**REMARKS OF COMMISSIONER GLORIA TRISTANI**

**BEFORE THE NATIONAL CABLE TELEVISION ASSOCIATION**

**June 15, 1999**

I'm pleased to be here today to talk about an issue I care about deeply
-- bringing our classrooms into the Information Age.

Those of us in this room are really transitional figures (and I mean
that in the nicest possible way). We straddle two worlds. We were there
for the birth of the Information Age, but we grew up in a world without
personal computers, without the Internet, without all of the things that
make living in today's world such a blessing and a curse -- VCRs, fax
machines, beepers, cell phones, cd players, hundreds of video channels
being delivered by wire or satellite, and on and on. We lived through
all that. And we compete against other people struggling with the same
transition. Many of our contemporaries will never learn to use a
computer, or will always think of a "bookmark" as a piece of paper that
actually marks a place in a book.

Our children, on the other hand, will never know a world *without* all
these things. And *they* will be competing in a world populated by
others who *also* never knew a world without these things. The skills
they will need to survive and prosper are very different from the skills
we needed. By the year 2000, 60% of jobs will require technology skills.
The Washington Post recently did a story about how students with limited
or no access to computers fall behind in the skills they need to enter
college and the job market. The rising demand for workers with
technology skills has created a growing gap between the wages of skilled
workers and unskilled workers. Indeed, some employers are having to go
*overseas* to find workers with the skills they need, because we aren't
producing enough skilled workers in this country.

So we need to prepare our children to live and compete in the
Information Age. And I think it's essential that we give that
opportunity to *all* of our children -- rural and urban, minority and
non-minority, rich and poor. We cannot afford to become a society of
information haves and have-nots in a world in which the ability to
access and manipulate information is the currency of the day.

Congress recognized this in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 by
establishing the education-rate (or e-rate) so that schools, classrooms,
and libraries could obtain access to advanced telecommunications
services. Congress also enacted Section 706, which requires the
Commission to regularly assess the availability of advanced
telecommunications services to all Americans, *including, in
particular,* elementary and secondary schools and classrooms.

I'd like to make a couple of observations about these provisions. First,
Congress wisely focused particular attention on the one institution in
which, by law, *all* of our children participate -- the school. Congress
recognized that *all* of our children need and deserve access to
advanced technology. Unfortunately, the "digital divide" is all too
real. According to the Commerce Department, over 40% of white households
own computers, compared to only about 19% of blacks. And, when it comes
to Internet access, about 21% of white households subscribe to an online
service compared to only 7.7% for blacks and 8.7% for Hispanics.
Focusing on broad and inclusive institutions like schools is helping to
ensure that the digital divide doesn't become an unbridgeable gap.

I think it's also significant that Congress focused on schools *and
classrooms*. Congress recognized that just hooking up the principal's
office doesn't do much for students. Congress wanted advanced services
available to *students* as an integral part of their school day.

I have seen the impact of this kind of technology on students. A couple
of months ago, I visited Hayes Middle School in my hometown of
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hayes is located in one of the poorest sections
of Albuquerque (indeed, the neighborhood is called the "war zone"), and
it has an ethnically diverse student population. I walked into this
school and was just amazed by what I saw. In one classroom, students
were doing reports on art and art history -- visiting the web sites of
different museums, downloading visuals, surfing the web to research
various topics. In another classroom, students were using publishing
software and doing some wonderfully creative and complex work. There was
an energy and an excitement in what these students were doing that was
contagious. They weren't passively memorizing information. They were
*actively learning*, and they were eager to explain what they were doing
to anyone who would listen -- even to a regulator from Washington.

The experience of schools like Hayes is one reason I strongly supported
the FCC's recent decision to fund the schools and libraries program to
its cap of \$2.25 billion for the next school year. After visiting
schools like Hayes, I'm convinced of two things. One, the e-rate program
is a sound investment in our children that will pay huge dividends in
the years to come. And two, the e-rate is especially important for
making sure that minority and low income children aren't left on the
wrong side of the digital divide. Even though the e-rate has become
something of a political football in Washington over the past year, I'm
absolutely committed to the core values it promotes.

Last year, we approved \$1.66 billion in e-rate discounts to over 11,000
rural schools and libraries and over 13,000 urban schools and libraries
located in all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the
Virgin Islands. This year we've approved \$2.25 billion, and have
received over 32,000 applications from schools and libraries across the
country.

Despite the success of the e-rate, however, our poorer schools continue
to lag behind. While 62% of classrooms in wealthier schools are
connected to the Internet, only 39% of high-poverty classrooms are
connected. The e-rate is an important tool for closing that gap.

Another important tool is our authority under Section 706. The
Commission has committed itself to yearly assessments of the state of
deployment of advanced telecommunications capability to *all* Americans,
including schools and classrooms. If we find, at any point, that such
capability is not being deployed in a "reasonable and timely fashion,"
the Commission is directed to take "immediate action" to accelerate the
deployment of advanced services. I take those directives seriously. I
intend to take a hard look at the state of deployment for all our
citizens -- and especially for our schools and classrooms -- and if we
need to do more, I will not hesitate to act.

Cable has been doing its part to bring broadband access to the American
people and to the schools. In preparing this year's Section 706 Report,
I was struck by the fact that cable is far and away the leader in
bringing broadband services to consumers. And that leadership is
providing a real incentive for your competitors to develop their own
broadband offerings.

And I want to commend you for your special commitment to bringing
high-speed Internet access to our schools and libraries through programs
such as Cable's High Speed Education Connection. Your pledge to provide
free high-speed Internet access to K-12 schools and libraries nationwide
will be one of your industry's great legacies. So far, your efforts have
benefitted more than 2,500 schools, with another 700 to be added in
1999. I have seen what Comcast has been doing in Baltimore County,
Maryland, and I was delighted to help cut the ribbon launching their
high-speed service to Woodbridge Elementary School. I encourage you to
continue working to bring more high-speed connections to schools and
libraries across America.

But just as important as connecting our schools is support and training
for our teachers. Without adequate training, our teachers won't be able
to make full use of these wonderful tools they're being provided. At
Hayes Middle School, some of the teachers acknowledged that they had to
ask their *students* how to use some of the more complex computer
functions. That's why efforts such as cable's "webTeacher" are so
important. WebTeacher is a free, 80-hour, on-line tutorial for teachers
to learn about the Internet and how it can be integrated into their
classroom curriculum. I understand it covers topics like how to use the
Internet, how to use screening devices to protect their students from
inappropriate material, and even how the class can create its own home
page. That kind of resource is critical.

Working together, we *can* give all our children the tools they need to
participate in the Information Age. We *can* build bridges over the
digital divide. We *can* do these things, and I think we *must*.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be here.