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 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  04-  266 
 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 Re:  Local  Telephone  Competition  and  Broadband  Reporting,  WC  Docket  No.  04-  141,  Report  and  Order 
 I  am  pleased  to  support  this  Order  which  extends  and  enhances  the  Commission’s  data  gathering  efforts  into  the  status  of  broadband  deployment  and  local  competition.  Congress  directed  this 
 Commission  to  ensure  that  all  Americans  have  reasonable  and  timely  access  to  advanced  telecommunications  capability,  such  as  broadband  services,  and  this  effort  is  of  critical  importance  to  the 
 health  of  our  economy  and  our  quality  of  life.  Having  a  comprehensive,  reliable,  and  accurate  understanding  about  the  state  of  broadband  deployment  is  a  critical  part  of  our  efforts  to  promote  the 
 availability  of  broadband  services  to  all  Americans.  Simply  put,  better  information  about  the  state  of  the  market  makes  for  better  decisions  by  policymakers. 


 The  Commission’s  data  collection  program  has  provided  useful  data  on  broadband  and  local  telephone  subscribership  for  the  past  four  years.  I’m  pleased  that  this  Order  will  give  us  a  more  nuanced 
 view  into  the  types  of  broadband  services  that  consumers  are  purchasing  and  a  more  complete  picture  of  broadband  deployment  in  rural  areas.  I  am  also  glad  that  Commission  also  directs  the  Bureau  to  address 
 flexibly  the  well-  acknowledged  limitations  of  the  zip  code  data,  through  surveys,  samplings,  or  other  means.  While  I  have  reservations  about  extending  reporting  requirements  to  smaller  providers,  I  am  glad 
 that  the  Commission  is  committing  to  conduct  outreach  to  small  businesses  and  is  working  in  a  coordinated  fashion  with  the  Small  Business  Administration  on  this  effort. 
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