NEWS
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th 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:
January 31, 2008 Scott Deutchman 202-418-2000
FCC COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS QUESTIONS NTIA’S 
BROADBAND REPORT
In response to the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration’s (NTIA) report entitled “Networked Nation: Broadband in America 
2007,” FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps issued the following statement:
“Networked Nation? If the United States were a networked nation 
consumers would be paying half as much for broadband connections 20 
times as fast.  That’s what many consumers around the globe get.  Instead, 
NTIA slices and dices bad data (full disclosure: much of it from the FCC) 
in ever more outlandish ways to reach the conclusion that all is well –
don’t worry, be happy.  If we spent more time developing strategies for 
truly ubiquitous and affordable broadband rather than watching our 
international competitors lap us at every turn, we actually might have 
something to crow about.  
“I take particular issue with the report’s claim that broadband problems 
exist only in rural and sparsely-populated ‘pockets’ of America. Of course 
we need to get serious about expanding the availability of broadband to all 
Americans no matter where they live.  But the broadband system we have 
today is a problem even for those of us who live in densely populated 
metropolitan areas like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. –
where customers pay far too much for speeds that are turtle-slow by 
international standards.
“NTIA is swimming upstream against the tide of independent reports that 
seem to come out daily finding that when it comes to broadband, we are 
falling further and further behind.  Whether it is the OECD ranking of 15th
in the world or the countless other rankings showing even worse results, 
this is not where the United States needs to be.”
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