TESTIMONY OF COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
 
BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON 
COMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE INTERNET 
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
 
September 17, 2009 
 
Thank you Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Stearns, and members of the 
Subcommittee.  It is an honor and a privilege to appear before you today alongside my 
esteemed colleagues to discuss our work at the Commission.  As the agency responsible 
for regulating the telecommunications industry, the FCC has an important role to play in 
our nation’s economic recovery and sustained health.  From what I have witnessed in my 
short time at the Commission, I can assure you that we are an agency fully committed to 
the task at hand. 
I have spent my first six weeks at the Commission listening to and learning from 
the staff about the wide range of issues under the Commission’s jurisdiction.  What has 
stood out most prominently during this time is our staff’s enthusiasm, passion, and 
dedication.  We have been endowed with a terrific and talented group of experts covering 
each aspect of the telecommunications world, and they are unwavering in their 
commitment to serve the American people.  I appreciate and will rely upon their expertise 
and counsel as we navigate through the many complex communications issues in the days 
ahead. 
My colleagues have already touched on a number of important matters facing the 
Commission – each crucial to the success of the agency.  I want to supplement their list 
by addressing just a few additional issues on which I expect to focus considerable time 
and effort. 
First, I believe strongly that we must refocus this agency on consumers.  While 
we have one bureau formally dedicated to consumer interests, each of our bureaus and 
offices, as well as each of us individually, must constantly be mindful of the impact our 
decisions have on consumers.  In my view, this is not a passive exercise.  Rather, we 
must be vigilant in asking ourselves how each of our decisions impact the marketplace. 
So, where the market is working effectively and consumers are reaping the benefits, we 
can take a step back and watch it flourish.  Where it is failing, however, our responsibility 
is to craft reasonable and appropriate measures to get it back on track. 
A good example of our renewed focus on consumers is the recent notice of 
inquiry we issued under the leadership of Chairman Genachowski concerning the 
information disclosed throughout the telecommunications purchasing process.  Over the 
last several years, the Commission has received thousands of complaints from consumers 
who are confused about everything from how to compare service plans among providers 
to how to discern exactly what they are paying for when they receive their bills.  Due in 
part to the rapid development and convergence of telecommunications technologies, 
many consumers are left scratching their heads when attempting to compare and manage 
their telecommunications plans and services.   
There is no more essential component in the purchasing process than clear, 
accurate, and useful information.  That applies across the board.  Without these things, 
consumers enter into contracts they never anticipated, pay for services they never sought, 
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and spend far more than they should for the services they receive.  When this happens, 
the market has failed, and a closer look is warranted. 
This particular issue presents us with a fantastic opportunity.  As the notice of 
inquiry suggests, the Commission will be working hand-in-hand with consumers, public 
interest organizations, industry, and academics to better understand what kinds of 
confusion exist and the best ways in which to address the problem.  The Commission will 
rely on a broad range of input to develop the least imposing yet most effective measures 
necessary to ensure a robust and fair marketplace. 
Moreover, as part of redoubling our consumer efforts, I believe we must also 
increase both our accessibility and transparency to the public.  While there is no shortage 
of good ideas in Washington, the answers to all of our questions cannot be found solely 
within a 30-mile radius of this fine city.  By fostering greater consumer participation and 
awareness, we undoubtedly will yield superior results.  This means making the 
Commission far more accessible to the general public through our website and other new 
media tools as well as finding innovative ways to open our doors beyond the Beltway.  
For example, I am pleased that the Commission has already taken a number of steps to 
increase public participation through the use of new media, such as utilizing IdeaScale, a 
crowd-sourcing program, as well as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.  These are just 
some of the ways we will increase public participation and allow for an open and 
transparent dialogue. 
 
I also wanted to touch on one of the most pressing issues before the Commission, 
the National Broadband Plan.  My fellow Commissioners and our Chairman have already 
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addressed a number of important concerns.  I want to contribute briefly to this discussion 
by reviewing the significant implications of broadband on energy and healthcare. 
While much of the focus over the next several months inevitably will be on the 
core elements of broadband deployment and adoption, it is also essential that the 
Commission’s National Broadband Plan account for national priorities beyond the 
traditional communications realm.  Congress itself understood this necessity when 
crafting the Recovery Act, assigning to us the mission of creating a roadmap that 
recognized broadband’s power to transform a vast array of public and private services. 
Two such areas about which the members of this committee are intimately 
familiar are energy and healthcare.  When it comes to thinking about the intersection 
between broadband and energy policy, the conversation begins with the Smart Grid.  
Smart Grid technology is designed to make our electrical grid more resilient and 
intelligent.  If we take seriously the notions of energy independence and reduced 
greenhouse gas emissions, we must develop a grid capable of accommodating renewable 
power as a significant portion of our energy generation mix.  Our broadband plan must 
account for the continued development and growth of this technology. 
Broadband policy also has the potential to transform the way healthcare is 
delivered in this country.  Coming from South Carolina, a state with a significant rural 
population and where the demand for healthcare providers sometimes exceeds supply, I 
am well acquainted with the need for robust telehealth programs.  In order to develop a 
useful plan that incorporates innovative mechanisms for providing quality healthcare, we 
first must understand the industry’s infrastructure requirements, the current reasons for 
inadequate access and adoption, and ways in which we can facilitate efficient, effective, 
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and secure on-line access to medical records.  In addition, the Commission can study the 
information gained from our experience with the Rural Health Care Pilot Program.  
In bringing these and other sectors of the economy into the fold, coordination 
among a variety of federal agencies and state entities is paramount.  We are off to a good 
start, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that we continue to work effectively 
with all stakeholders. 
The final issue I wanted to address this morning is the unfortunate state of 
minority media ownership in the broadcasting industry.  Despite making up nearly 35 
percent of the U.S. population, people of color own approximately 3% of all local TV 
stations and 8% of all local radio stations.  And while women comprise 51% of the entire 
U.S. population, women own only about 5% of full power broadcast stations.  These 
numbers are shamefully low.  Not only has the situation not improved, it has gotten 
steadily worse. 
We can all agree that these numbers reflect a problem in the marketplace.  But 
before we jump to conclusions about how to address these symptoms, we need to have an 
accurate diagnosis.  And to do that, we need credible, reliable, and complete data.  We do 
not have that now, and in my view, we need to get the ball rolling as soon as possible to 
come to terms with exactly why our broadcast industry is in the state we find it today. 
For example, we must better understand issues concerning access to capital and 
any systematic barriers to entry in the broadcasting industry for women and minorities.  
By answering these and other questions, we can finally begin to address a problem that 
has been languishing before the Commission. 
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I look forward to working with my colleagues, the FCC staff, and this Committee 
to develop a robust and reliable study of this issue in the very near future.  I do not 
believe we can sit idly by and let another year pass without making significant progress 
on this issue. 
In closing, I would like to say how excited I am to be here working along with my 
fellow Commissioners, Chairman Genachowski and the Subcommittee as we develop the 
most effective telecommunications policies possible.  The American people are relying 
on all of us to work cooperatively to ensure that they are being provided the widest array 
of services at the highest quality and best prices.  To do this, we must balance a number 
of essential factors and always be mindful of the inherent challenges of regulation. 
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and I look forward to 
answering any questions you may have.