REMARKS OF COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL PRACTISING LAW INSTITUTE 30TH ANNUAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY AND REGULATION INSTITUTE WASHINGTON, DC DECEMBER 13, 2012 FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel delivered remarks at the Practising Law Institute: Telecommunications Policy and Regulation Institute. The Commissioner set out her perspectives on today’s transitional telecommunications landscape, including guiding principles for promoting confidence in private investment in digital age infrastructure and promoting confidence for consumers to reach the full potential and opportunity of this investment. ? Promoting Confidence for Investment. Today, the Commission is faced with complicated questions raised by technologies in transition, such as the transition from TDM to IP. “We are all wrestling with applying the laws of the present to the networks of the future, and we must make choices that inspire confidence and private investment in our nation’s infrastructure.” ? Four fundamental criteria should guide our long-term thinking. ? Public Safety. Any technological or network transition must first be judged by its ultimate impact on public safety and network resiliency. ? Universal Service. As we transition to new technologies, we must ensure that no American is left behind. ? Competition. We must monitor IP to IP interconnection and stand ready to act to ensure that network providers negotiate in good faith. ? Consumer Protection. We need to help consumers understand what different technologies offer and help them make good choices. ? In the near-term there are clear opportunities to promote confidence in investment. ? Our upcoming wireless auctions should be put on a timeline. “Nothing inspires capital formation like a pending opportunity with a date certain.” ? We should seize opportunities to simplify our universal service rules in a manner that is fiscally sound, good for rural consumers, and bound to inspire investment. ? Promoting Confidence for Consumers. “In a world where consumer choices have become both vast and complex, information is power. It is vitally important to get consumers the information they need to make choices with confidence in a marketplace that can be bewildering to navigate.” The Commission can improve upon its efforts to get information to consumers in two ways. ? First, our consumer complaints interface needs to be upgraded for the digital age. ? Second, we should open up our consumer complaint and other data collections to the public in machine-readable form to help identify meaningful trends that can guide our policymaking.