Majority Statement

• Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

  Chairman

  U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
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  Majority Statement

  Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV

  Today’s hearing on the state of wireline communications affords us an opportunity to take stock of the Nation’s public telephone network.  That network is a source of National pride and ingenuity, and remains the envy of the world.    In fact, one could argue that the public telephone network is a victim of its own success; we only notice the value of this network and its reliability and resiliency when we are forced to compare other communications networks to it.

  The principle of “universal access” to communications is one of the basic tenants of the Communications Act of 1934, and it remains as vital today as it was then.  We have reached out and covered nearly everyone – in urban, rural, and even many of the most remote areas of the world based in part to our nation’s fidelity to the principle that all Americans should be able to benefit from the opportunities afforded by access to communications. We must continue to make sure that everyone has available to them the advantages that come with access to modern communications networks.

  The Nation’s wireline infrastructure is at the heart of this Nation’s communications system and policy.  Not only does our public telephone network provide a vital voice, data and video service to our nation’s citizens and businesses, it is the backbone on which the nation’s wireless networks also rely.  And allows a consumer in a remote part of West Virginia to pick up the phone and reach anyone in the country.

  The success of the nation’s telephone network was not fortuitous.  It came about by a tremendous amount of private investment and innovation and because of sound policy decisions, rooted in the fundamental principles of the Communications Act of 1934, and later the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  And as Americans begin to benefit from the next evolution in wireline technology, I remain convinced that smart regulation and strong consumer protection is as necessary today as it was when the Communications Act was passed almost 80 years ago.

  Rural consumers should not be left behind in this transition.  They must have access to next-generation high-speed broadband services.  The need for access to advanced broadband networks throughout the country is one of the reasons I believe it is time to strengthen the E-rate program.  As I said last week, basic Internet connectivity is not sufficient to meet our children’s 21^st Century educational needs.  Bringing next-generation high-speed broadband to schools and libraries in rural as well as urban areas is essential to affording students access to tomorrow’s digital education technologies and services.

  As we look to the future, we must make sure that comparable communications services are available at comparable rates for everyone in this country, no matter who they are and no matter where they live.  Even as networks evolve and as companies upgrade their technology, the principles undergirding decades of communications law and policy remain.  And it will be up to Congress and the states to make sure that all communications companies comply with the underlying foundations of universal access, consumer protection, competition, and public safety enshrined in our nation’s communications laws.  

  I look forward to the testimony from our witnesses today and to their perspectives on the state of wireline communications in the nation, the challenges facing their companies, and how we can achieve our collective goal of bringing advanced communications services to all Americans.

Minority Statement

• Senator John R Thune

  Ranking Member

  U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
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  Minority Statement

  Senator John R Thune

  Thank you, Chairman Pryor and Senator Wicker, and thank you to our witnesses for being with us this morning.

  Mr. Chairman, I want to commend you for continuing these “state of” hearings to inform our committee about our nation’s communications infrastructure and about the services, opportunities, and challenges facing our constituents as we move deeper into the 21st Century.

  Rural communications are a priority of mine, and I am continually amazed at the capabilities being delivered in South Dakota. My home state is one of the national leaders in fiber build-out, thanks to companies like CenturyLink, Midcontinent Cable, and SDN Communications with its seventeen member-owners. Of course, connectivity is not just about physical wires. The satellite services and new 4G mobile networks being deployed today offer even more economic and social opportunity for my fellow South Dakotans and consumers across the country. 

  Much of this deployment is the result of our commitment to universal service. As we move forward, we should not allow existing networks to wither or future services to go unoffered because of unpredictable or inadequate universal service support. The FCC is directed by law to provide predictable and sufficient mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service, and it needs to abide by that directive.

  The state of wireline communications today is clearly one of transition. The old copper wire networks of the 20th Century are being replaced by fiber optics. Circuit-switched telephony is migrating to packet-switched I.P. technology. American households are no longer faced with phone service from a government-protected monopoly. In fact, less than one-third of households today purchase voice service from their local telephone companies, and nearly 40 percent have “cut the cord,” forgoing wireline voice service altogether. 

  Furthermore, we don’t just have competition among multiple wired and wireless networks today, but also new alternatives to real-time voice communication—through texts, tweets, chats, and social media. These alternatives are I.P.-enabled and delivered over broadband, and they are largely unregulated. But, as consumers demonstrate a preference for less-regulated, competitive alternatives to traditional local phone service, our laws continue to presume a monopoly exists for local voice communications. 

  As mentioned by Senator Wicker, we have tasked our staffs with engaging stakeholders and experts to both stay abreast of the ongoing I.P. transition and to look for ways Congress may be helpful in the modernization of our nation’s communications networks.

  We should not approach the IP transition with anxiety and fear, but with optimism and vigilance.  Being distracted by what might be lost will be less useful than considering what has and will be gained. This transition brings forward many complex and deeply entrenched issues.  We must therefore identify the challenges that an all-I.P. world presents, and then determine how ingenuity and innovation, and perhaps regulation, will be able to overcome those challenges.

  We should acknowledge the growing choices in today’s market, and pivot from the century-old default assumption that our nation’s communications system is uncompetitive. In laying out a strategic plan for the FCC in 1999, former FCC Chairman William Kennard proclaimed that: “[W]e must resist imposing legacy regulations on new technologies.  Our goal should be to deregulate the old instead of regulating the new.” I could not have said it better myself.  

  Mr. Chairman, we should focus on empowering individual consumers, entrepreneurs, and innovators. We should target limited federal support to, and encourage investment in, areas that remain underserved because of structural economic reasons. We should understand the promise an all-I.P. world holds for better public safety, better education, better health care, and a more vibrant civic society than we know today. 

  This may require removing obstacles—which may include repealing or amending outdated laws, ending inefficient regulations, or even nudging reluctant incumbent business interests forward. American consumers are driving the broadband economy. We, as policymakers, should take their cue and ensure they – not the government – manage the marketplace. 

  I look forward to a bright communications future for our nation, and appreciate our witnesses’ thoughts about how we can best pursue it.

  Thank you. 

Testimony

• Mr. Jeff Gardner

  Chairman of the Board of Directors, USTelecom

  President & CEO, Windstream Corporation
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• Ms. Shirley Bloomfield

  CEO

  NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association
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• Mr. Jerry James

  CEO

  Comptel - The Competitive Communications Association
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• Mr. Larry Downes

  Internet Industry Analyst and Author
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• Ms. Gigi Sohn

  President and CEO

  Public Knowledge
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