Federal Communications Commission   FCC 12-77
STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI
Re: Procedures for Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees; Assessment and Collection of 
Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2008, MD Docket Nos. 12- 201, 08-65, Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking
Fourteen years have passed since the Commission last realigned its regulatory fees to 
reflect changes in the communications marketplace.  Needless to say, there have been many 
more changes since then. In 1998, each industry segment largely still played in its own 
sandbox—telephone companies offered telephone service, cable operators offered cable
television, and so on. But today’s currency is convergence: Telephone companies have entered 
the video market, cable operators are winning voice customers, satellite operators offer 
competitive radio, television, and broadband services, and wireless providers have unleashed a 
mobile revolution few if any saw coming.
The Commission must strive to keep pace with this swiftly changing industry—especially 
when, as here, Congress has affirmatively told us to do so in Section 9 of the Communications 
Act.  I look forward to hearing from all interested parties about how we can update our 
regulatory fee structure to better reflect the current marketplace, and I accordingly support this 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.