STATEMENT OF 
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS
Re:  In the Matter of Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2008
 
I am pleased that at long last we are initiating a broad-based review of our 
regulatory fee rules under Section 9 of the Communications Act.  This is something I 
have called for repeatedly over the years.  It is hard to believe that we are still assessing 
fees based on the communications marketplace as it existed in 1994.  It’s as if we 
regulated the record industry and still assessed fees based on the number of CDs sold in 
retail stores in 1994, before the advent of digital downloads.  The world—and the way we 
regulate— has changed dramatically.  It’s time for our regulatory fees to change as well.
I am also pleased that we are finally moving to a resolution of the submarine 
cable issue.  Today’s item correctly concludes that the current methodology needs to be 
fixed and sets a short timeframe for action.  We’ve kicked this can down the road for too 
long.  I look forward to working with my colleagues and the affected stakeholders to 
develop a methodology that better reflects today’s marketplace.