1Remarks of Commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn
Montana High Tech Jobs Summit
Missoula, Montana
October 9, 2017
Thank you, Senator, not only for that kind introduction but for inviting me to participate 
in this wonderful event. Assembled is an impressive group of individuals with broad and deep 
levels of expertise, which is yet another reason I am pleased to experience first-hand, what is 
going on in the Montana High Tech world. 
Broadband is a game-changer… for those who do not have it. Now you may be asking,
did she just misspeak? Because on more than one occasion I have phrased it differently, but 
allow me to clearly say it again: Broadband is a game-changer, for those who do not have it,
because in the 21
st
century, broadband is a necessity. It is a necessity for first responders 
attempting to reach an injured climber in Glacier National Park, it is a necessity for that doctor in 
Kalispell trying to remotely evaluate a patient over video chat, and it is a necessity for that 
student in Big Sky trying to complete their homework. Connectivity is a necessity for 
accomplishing each of these key tasks and so much more. 
Now for most Americans, the challenge of connectivity is not even a blip on their 
personal radar screens, for it is an integral part of everyday life. But for those without— and the 
numbers are higher than we care to admit—it is at a minimum, a very real threat to your
educational and economic well-being, and at worst it can be a very real threat to your life.
Now for those who may discount my message and attribute it to my folksy upbringing—
you know you say that us Southerners are known embellishers—let me add a few words of 
caution and relevance: over 30% of Montanans have no access to broadband, and this is severely 
limiting their potential. This is why the FCC is hard at work reforming our universal service 
programs. We aim to directly support, with real dollars and cents, deployment of broadband-
enabled telecommunications services to high-cost, low-density areas across this nation and here 
in your state.  Over the past seven years, we have comprehensively overhauled much of our high-
cost program. One key reform was to require measurable broadband build-out obligations, better 
ensuring that we are spending our universal service dollars. Just last year, we reformed the rate-
of-return system and made a number of changes, in order to put the program on a smoother path
towards supporting robust broadband deployment. 
Then, earlier this year, we adopted a series of items, geared towards making companies 
compete for funding to serve areas that remain unserved. We will be reverse-auctioning billions 
of dollars, to build out fixed and mobile broadband, in the hardest to reach communities in the 
country. But from where I sit, that is just one part of the equation. Yes, we have and should, set 
aside additional monetary support to build broadband networks. Montana in fact, receives over a 
hundred million dollars per year to support networks in some of your highest-cost areas, and you 
may receive even more in the upcoming reverse auctions. And yes, we are and should be making 
structural changes to our rules—including getting rid of outdated regulations—to make it easier 
for companies to deploy broadband. I have been on board in supporting a number of rule changes 
this year, that hopefully will make it easier for carriers to deploy broadband.
2But what is too often lost in our discussions, about bridging the digital divide, is that 
connecting a house to fiber is not the same as making that service available to those residents in 
that house. What we must also ask, is whether they can afford the monthly cost of service? 
What if they do not have a computer? And what if they do not understand the relevance of 
broadband to their lives?
This is why you hear me speak so much about digital literacy and affordability programs,
because they are so vital to enabling digital opportunity. In some cases, the challenges are even 
more fundamental. For example, over 13,000 Montanans depend on the FCC’s Lifeline program
for affordable connectivity. These are families who are so economically strapped that they 
struggle to maintain a dial tone even for voice service. Then there are schools and libraries across 
the country, which are on the front lines of teaching people about the relevance of broadband. So 
those millions of E-Rate dollars directed to Montana’s schools and libraries’ efforts, are vital as 
we prepare the next generation of learners, and ensure that those who fall through the cracks 
have a place to go to stay connected.
I was reminded of this earlier this year, during a visit to Los Angeles’ Skid Row, a 
neighborhood with one of the largest populations of unhoused individuals in the country. 
And let me confirm that every visual and olfactory presumption you may have ever had about 
this community is very real, painful, and moving. I was approached by a woman who calls 
herself “Frenchie.” She told me that there was a point in her life than the only address she had
was a digital address, or email address. But the upside is that she not only found stability through 
a personal email address, she was able to access, often through the local library, critical services 
and support that kept her going even when her personal life was in turmoil. Women like Frenchie
keep me focused, and serve as reminders of why we must look at policies through the lens of the 
consumer, particularly those most vulnerable. 
Another point often lost when we talk about the digital divide, is what happens when we 
actually bridge the divide. Too often, we declare mission accomplished when we’ve connected a 
home that has been forever without, but I challenge you to take a more nuanced view. We should 
only claim victory, when a consumer is meaningfully using their connectivity, to take advantage 
of the economic, educational, and health care opportunities, it affords. 
We should never forget, that it is in these remote areas, particularly where universal 
service support is the only reason why there is a provider serving those communities in the first 
place, that there will always be a need for robust consumer protections.
One of our primary goals at the FCC, is to be good stewards of ratepayer dollars. That 
means moving away from the past practice of using our high-cost program to fund multiple 
networks in the same geographic area. We should not support a company that is serving an area 
where another provider is providing quality service without a subsidy. That is fundamentally 
inconsistent with protecting consumers and it does not enable the market to work as intended. 
Now I know one of the most disliked persons in any room is a regulator, but if you think 
consumers don’t need a referee on the field, just look to a recent decision by a wireless 
broadband provider that said they will cut off service to rural Montanans because providing the 
service is more expensive than they thought it would be. What happens next?
3Just, how do we address challenges like that so that these customers have service? I 
submit to you, that in this case and more, we need to think as big as the sky over Montana. We 
need to think holistically, as we confront these difficult challenges, because each of them is
solvable, if we tackle them together.
So yes, you should challenge me and my colleagues, to address those regulatory barriers 
to broadband deployment, but I am going to challenge you, to address those economic, 
legislative, and local challenges or impediments, to broadband deployment as well. But it doesn’t 
end there. While we must address the barriers to broadband deployment, we need to face head 
on, the barriers that keep consumers from adopting, and using broadband in an economically 
empowering way, like in education, healthcare, and civic engagement.
In short, we must fight against the perpetual and persistent issues, surrounding
connectivity inequality. Do you think that those in rural America should be relegated to second-
class broadband? I don’t. Nor do I believe, that the urban poor should be digitally redlined. 
We need affordable access to and for all of our citizens. For the internet, I continue to 
believe, is the most economically empowering platform of our time. What we can least afford, is 
for the least among us, to be left behind in a digital canyon. Our communications policy should 
be inclusive, because we all benefit when each of us is connected.
So, Senator and to you all, I look forward to meeting more of you, learning more from 
you, getting my marching orders from you and continuing to serve you. Thank you for having 
me here today.
Godspeed.