December 21, 1998
Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth Issues Comprehensive Report on FCC's
Biennial Review Process; Expresses Disappointment In Extent of 1998 Review,
      Offers Constructive Suggestions for Year 2000 Review
     FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth today issued a comprehensive report
on the Commission's biennial regulatory review process.
     The biennial review must be conducted by the FCC pursuant to a key provision of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, codified at Section 11 of the Communications Act of 1934,
as amended. Section 11 requires the FCC to review all of its telecommunications rules every
two years and determine whether any are no longer in the public interest.
     Furchtgott-Roth's report describes in detail how the FCC carried out the 1998 biennial
review and, in particular, acknowledges the hard work of all the staff involved with the
project.  The report concludes, however, that the Commission did not clearly review all of the
rules required under Section 11, did not establish clear standards by which rules are evaluated,
and did not produce a full written record of the review.
     "Congress directed a thorough, attic-to-basement review of all of the FCC's
telecommunications rules," said Furchtgott-Roth. "Unfortunately, this report demonstrates that
the Commission has reviewed only a handful of rules."
     The report includes suggestions for the full Commission to consider for the next
biennial review, and describes a model review, conducted by a team of part-time legal interns
working for Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth, that demonstrated how future Section 11
regulatory reviews could be conducted by the Commission.  Among the many ideas proposed
by Furchtgott-Roth is the appointment of a small, full-time team of FCC staff members to help
the five commissioners plan and conduct the next review.
     The Report concluded, "As a matter of law, the FCC must review all of its rules
relating to telecommunications providers every two years.  Although the FCC did not fully
meet this obligation in 1998, the analysis herein and the model review conducted by a team of
legal interns demonstrates that such an FCC review not only is required but is eminently
feasible for the year 2000."
     Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth said, "Although I am disappointed by the extent of the
1998 biennial review, I look forward to working with Chairman Kennard and my fellow
Commissioners on the year 2000 review, planning for which should begin in earnest by next
July."
     The executive summary and proposed year 2000 review timeline from the Furchtgott-
Roth report are attached.
     The complete report is available on the Commission's Internet Web site at
<http://www.fcc.gov> as well as from the FCC's copy contractor.
                             -FCC-
News media contact: David Fiske at (202) 418-0500.
Office of Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth Contact: Paul Misener at (202) 418-2000.
TTY: (202) 418-2555.

                       Executive Summary
Report on Implementation of Section 11 by the Federal Communications Commission
             Commissioner Harold W. Furchtgott-Roth
                       December 21, 1998
     The Telecommunications Act of 1996 included a section on "Regulatory Reform."
Codified at Section 11 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, this provision
requires the FCC to review, every two years, all of its rules that apply to telecommunications
service providers and determine whether any are no longer necessary in the public interest.
Section 11 then directs the Commission to repeal or modify unnecessary rules.
     Although the FCC has made significant progress on Section 11, the official 1998
review had shortcomings.  In particular, the Commission did not clearly review all of the rules
required under Section 11, did not establish clear standards by which rules are evaluated, and
did not produce a full written record of the review.  At the same time, however, a few law
student interns performed a model review which demonstrated how future Section 11 reviews
could be conducted by the FCC.  In any case, the full Commission should begin planning for
the year 2000 biennial review very soon; this report includes specific procedural suggestions
for that review.
     Conducting a biennial review is no easy task.  All those involved with this year's
review worked very hard and, in one sense, even harder than necessary.  With similar hard
work, as well as strict attention paid to the requirements of Section 11, the shortcomings of the
1998 review certainly can be corrected for the year 2000 review.
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