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 Statement  of  FCC  Commissioner  Jonathan  S.  Adelstein 
 Before  the  Senate  Committee  on  Commerce,  Science,  and  Transportation  Nominations  Hearing 


 November  18,  2004 
 Mr.  Chairman,  Senator  Hollings,  and  Members  of  the  Committee,  thank  you  for  convening  this  hearing.  I  am  grateful  for  the  encouragement  and  leadership  you  have 
 provided,  both  during  my  two  years  as  an  FCC  Commissioner  and  also  my  fifteen  years  on  staff  in  the  Senate. 


 I  am  especially  indebted  to  many  of  you  for  offering  strong  bipartisan  support  for  my  renomination,  which  is  why  I  am  sitting  before  you  today. 
 One  Senator  you  know  well  has  gone  to  extraordinary  lengths  to  make  this  possible:  my  mentor,  my  friend,  and  one  of  the  finest  men  ever  to  grace  the  Senate,  Tom 
 Daschle.  He  has  had  the  confidence  to  recommend  me  to  the  President  for  this  position  twice.  For  that  and  numerous  other  kindnesses  over  the  years,  I  shall  forever  remain  in 
 his  debt. 
 Senator  Daschle  worked  tirelessly  to  ensure  that  as  the  first  FCC  Commissioner  from  South  Dakota  and  the  entire  upper  Midwest,  I  could  continue  to  help  ensure  that  all 
 consumers,  including  those  in  Rural  America,  remain  connected. 
 In  that  effort,  a  bipartisan  chorus  of  support  from  our  state  has  joined  him,  and  I  am  grateful  to  Governor  Mike  Rounds,  PUC  Chairman  Bob  Sahr,  and  to  many  others  for 
 their  support. 
 These  efforts  say  something  special  about  Rural  America.  Growing  up  a  fourth-generation  South  Dakotan,  with  long  winters  and  people  scattered  over  large  distances,  I 
 learned  the  value  of  all  of  us  staying  connected,  to  each  other  and  to  the  rest  of  the  country. 


 That  experience  drives  me  to  work  hard  to  fulfill  the  Communications  Act’s  promise  for  innovative  communications  technologies  and  services  that  are  widely 
 available  to  everyone  in  this  country.  These  goals  become  even  more  imperative  as  communications  takes  an  ever  more  prominent  role  in  our  personal  lives  and  in  our  global 
 economic  competitiveness.  With  advances  in  technology  and  today’s  security  environment,  I  will  also  continue  to  put  the  communications  needs  of  our  public  safety 
 and  national  security  communities  at  the  forefront. 
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 The  telecommunications  industry  is  at  a  crossroads,  driven  by  the  rise  of  broadband  and  its  revolutionary  implications.  From  telecommuting,  to  distance  learning, 
 to  high  definition  video,  to  telemedicine,  broadband  breaks  through  geographic  barriers  and  transforms  communities.  We  must  continue  to  encourage  broadband  deployment  by 
 increasing  incentives  for  investment  and  promoting  competition.  We  can  do  both  with  a  policy  framework  that  is  flexible  and  keeps  pace  with  rapid  technological  changes. 


 To  promote  these  benefits  for  everyone  in  this  country,  I  have  focused  on  improving  spectrum  management,  modernizing  universal  service,  and  protecting 
 diversity,  competition,  and  localism  in  our  media. 
 Spectrum  will  be  the  lifeblood  for  much  of  this  new  communications  landscape.  I  have  set  out  an  approach  I  call  a  “Framework  for  Innovation”  that  establishes  ground 
 rules  for  issues  like  interference,  while,  to  the  greatest  extent  possible,  allowing  innovation  in  the  marketplace  to  drive  the  development  of  spectrum-  based  services.  My 
 goal  is  to  maximize  the  communications  and  information  that  flow  over  the  nation’s  airwaves.  We  have  achieved  remarkable  results,  on  a  bipartisan  basis,  by  improving  our 
 spectrum  management  policy.  The  marketplace  has  responded  with  an  explosion  of  new  opportunities  for  consumers,  like  wi-  fi  and  new  licensed  wireless  broadband  services. 


 Our  entire  country  gains  economic,  social,  and  civic  benefits  from  being  connected  to  a  seamless  “network  of  networks.”  I  have  worked  hard  to  preserve  and 
 advance  Congress’s  universal  service  programs.  It  is  vital  that  these  programs  remain  on  solid  footing.  Increasingly,  voice,  video,  and  data  will  flow  to  homes  and  businesses  over 
 broadband  platforms.  In  this  new  world,  we  must  promote  a  comprehensive  rollout  to  all  Americans,  including  those  from  rural,  insular,  and  other  high-  cost  areas,  Native 
 Americans  and  other  minorities,  people  with  disabilities,  non-  English  speakers,  and  low-income  consumers. 


 As  for  the  media,  I  have  never  forgotten  that  the  airwaves  belong  to  the  American  people,  and  that  it  is  critical  to  preserve  their  access  to  what  the  Supreme  Court  has  called 
 the  “uninhibited  marketplace  of  ideas.”  The  FCC  should  continue  to  promote  the  priorities  that  have  always  formed  the  basis  of  our  public  interest  policy  as  envisioned  by 
 Congress:  diversity,  competition  and  localism. 
 Congress  has  charged  the  Commission  with  ensuring  that  the  American  public  stays  well-  connected  and  well-  protected.  If  confirmed,  I  will  continue  to  work  with  each 
 of  you  to  implement  these  Congressional  imperatives. 
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