrobat
McDowell Statement: Word | Acrobat

3/20/09
FCC Adopted Rules for New Advanced Medical Technologies, ET Docket No. 06-135.
News Release: Word | Acrobat
R&O: Word | Acrobat
Copps Statement: Word | Acrobat
Adelstein Statement: Word | Acrobat
McDowell Statement: Word | Acrobat

3/18/09
WTB Certifies Two Additional Frequency Coordinators for the 800 MHz SMR Pool.
Public Notice: Word | Acrobat

2/27/09
Waiver of BAS Relocation Deadline.
Public Notice: Word | Acrobat
Order: Word | Acrobat

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The Spectrum Policy Task Force was established in June 2002 to assist the Commission in identifying and evaluating changes in spectrum policy that will increase the public benefits derived from the use of the radio spectrum (News Release). The Task Force was charged to:

• Provide specific recommendations to the Commission for ways in which to evolve the current "command and control" approach to spectrum policy into a more integrated, market-oriented approach that provides greater regulatory certainty, while minimizing regulatory intervention.

• Assist the Commission in addressing ubiquitous spectrum issues, including, interference protection, spectral efficiency, effective public safety communications, and implications of international spectrum policies.

In November 2002, the Task Force issued its Report to the Commission. In its Report, the Task Force said:

while the commission has recently made some major strides in how spectrum is allocated and assigned in some bands, principally through flexible rules and competitive bidding, spectrum policy is not keeping pace with the relentless spectrum demands of the market. the task force has begun the process of reexamining 90 years of spectrum policy to ensure that the commission's policies evolve with the consumer-driven evolution of new wireless technologies, devices, and services. the task force hopes and expects that this report will serve as a catalyst for further advancement of spectrum policy at the fcc.

The current objectives of the Task Force now center around achieving the Commission's strategic goals through the implementation and further development of its recommendations and other functions. See Presentation to the Commission, "One Year Later" (November 2003); News Release Word | Acrobat; and Powell Press Statement: Word | Acrobat.

The Spectrum Policy Task Force is comprised of senior staff from several Commission Bureaus and Offices, including attorneys, engineers and economists.