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 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  04-  111 
 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 


 Re:  The  Use  of  N11  Codes  and  Other  Abbreviated  Dialing  Arrangements,  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking 
 I  am  pleased  to  support  this  item.  Much  of  our  nation’s  infrastructure  lies  underground.  Buried  beneath  the  surface  are  pipelines,  wires  and  conduits  that  are  critical  to  our  daily  life. 
 Excavations  that  disrupt  these  facilities  not  only  inconvenience  those  who  depend  on  them  and  extract  a  significant  economic  toll;  they  can  threaten  our  very  safety  and  security. 


 This  kind  of  large-  scale  damage  is  preventable,  if  a  reliable  and  uniform  system  of  advance  notification  is  available.  Today  we  begin  the  process  of  developing  and  implementing  a 
 nationwide,  toll-  free  notification  system.  This  is  a  job  the  Commission  and  the  Department  of  Transportation  share  under  the  Pipeline  Safety  Act.  It  is  also  a  task  that  fits  squarely  within  the 
 Commission’s  basic  mission.  The  very  first  sentence  of  the  Communications  Act  states  that  the  Act  was  written  to  make  “available  .  .  .  a  rapid,  efficient,  Nation-  wide  and  world-  wide 
 telecommunications  service  .  .  .  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  safety  of  life  and  property  through  the  use  of  wire  and  radio  communication.”  So  our  charge  and  authority  are  clear.  Now  the  need 
 is  to  move  ahead  expeditiously—  to  ensure  that  excavators  everywhere  can  dig  safely  and  avoid  disrupting  the  nation’s  essential  services. 
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