**Remarks of Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein**

**One Web Day -- 3^rd^ Celebration**

**New America Foundation -- September 22, 2008**

Thanks, Nathan, for that kind introduction. And thanks for including me
in this celebration of One Web Day. And what a breath of fresh air is
Congresswoman Donna Edwards. This brainchild of Susan Crawford brings a
needed focus on the importance of the Internet and on-line
participation.

Broadband is a tool for innovation, education, political participation,
and on-line activism - the likes of which we've never seen. And it is
certainly a solution to vastly increase government transparency,
although we haven't begun to maximize those opportunities.

Taking stock of where we are today is a little like taking a still
picture of a speeding bullet. In some ways, it's hard to imagine that
forty years have passed since that first transmission on the ARPANET
between UCLA and Stanford Research Institute. It's been almost twenty
years since Tim Berners-Lee first proposed the World Wide Web.

I was thrilled to attend his announcement last week at the Newseum of
his launch of the World Wide Web Foundation. It can shed great light
pointing the way to maximize the future of the Internet.

Thanks to Sir Tim, here we are today, with an estimated 178 million U.S.
adults actively using the web. There are over 100 million websites
operated worldwide. Some estimate that there are over 30 billion pages
on the web, that consumers download 100 million files every day, and
that they upload hundreds of thousands of new videos every day. All
this, while 80 percent of the planet has yet to tap the Internet. We
will need to level that out if we truly want to promote the spread of
freedom and democracy around the world.

Clearly, our progress will increasingly be measured on a global scale.
So, I'm glad that, while we celebrate here in DC -- and in New York and
Chicago \-- there are also celebrations going on in India, Serbia,
Australia, and the Ukraine, among so many other places around the world.

I'd like to focus in on the importance of setting policy that fosters
the best aspects of the Internet and that will help restore our country
to a global leadership position in technology. That starts with a
national broadband strategy.

Broadband has the power to revolutionize the way that we live, work, and
participate in society. Broadband deployment is today's great
infrastructure challenge. Broadband touches all the major issues being
debated in the '08 election. It already has a striking impact on the
economy -- in terms of productivity, global competition, and
outsourcing. It has tremendous potential for health care, through
telemedicine, e-records, and home monitoring. It can transform
education, through distance learning, access to museums & libraries, and
stored content. We've got to tap broadband to meet our public safety
needs, through interoperable networks and emergency alerts. It touches
on the energy and environmental debates, as we look to telecommuting and
smart electrical grids. And, it has transformational power for
democracy, through citizen debates, avenue for political expression, and
tools for citizen journalists and commentators.

Broadband may not be the top solution for any of these issues, but with
its impact on so many key issues, it is critical to our future. So,
we've got to make sure that it reaches everyone, no matter where they
live, the color of their skin, or their educational background.

While we have made progress, we face great challenges. Consistent
research shows that those with low incomes, seniors, minorities, and
those in rural areas all trail behind in Internet access. As a country,
we face major challenges in broadband adoption, competition, speed, and
affordability. You know the stats: according to the ITU, we are 15th in
broadband penetration. Contrary to some views, I believe broadband
penetration does matter -- we need to tap all our resources. Broadband
is slower and more expensive in the U.S. than it is in the countries
with which we compete internationally. Add it all up, and according to
the ITIF's composite ranking of penetration, speed, and price, the US
ranks a lowly 15th. Critics will try to nitpick these studies, but
what's clear is that the trend lines are bad. And consistently, the data
tells us something is wrong. The bottom line is that even if US were #1
by all measures, which is where we belong, we still need to press in a
public/private effort to stay on top, as technology evolves.

So, we've got to make this a higher national priority than it is today.
We need a national broadband strategy. There is no doubt that the
private sector will do the heaviest lifting. But is also a role for
government, because we need everyone to benefit from this array of new
services. We need to keep up with our global competitors. And we
absolutely must protect Internet freedom.

Many of the elements of a national broadband strategy have been put on
the table. But developing an effective strategy is not a simple, or
prescriptive, exercise. It requires far greater focus from our policy
leaders. It will take leadership at all levels of government \-- from
top to bottom \-- at the federal, state, and local levels -- and
coordinated across agencies. And it will require broad participation
from the many diverse communities of users. We truly need all players to
work together to be successful.

A key element of any strategy must be preserving the open and
interconnected nature of the Internet. One big reason we see such active
political communities exploding online is because the Internet was
founded on the principles of openness and neutrality. Consumers have
historically been able to access the content of their choosing, run
applications, and attach their choice of devices. It empowers consumers
\-- as citizen journalists, entrepreneurs, and artists \-- it fosters
collaboration (whether through wiki's or social networks) \-- and is a
vehicle for connectivity and transparency the likes of which we've never
before seen. The very beauty of the Internet is that nobody's in charge
and everybody's in charge.

Today, the movement for Internet freedom is tapping the same American
spirit that fueled the movement against media consolidation. In an age
when traditional media markets are dominated by a handful of giant
conglomerates, we have optimism about broadband. There is a sense it can
restore decentralized, locally-rooted and entrepreneurial voices to the
media landscape that are reflective of the best aspects of American
media before consolidation.

This summer, at the FCC, we issued a landmark Order. For the first time,
we made clear, though by a narrow majority, that we will enforce Federal
law and the principles behind the Commission's Internet Policy
Statement. Although I think we need to adopt rules to address concerns
about network discrimination, the Commission's decision is an important
step toward ensuring that consumers will continue to enjoy freedom on
the Internet. By adopting a case-by-case approach, the FCC gave itself a
degree of flexibility which may be helpful, but it also means that your
attention to these issues and your vigilance are more important than
ever. Let it be clear, the grass roots support of so many consumers --
and consumer advocates -- was critical to that outcome and is absolutely
essential going-forward.

So, let's use today's celebration as a call to action: to promote
openness, ensure interoperability, and foster affordable access and
protect those elements of the Internet that have created such value you
and opened so many doors. I am confident that, working together, we can
achieve that goal. So, thank you for including me today and for all your
involvement and leadership on the future of the Internet.