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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  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  News  Media  Contact:  August  4,  2003  David  Fiske  (202)  418-  0513 
 Richard  Diamond  (202)  418-  0506 


 FCC  Goes  WiFi 
 The  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  announced  today  that  it  would  provide  free  wireless  Internet  access  to  visitors  at  its  Washington,  D.  C.  office. 


 “When  you  come  to  the  FCC,  leave  the  cords  at  home,”  said  FCC  Chairman  Michael  K.  Powell.  “We’re  embracing  the  power  of  WiFi  and  the  freedom  and  convenience  of  wireless 
 Internet  access  it  gives  to  consumers.” 
 Last  year,  Powell  directed  his  staff  to  take  the  steps  needed  to  make  the  FCC  one  of  the  first  federal  agencies  to  provide  public  WiFi  access.  Visitors  bringing  their  own  hardware 
 and  software  can  use  the  service  on  the  Twelfth  Street,  Courtyard,  and  Eighth  Floor  levels  of  the  headquarters  located  at  445  12  th  Street,  SW  in  Washington,  D.  C. 


 The  system  uses  the  802.11a  and  802.11b  protocols,  commonly  referred  to  as  WiFi.  The  Commission  will  be  unable  to  provide  technical  support,  and  all  transactions  using  this 
 service  are  the  responsibility  of  the  visitor.  At  present,  the  FCC  will  not  request  personal  identifying  information  prior  to  allowing  access  to  the  wireless  network.  If  requested  by 
 outside  authorities,  however,  the  FCC  will  provide  data  from  system  audit  logs  to  support  external  investigations  of  improper  Internet  use. 


 If  there  appears  to  be  a  system  outage,  please  call  (202)  418-  WIFI. 
 -  FCC  - 
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