*Pages 1--1 from  FCC3992 Cover Congress Report*
 roadband  communications  net-works 
 and  the  innovative  services 
 they  support  hold  unlimited  prom-ise 
 for  American  consumers.  During 
 my  tenure  at  the  FCC,  I  have  been 
 privileged  to  see  first-  hand  how 
 broadband  is  changing  the  lives  of 
 Americans,  including  the  way  we 
 work,  learn,  receive  health  care,  and  play. 
 Broadband  networks  are  an  important  driver  of 
 economic  growth.  For  small  businesses,  a  broadband 
 connection  creates  a  link  to  millions  of  potential  cus-tomers 
 without  having  to  pay  rent  on  a  expensive 
 storefront,  and  it  facilitates  business-  to-  business  rela-tionships 
 that  lower  the  cost  of  obtaining  capital, 
 supplies,  or  other  necessities.  Broadband  also  fuels 
 job  creation  as  businesses  can  establish  call  centers 
 and  other  back-  office  operations  in  remote  locations, 
 far  from  their  headquarters,  because  the  high-  speed 
 connections  can  make  geographic  distance  irrelevant. 
 Broadband  also  is  a  boon  to  education.  As  a 
 result  of  broadband  networks  (which  have  been  heav-ily 
 financed  by  the  E-  Rate  program),  school  children 
 in  virtually  every  community—  including  traditionally 
 underserved  rural  areas  and  inner  cities—  can  gain 
 access  to  the  same  on-  line  resources  as  children  in  the 
 best-  funded  schools.  Broadband  also  makes  health 
 care  more  accessible  and  affordable.  Telemedicine 
 allows  patients  to  be  diagnosed  and  treated  by  spe-cialists 
 hundreds  of  miles  away,  often  avoiding  the 
 need  to  travel  long  distances,  be  separated  from  fami-ly 
 members,  or  take  days  off  from  work. 
 Given  these  and  many  other  benefits,  the  FCC 
 has  made  it  our  top  priority  to  encourage  the  deploy-ment 
 of  broadband  facilities  and  services.  With 
 respect  to  wireline  networks,  the  Commission  took 


 bold  action  to  boost  investment  incentives  by  strictly 
 curtailing  the  application  of  heavy-  handed  regulatory 
 requirements  to  next-  generation  fiber  facilities.  The 
 Commission  likewise  has  worked  to  maintain  an 
 investment-  friendly  environment  for  cable  modem 
 services.  On  the  wireless  front,  the  Commission  has 
 allocated  new  licensed  and  unlicensed  spectrum  for 
 broadband  services,  provided  increased  flexibility  in 
 existing  spectrum  bands,  and  established  secondary 
 markets  to  facilitate  more  efficient  use  of  spectrum. 
 Moreover,  the  Commission  has  taken  steps  to  foster 
 the  development  of  broadband  over  powerline  sys-tems 
 and  to  facilitate  the  deployment  of  new 
 broadband  satellite  services. 
 I  am  pleased  that  this  Report  to  Congress  shows 
 that  we  are  meeting  our  objectives.  The  vast  majority 
 of  Americans  now  have  access  to  broadband  services. 
 And  the  divide  between  urban  and  rural  areas,  and 
 between  high-  income  and  low-  income  populations,  is 
 shrinking  dramatically.  While  the  overall  rate  of  sub-scription 
 to  broadband  services  lags  far  behind  the 
 availability  of  such  services,  our  job  as  regulators  is  to 
 make  sure  consumers  have  the  opportunity  to  purchase 
 broadband  services.  As  with  any  new  technology,  the 
 penetration  rates  will  climb  as  content  and  price 
 become  more  attractive  to  consumers.  In  any  case, 
 subscription  rates  are  climbing  rapidly,  particularly  in 
 light  of  how  young  the  technology  is.  This  positive 
 trend  will  undoubtedly  continue:  more  and  more  net-works 
 are  expanding  their  reach  (cable,  DSL,  wireless, 
 powerline,  and  satellite),  and  competition  is  forcing 
 prices  down  and  service  quality  up,  thus  increasing 
 value  for  consumers.  We  must  continue  to  work  tire-lessly 
 to  bring  the  benefits  of  broadband  to  all 
 Americans,  and  this  report  demonstrates  that  we  are 
 well  on  the  path  toward  achieving  that  goal. 


 4 


 Statement  of  Commissioner  Kathleen  Q.  Abernathy 
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