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 NEWS  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).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  News  Media  contact:  August  21,  2003  Jessica  Rosenworcel  at  (202)  418-  2000 
 FCC  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS  REACTS  TO  RELEASE  OF  LONG-  AWAITED  TRIENNIAL  REVIEW  DECISION 
 Order  Preserves  Competitive  Tools  But  Endangers  Broadband  Competition  and  Innovation 
 Washington,  D.  C.—  Commissioner  Michael  J.  Copps  reacted  today  to  the  release  of  the  Commission’s  long-  awaited  Triennial  Review  decision:  “Seven  years  ago  Congress  enacted  a 
 sweeping  reform  of  our  telecommunications  laws.  In  doing  so,  it  sought  to  replace  the  heritage  of  monopoly  with  the  vitality  of  competition.  Today,  we  preserve  essential  tools  to  foster  voice 
 competition  in  the  local  market.  We  accord  the  states  an  enhanced  role  to  ensure  that  voice  competition  continues  to  grow.  These  actions  will  help  us  secure  lower  prices  and  higher  quality 
 services  for  American  consumers.  This  is  the  good  news. 
 “The  bad  news  is  that  this  decision  plays  fast  and  loose  with  the  country’s  broadband  future.”  Copps  continued:  “Make  no  mistake  about  it,  today’s  decision  chokes  off  competition  in 
 broadband.  Consumers,  innovation,  entrepreneurs  and  the  Internet  itself  are  going  to  suffer. 
 “Instead  of  preserving,  protecting  and  defending  competition,  the  Commission  has  torn  away  access  to  the  network  architectures  that  undergird  broadband  competition.  As  a  result, 
 consumers,  including  our  nation’s  small  businesses—  the  engines  of  so  much  entrepreneurial  activity  and  economic  growth—  may  well  be  stuck  without  competitive  choices  and  prices  when 
 it  comes  to  critical  broadband  services.  This  is  not  a  brave  new  world  of  broadband,  but  simply  the  old  system  of  local  monopoly  dressed  up  in  a  digital  cloak. 


 “We  may  be  headed  in  the  direction  of  a  broadband  policy  blackout  from  which  we  will  not  soon  recover.  Down  the  road  are  the  dark  consequences  of  a  decision  to  reclassify 
 broadband  service  and  further  close  off  access  to  essential  facilities.  At  risk  is  our  unfettered  access  to  the  information,  content  and  technologies  the  Internet  has  to  offer.  If  the  Commission 
 continues  this  course  apace,  Americans  will  find  that  broadband  networks—  the  roads,  bridges  and  canals  of  the  21  st  century—  will  be  the  province  of  the  few  instead  of  opportunity  for  the 
 many.” 
 The  release  of  today’s  Order  comes  six  months  after  the  FCC  adopted  and  announced  its  decision.  Copps  said:  “When  this  item  was  adopted,  I  stated  that  the  Commission  needed  to  find 
 ways  to  improve  its  internal  processes.  The  half  year  it  has  taken  us  to  release  this  decision 
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 makes  this  even  clearer.  The  procedure  followed  here,  and  also  in  our  media  concentration  proceeding,  demonstrates  the  need  for  some  attention  to  this  area.” 
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