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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 
 OPENING  REMARKS  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 VOICE  OVER  INTERNET  PROTOCOL  FORUM  DECEMBER  1,  2003 


 Today  is  “listen  and  learn”  day  for  this  Commissioner.  It’s  an  opportunity  I  welcome  and  I  want  to  commend  Chairman  Powell  for  convening  this  forum  and  putting  together  an  impressive  array  of  expert  panelists. 
 We  don’t  come  early  to  this  issue  and  it  is  increasingly  apparent  that  Commission  action  is  needed  soon.  We  may  have  already  moved  beyond  the  “nascent”  phase  for  this  technology,  with  more  people  signing  on  daily  and 
 the  roll-  out  picking  up  what  I  think  is  impressive  speed.  We  can  only  call  a  technology  nascent  for  so  long.  We’ve  let  VoIP  bubble  up  on  its  own,  but  now  it’s  starting  to  boil.  Before  it  becomes  too  hot  for  end-  users  and 
 entrepreneurial-  minded  businesses  to  touch,  we  must  bring  clarity  to  the  issues.  This  is  truly  transformative  technology.  Consumers  and  entrepreneurs  need  to  know  how  it  is  going  to  be  treated  going  forward. 


 So  what  we  have  here  today  is  a  wake-  up  call.  The  network  is  evolving.  The  long-  awaited  convergence  of  voice,  data  and  video  onto  Internet-  based  networks  is  on  the  verge  of  turning  the  pipe  dreams  of  just  a  few  years  ago 
 into  new  commercial  reality.  It’s  the  right  time  for  this  Commission  to  contemplate  just  what  these  exciting  new  possibilities  mean  for  the  communications  landscape. 


 One  thing  is  sure:  this  exercise  will  take  us  back  to  fundamentals.  We  are  dramatically  changing  the  way  we  communicate  in  this  country,  and  around  the  globe,  and  we  are  challenged  to  adjust  our  policies  and  rules  not 
 only  to  accommodate,  but  to  facilitate,  this  process  of  change.  It  goes  to  basic  questions  and  to  examining  how  what  we  do  on  VoIP  will  affect  so  many  of  the  programs  currently  in  place.  Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  think  of  an  area  of 
 telephony  that  won’t  be  affected  by  what  we  do  here—  consumer-  wise,  business-  wise,  regulator-  wise. 
 While  none  of  us  knows  where  this  will  all  come  out,  we  need  to  pull  back  and  think  anew.  It’s  incumbent  on  us  to  identify  good  policy  going  forward  and  not  just  shoehorn  VoIP  into  statutory  terms  or  regulatory  pigeon-holes 
 without  adequate  justification.  It’s  no  slam-  dunk  that  the  old  rules  even  apply.  But  we  do  need  to  discuss  the  consequences  of  the  proliferation  of  VoIP  services  on  our  important  statutory  objectives—  universal  service, 
 homeland  security,  911  services,  accessibility  by  people  with  disabilities,  and  encouraging  the  build-  out  of  advanced  telecommunications  services.  We  need  to  craft  a  space  in  which  this  technology  succeeds  because  of  its  inherent 
 ability,  not  due  to  regulatory  arbitrage  or  exception.  Indeed,  tackling  VoIP  may  force  us  to  come  to  terms  with  other  pending  proceedings  that  also  cry  out  for  solution. 


 We  are  all  enthused  about  this  technology.  Now  we  need  to  take  our  enthusiasm  and  turn  it  into  answers.  Question  marks  have  haunted  VoIP  for  too  long.  Consumers  are  confused.  They  need  to  know  what  they  can 
 expect  if  they  sign  up  for  this  new  service.  Investors  and  carriers  are  wary.  They  need  to  know  in  this  capital-intensive  industry  how  to  plan  for  the  networks  of  the  future.  I  think  we  all  understand  that  we  do  no  favors  to 
 anyone  if  we  sit  back  and  practice  benign  neglect.  It’s  both  pro-  consumer  and  pro-  business  for  the  Commission  to  bring  clarity  to  this  dialogue. 
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 So  let’s  get  started.  Again,  I  thank  the  Chairman  for  assembling  this  forum  today.  I  hope  it  will  be  the  first  of  several,  reaching  out  to  stakeholders  all  across  America  as  we  attempt  to  bring  equity  and  effectiveness  to  rules 
 and  regulations  that  protect  the  public  interest.  Our  motto  ought  to  be,  “Leave  no  Stakeholder  Behind.” 
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