STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN Re: WorldVu Satellites Limited, Petition for a Declaratory Ruling Granting Access to the U.S. Market for the OneWeb NGSO FSS System. Many of you have heard me talk about the powerful effects of a pilot project involving diabetic patients in Ruleville, Mississippi. Thanks to the combined forces of a tablet and broadband access, after year one, none of the participating patients had hospital visits, resulting in a $339,000 savings in that state’s Medicaid spending. Initiatives such as this, which improve health outcomes and saves dollars, are most often of greatest need in the very communities that lack the preeminent game changer of our time: access to broadband, and not just the infrastructure which enables broadband, but broadband services that people can afford. The persistent challenge of bridging the digital and opportunities divide, is why I am excited to see OneWeb and other satellite companies embark on the laudable quest to provide ubiquitous and affordable advanced communications services. Satellites are an integral part of our lives, but they are often taken for granted. Satellites provide support to the Department of Defense (DoD), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as emergency services in our local communities. They are used to support GPS systems, essential in our travel needs, and they allow weather services to alert us when we need an umbrella for our morning commute. And now, advancements in technology and reductions in manufacturing and launching costs have propelled innovation, and promise to usher in a new era of competitive broadband offerings from satellite companies. As I stated during last year’s #Solutions2020 Policy Forum, we must maintain a laser focus on finding solutions for those who lack access to the communications services needed for today’s connected world. The proposals offered by OneWeb and others participating in this NGSO FSS processing round offer us an opportunity, once again, to pivot away from simply discussing the problem to finding solutions. Congratulations to Tom Sullivan on your appointment to permanent Bureau Chief. I would like to thank you, Jose Albuquerque, and the staff of the International Bureau for your work on this important item. I look forward to continuing to work with you and my colleagues as we strive to create a more digitally inclusive society while enabling a space for more innovation and competition in the communications sector.