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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 Re:  Local  Telephone  Competition  and  Broadband  Reporting,  Report  and  Order  (WC  Docket  No.  04-  141) 
 I  am  pleased  to  support  this  item  which  will  significantly  help  to  modernize  the  Commission’s  broadband  data-  gathering  program.  Better  data  is  the  starting  point  for 
 better  decision-  making. 
 Today  we  at  last  move  away  from  our  passé  200  kbps  benchmark  for  broadband.  I  have  advocated  for  some  time  now  that  we  update  this  standard.  By  dividing  broadband 
 services  into  speed  tiers,  we  will  have  data  more  in  line  with  the  speeds  available  to  end-users  in  our  industrialized  counterparts.  This  should  help  us  better  understand  how  we 
 stack  up  against  other  countries,  particularly  the  dozen  which  are  ahead  of  ours  in  broadband  penetration.  I  also  am  pleased  that  we  update  the  technology  categories  on 
 Form  477.  This  effort  will  enhance  our  grasp  of  the  full  scope  of  intermodal  competition.  Still,  I  am  disappointed  that  we  continue  to  limit  our  data  collection  to  cursory  zip  code 
 information.  I  hope  as  we  move  forward  in  this  process,  we  will  not  make  the  hasty  assumption  that  a  single  customer  in  any  zip  code  means  that  broadband  is  available 
 throughout.  But  the  net  result  of  today’s  Order  is  clear:  we  will  have  a  better  picture  of  the  state  of  local  competition  and  broadband  competition  in  this  country,  and  a  better 
 foundation  on  which  to  build  good  communications  policy. 
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