**Remarks of Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate**

**At the University of Tennessee School of Law**

**October 13, 2008**

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. It is a special
honor to return to my alma mater and rekindle old friendships from law
school and to speak with law students not only about substantive issues
of national and even international importance, but also about
professional career opportunities.

I have been asked to provide a brief overview of the Federal
Communications Commission and then spend a few moments discussing some
specific issues since my arrival at the Commission almost three (3)
years ago.

Let me start by saying that your law degree will provide opportunities
you have not even dreamed of at this point in your career.  Who would
have ever thought that being on the SGA here and being assigned to
escort a young attorney named Lamar Alexander around the law school
would lead to working on two Governor's staffs, a Presidential campaign
and now two Presidential appointments to the FCC? There were also
opportunities that I did not take as well so I don't know where those
may have led. But I am firmly convinced that being open to a wide range
of opportunities and options has enriched my life, allowed me to share a
30-year marriage with my life partner and sometimes law partner, Bill
Tate, and raise three happy, healthy, successful children.  So my words
of wisdom to you tonight -- no matter what your age -- are to find a
balance in life. No one ever dies saying they wish they had worked
another day; enjoy and invest in your family and friends just as you do
in your career; and be open to opportunities, embrace change and always,
always continue your education.

I.  Background on the FCC

The FCC is an independent Federal agency, created by Congress in 1934,
with responsibility for regulating interstate and international
communications, whether by radio, television, cable, wireline, wireless
or satellite. There are five commissioners appointed by the President of
the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The agency has seven
bureaus that cover the major technologies and industry sectors from
wireline and wireless services, to media, to international issues such
as the operations of satellites, to public safety communications for our
nation's first responders. We also have teams of experts who provide
strategic support in areas such as technology analysis. Many of you may
think of the FCC only when you think of Janet Jackson and wardrobe
malfunctions -- an issue that is soon to be heard by the U.S. Supreme
Court -- or Howard Stern and the Sirius/XM merger -- a key transaction
in which I was the deciding vote. The fact is we oversee a much broader
swath of the economy than most people realize, services that touch your
lives every day.

II. Philosophy of Regulation

Before we discuss the many issues before the FCC, I'd like to describe
my personal philosophy of regulation. My philosophy is essentially
pro-market. This requires, first and foremost, regulatory humility --
something I have tried to practice, both as a state regulator and now a
federal one. And this means recognizing that Washington, DC does not
have all the answers. Thus, I look to and especially encourage the
industry to put forward market-based solutions whenever possible. I
recognize that most of the consumer benefits we see in the
communications markets are directly related to the significant levels of
competition those markets enjoy, and to our deregulatory policies that
have encouraged investment and thus fostered that competition. I also
recognize the role of government intervention when appropriate, such as
the provision of E911 service.

III. DTV Transition

Regarding the key issues currently before the FCC, nothing gets more
attention these days than the DTV transition and in fact, that is why I
am in Knoxville today. This transition from analog to digital broadcast
TV is going to occur on a single day, February 17, 2009. While most of
you all probably subscribe to cable or satellite TV and should not
experience any problems, I hope you will help us get the message across
to your parents and grandparents who may have an old analog television
or bunny ears antenna. They will need to act. You can buy a digital TV,
subscribe to cable or satellite, or purchase a converter box. The
government is offering every household two \$40 coupons that can be used
toward the purchase of these boxes -- information is available at
www.dtv2009.gov.

IV. Auctions

The DTV transition actually is part of a much larger national public
policy issue, and that is the efficient use of our spectrum. Spectrum is
a national, natural resource like land and waterways, only you can't see
it. Spectrum is made up of different radio waves in particular blocks,
or frequencies. Because it is a limited resource, we often license the
spectrum through auctions, making it available to industries to build
devices which will operate at specific frequencies. Our auctions team is
known across the world for taking complicated theories by
Nobel-prize-winning economists and converting these ideas into a process
that efficiently assigns a large number of spectrum licenses to those
who can best use them.

The DTV transition will move TV channels off certain frequencies and, in
so doing, will make available over 100 megahertz of spectrum for
consumer wireless products, [as well as]{.underline} public safety
providers. This spring, the FCC completed an auction of a portion of the
spectrum to be reclaimed by the DTV transition and raised more money for
the U.S. Treasury than any auction in the Commission's history, about
\$19 billion.

V.  Broadband

Speaking of TV, most of you probably watch a great deal of popular
television on the Internet or even hand-held mobile devices. Which
brings me to another top priority for the FCC -- the deployment of
broadband to all Americans, regardless of their race, gender, income, or
zip code. And, in order to provide the revenue for companies to continue
to deploy and build out broadband, we have enabled other providers such
as telephone and telecommunications companies to get into the video /TV
business. We apply this goal of promoting broadband to all services we
oversee, whether considering rules for phone service, cable service,
terrestrial wireless service, or satellite service.

While the U.S. leads the world in broadband connections -- over 100
million as of the beginning of this year -- there is still much to do.
Why is the availability of broadband so important? Further broadband
deployment will have significant economic effects. A recent study by
Connected Nation estimated that increased availability of broadband
across the U.S. would have a positive economic impact of [\$134
billion.]{.underline}

Just as important as the economic effects, increased broadband
deployment will likely have significant effects on every industry sector
from e-health to remote/distance learning to even how families and
friends communicate. For example, with better connectivity, citizens can
participate in local civic affairs or even get involved in politics at
the national level, as many are doing these days. Switzerland had a
recent pilot to allow citizens to vote online. In the U.S., in just one
presidential cycle, Internet advertising has gone from essentially zero
to estimates that it will exceed \$100 million in 2008. For healthcare,
broadband enables teledentistry, telepsychiatry and even telesurgery.
Telecommuting for doctors makes the physical distance between provider
and patient immaterial, which is why broadband is critical in rural
areas. Here in my home state of Tennessee, I am very involved with
issues such as telemedicine and electronic medical records. When I first
arrived at the Commission, I had the opportunity to see first hand how
broadband communications in Alaska -- 30 miles above the Arctic Circle
-- empower those who are most physically isolated.

VI. Internet Safety

Most of my professional career has been spent working on issues to
improve the lives of children and families, from working for two
Tennessee Governors, to heading up the state healthcare commission as
well as Director of The State and Local Policy Institute at Vanderbilt,
to my role now at the FCC. I have been a voice for parents and children
at the FCC, both in Washington and across this country. Given the
pervasiveness of media in our lives and the fact that 10 million
children are obese or at risk of becoming obese, I have been working
with media companies to encourage real solutions. Whether we are talking
about a toddler or a teen, in kindergarten or in college, to reach your
potential, you need access to age-appropriate educational information in
an environment that protects your personal information, physical safety
and healthy mental development.

Like many parents, I never really thought past the benefits the Internet
offers --from my kids doing research for homework, to distance learning
opportunities, to creating and producing your own content online.
However, we must also realize that this technological explosion of
access also presents challenges and very real dangers.

But before we talk about the very real benefits -- as well as a few of
the risks -- of online access, I'd like to take a little survey.
\[DISTRIBUTE SURVEY HERE\]

When I spoke at Auburn University two weeks ago, almost everyone was
online every day, and almost everyone was on Facebook, while other sites
were popular, too. A somewhat smaller percentage of students used
Facebook to stay in touch with their parents. Even with advances in
technology, we parents still have trouble getting our kids to write!

For your generation, the I-Generation, the Internet is a ubiquitous
aspect of daily life. Consider this: While 57% of adults have watched
online videos, 93% of college students have. 57% of adults have shared
video links with others; 83% of college students have.

With the explosion of new educational materials available online, one
might think the Internet was entirely a force for good in the lives of
young people. But this is not always the case. I was at a conference
recently where one researcher said that the number one reason for
college drop-outs today is the online game World of Warcraft. A family
friend had to leave college due to a gaming compulsion -- now a
diagnosable addiction. Online gaming, typically through a University's
local access network, has become a popular way to make friends around
campus, and is a very real part of the college experience, but not
always a good one.

I want to urge all students here today to please think carefully about
the information you post online. It may seem harmless today, but will it
still be harmless five years from now? Ask yourself: is this something
I'd want a potential employer to see? Many HR departments are searching
Facebook and MySpace profiles of potential new hires. The same is true
for college admissions offices -- 10% of admissions offices check social
networking sites, and 38% say that they have seen information that
negatively impacted their view of the applicant.

The other important area where I would urge students to exercise caution
is email. What used to be mail and phone scams have now moved to email.
If the subject line says "You won!," trust me, you didn't. Internet
criminals are going after new technologies to prey on unsuspecting
citizens. Don't ever give anyone your identifying information over
email.

VII. Piracy

In addition to protecting children and families online, I also have been
very concerned about piracy. We all know that Nashville, TN is Music
City, and we all should know that Music City, Hollywood, and every other
home to our nation's most creative talent is at risk of the devastation
caused by piracy.

The numbers are simply staggering. Pirated CD sales outnumbered
legitimate sales in 30 worldwide markets. As for illegally downloaded
songs, two-thirds of the 20 billion illegal downloads worldwide each
year are of U.S. recorded music. That's billions of thefts from U.S.
artists, songwriters, publicists, and secondary markets that are being
"robbed." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that counterfeiting and
piracy cost the U.S. economy up to \$250 billion per year. These losses
affect the auto industry, software, fashion, and of course, music and
movies. Moreover, I want to stress that counterfeiting and piracy are
illegal. If you are downloading illegally you may face severe fines.
Fortunately, entrepreneurs are developing creative market responses to
compensate our artists and provide the services consumers want, such as
i-Tunes and the latest development, music tagging.

VIII. International Issues

I am often asked what was most surprising or different from serving on
the state regulatory commission. And, I can honestly say that I had no
idea how much the FCC's work both impacts and involves our international
colleagues and international issues. Whether the discussion is with the
15 Ministers of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulatory
Association, CITEL in Latin America, the European Regulatory Group, or
the International Telecommunications Union, a creature of the UN located
in Geneva, I have been a consistent advocate of increasing dialogue
across nations to advance our common goals. Wires and radio waves really
are not political, yet they enhance the lives of the world's citizens --
from deepest Africa to the Amazon jungle to our own Alaska. We share the
goal of universal broadband for all our citizens.

I have also been pleased to learn that Internet safety isn't just a
concern for American families; it's becoming an international concern as
well. In just a few weeks, I am honored to have been invited by the
Secretary General Hamadoun Touré of the ITU to speak before the Council
in Geneva regarding online safety as part a major global cyber-security
initiative. In addition, most of our nations are rewriting our
telecommunications laws -- or in some cases of developing countries --
writing them for the first time. We are encouraging countries to open
trade relations and relax ownership rules so that our U.S. companies can
compete worldwide. We are negotiating interference issues, spectrum
policy and now increasingly Internet protocols as more services move to
IP-based technologies. In addition, I can never resist mentioning the
millions of illegal downloads of our best storytellers and songwriters
and musicians and motion picture productions that are being pirated in
their countries and to ask for their help in cracking down on piracy and
enforcing the law. Most of all, I find that we share the desire to
harness technology and the human entrepreneurship to enable all our
citizens to reap the benefits of this dynamic, digital age.

IX. Upcoming Issues

Over the next 60 days the FCC will consider some of the most important
and complex policy issues it has seen in years. Let me list a few of the
most prominent of these.

-   Universal Service

The Commission is seriously considering how to revise its rules for
promoting universal service, so as to efficiently direct support to
those areas of our nation that most need it.

-   Intercarrier Compensation

This refers to the rates telephone companies pay one another to carry
each other's traffic. The rules are complex, but the amount of money at
stake is tremendous.

-   Interoperable Public Safety Communications

While I've already mentioned the auction of the 700 MHz spectrum
affiliated with the DTV transition, the FCC still must address one block
of spectrum that we wish to use to promote interoperable broadband
communications for public safety. In short, we need our police and fire
and rescue personnel to be able to communicate with each other, and with
their peers in other jurisdictions.

-   White Spaces

This refers to spectrum between the TV broadcast channels that is in
some sense unused. The broadcasters rely on these white spaces to
provide protection from interference by other broadcasters, and they are
worried about lower-power users that would like to employ this spectrum
to provide new services. On the other side of the debate, high-tech
firms such as Google and Microsoft and Dell want to allow devices that
can operate in these white spaces.

X.  Conclusion

Let me conclude by saying that in this particularly difficult economic
downturn, the ICT sector can play a part in reinvigorating our economy.
In fact, ICT can help firms save money, energy, and the environment -- a
triple play! The industries we oversee at the FCC are remarkable,
vibrant industries with some of the greatest, most creative minds in
America. They will pave the way to the next great invention or service
or device in addition to rebuilding the infrastructure and economic
backbone of this country.

At the same time, the regulatory framework we applied only a few years
ago may not be appropriate today. As technologies converge, you can
watch TV on your phone and make phone calls using the Internet service
provided by your cable TV company. The latest phones -- such as the
Android -- can use WiFi networks as well as traditional wireless
networks, and allow you to download the applications of your choice. The
next network may be WiFi on steroids. We simply cannot view these new
technologies in traditional silos, and we cannot apply the old-world
mentality to understanding this exciting new, dynamic, technologically
rich world of today.

From issues such as property rights in the use of spectrum to the
Supremacy clause; from the 1st Amendment to the APA; to 18 USC 1464
regarding indecent, obscene or profane broadcasting -- I use the skills
honed here at this law school to navigate and interpret the law, mindful
of weighing the record in each matter while balancing the often-times
competing public policy goals; and in the end, trying to do my duty to
uphold the Constitution and make decisions that are in the public
interest.

Thank you again for inviting me to share some of this extraordinary
experience of serving on the FCC and serving all of you at this
revolutionary time in history.