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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 Re:  In  the  Matter  of  Digital  Audio  Broadcasting  Systems  and  Their  Impact  on  the  Terrestrial  Radio  Broadcast  Service,  Further  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking  and 
 Notice  of  Inquiry 
 Like  my  colleagues,  I  am  enthused  about  the  potential  of  digital  radio  to  give  consumers  new  and  valuable  services  and  to  give  terrestrial  radio  broadcasters  new  and 
 valuable  business  opportunities.  Partly  this  is  about  better  quality  sound  but  it’s  also  about  a  host  of  new  services,  such  as  multiple  audio  programming  channels,  datacasting, 
 and  interactive  features.  All  these,  and  I’ll  bet  even  more,  will  enhance  audio  broadcasting  and  advance  the  public  interest. 


 But  important  questions  remain  to  be  settled.  I  am  pleased  that  today  we  seek  comment  on  many  of  these  issues.  For  example,  we  seek  comment  on  how  to  promote 
 the  digital  transition  and  about  ways  that  the  availability  of  additional  audio  streams  can  further  diversity  goals  for  minorities  and  other  underserved  segments  of  the  community. 
 We  also  seek  comment  on  measures  to  protect  existing  subcarrier  services  such  as  radio  reading  services  for  the  blind  and  visually  impaired. 


 I  am  also  pleased  that  we  raise  some  questions  in  this  Further  Notice  about  the  public  interest  obligations  of  broadcasters  in  a  digital  environment,  and  I  appreciate  my 
 colleagues  engaging  with  me  on  these  issues.  We  seek  comment,  for  example,  on  how  the  statutory  political  broadcasting  rules  apply  and  how  digital  audio  broadcasting  can 
 enhance  political  discourse.  We  ask  about  local  programming  requirements  and  the  extent  to  which  they  should  include  news  or  public  affairs  programming.  We  address  the 
 obligation  to  provide  emergency  information  to  the  public  and  how  digital  radio  can  provide  greater  access  to  critical  information.  And  we  seek  comment  generally  on  ways 
 that  broadcasters  can  use  digital  technology  to  better  and  more  fully  meet  the  needs  of  their  communities. 


 All  that  being  said,  I  would  have  preferred  an  even  broader  discussion  of  the  public  interest  in  this  item  rather  than  deferring  some  important  issues  to  future 
 proceedings.  As  just  one  example,  an  issue  that  we  raised  in  the  context  of  digital  television  but  which  is  not  addressed  here  is  how  broadcasters  can  identify  community 
 needs  and  enhance  disclosure  to  their  communities  of  how  they  are  meeting  their  obligations. 


 I  don’t  want  to  see  us  go  down  the  same  road  here  as  we  are  going  on  digital  TV.  Over  the  past  few  years,  we  have  made  great  progress  on  the  mechanics  of  the  digital 
 transition,  but  there  exists  a  great  big  digital  gap  on  how  digital  television  is  going  to  serve  the  public  interest.  We  actually  started  having  a  discussion,  and  a  pretty  good  one 
 at  that,  on  digital  television  and  the  public  interest  a  few  years  ago.  The  Commission  issued  a  formal  Notice  of  Inquiry  in  December  1999,  followed  by  two  Notices  of 
 Proposed  Rulemaking  the  following  year.  But  since  that  time,  these  proceedings  have 
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 languished.  We  now  have  over  1000  digital  stations  broadcasting  across  this  country  and  over  200  stations  that  are  multicasting.  And  yet,  these  broadcasters  still  don’t  know  what 
 they  must  do  to  discharge  their  public  interest  obligations.  And  consumers  don’t  know  what  to  expect  from  digital  radio  either. 


 So  I  would  hope  we  could  find  a  way  to  get  these  critically  important  public  interest  questions  out  on  the  table  now,  early  in  the  transition,  so  that  consumers  and 
 people  in  the  radio  business  alike  would  know  what  to  expect.  Then  we  can  truly  realize  the  full  benefits  of  the  digital  transition. 


 I  also  believe  that  multicasting  raises  questions  about  our  ownership  rules.  As  the  Further  Notice  recognizes,  digital  radio  and  multicasting  hold  out  the  promise  of  new 
 opportunities  to  enhance  diversity  and  to  promote  localism.  But  there  may  also  be  some  risks  involved  here,  particularly  as  regards  changes  in  the  local  competitive  landscape. 
 Might  not  the  ability  to  multicast  several  streams  in  a  community  instead  of  just  one  have  at  least  some  effects  on  the  competitive  landscape  in  that  particular  media  market?  What 
 does  it  mean  for  competition  if  a  company  that  would  be  permitted  to  own  eight  radio  stations  in  a  market  also  obtains  the  ability  to  multicast  many  more  programming 
 streams?  Does  that  really  promote  competition,  localism  and  diversity  in  the  digital  era?  We  need  to  be  looking  at  such  questions  before  we  leap. 


 I  look  forward  to  a  good  record  on  the  issues  and  to  working  with  both  consumers  and  industry  to  develop  digital  audio  broadcasting  standards  and  rules  so  that  the  full 
 promise  of  digital  radio  will  come  to  pass  as  expeditiously  as  possible. 
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