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 STATEMENT  OF  CHAIRMAN  MICHAEL  K.  POWELL 
 Re:  Inquiry  Concerning  the  Deployment  of  Advanced  Telecommunications  Capability  to  All  Americans  in  a  Reasonable  and  Timely  Fashion,  and  Possible  Steps  to 
 Accelerate  Such  Deployment  Pursuant  to  Section  706  of  the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996,  Fourth  Notice  of  Inquiry 


 Today’s  action  is  a  re-  chartering  of  our  efforts  to  monitor  progress  in  the  advanced  services  market.  Every  day  American  entrepreneurs  and  innovators  roll-  out 
 new  broadband  applications.  Those  applications  can  work  to  stimulate  demand  for  advanced  telecommunications  capabilities  and  broadband  connections.  As  these 
 applications  evolve,  so  too  should  our  706  proceeding. 
 When  we  issued  our  last  report  under  section  706  of  the  Telecommunications  Act,  I  said  that  we  should  strive  for  more  specific  data  that  will  allow  us  to  better  analyze 
 precisely  where  operators  are  deploying  broadband  services.  In  this  NOI  and  related  data  gathering  improvement  proceedings,  we  seek  comment  on  how  we  can  improve  upon  our 
 current  zip-  code-  based  approach  without  swamping  innovative  new  service  providers  in  paperwork.  While  everyone  wants  more  detailed  reports,  we  should  stop  short  of  any 
 measures  that  would  force  operators  to  move  dollars  from  real-  world  facilities-  based  investment  into  dollars  for  regulatory  paperwork.  I  believe  my  colleagues  and  I  can  work 
 together  to  strike  the  right  cost-  benefit  balance.  At  the  very  least,  asking  the  right  questions  now  will  help  us  improve  our  reporting  process  and,  ultimately,  improve 
 Americans’  access  to  increasingly  important  advanced-  communications  capabilities. 
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