really good question. i do not know the numbers of contractors. i think that is a really good question. i do not have an answer for you. sorry about that. host: we are out of time. thank you for being here. we look forward to your reporting on the region for abc news. >> we are live now at the federal communications commission in washington for a meeting on the plan for national access to high-speed internet. also an update on the recent transition to a all the digital broadcast television. also, a brief swearing in ceremony for the republican member of the sec. this will get underway in a couple of minister. he will tell you about a couple

of programs we are covering in washington. the white house briefing at 1:30 eastern with robert krebs. also president obama in the rose garden made comments on the economy. also unemployment figures which shows the jobless rate hit the 9.5 in% -- 9.5% rate. the highest in years. on the broad band discussion, vice president biden and the agricultural secretary, tom vilsack kicked off the administration's rural tour. $4 billion in economic stimulus goes to areas across the u.s. for stimulus for broadband introduction. that is the republican member of the fcc. meeting should get underway

shortly.

>> two members of the fcc on your screen there, and just reconfirmed by congress a couple of weeks ago. they are holding a meeting today to look abroad and access across the u.s., and also an update on the transition to digital broadcast transmissions. this should get under way pretty soon.

>> two out of the three current

fcc member is in the room -- they are waiting for the new chair to arrive. the chair at a company vice president biden yesterday. they committed to a a $4.7 billion loan to develop a high- speed internet access to areas that were underserved or without access.

>> alive at the fcc in washington looking at a couple of issues.

this is an update on the recent transition to digital television. later today, we will be covering a couple of events at the white house. 1:30 this afternoon, the white house briefing with spokesman robert kids. and then the president will make comments on the economy, live from the rose garden. that is at 2:20 this afternoon.

>> good morning. welcome to the july 2009 meeting of the federal communications commission. this is the first commission meeting that i have been 2 cents 1997. i am very happy about that. -- that i have been two since 1997. i am very happy about that. i look forward to becoming more acquainted with colleagues and

meeting new ones. before beginning the meeting, i have the distinct honor and privilege to swear in commissioner robert mcdowell. his first term ended yesterday, the day before. i have lost track. the day before. i am very pleased to do this. mr. mcdowell's wife jennifer is here, and you're beautiful children who i will let you introduce. -- and your beautiful children who i will let you introduce. if you will indulgence for a minute, joining us at the front. this is the swearing in of commissioner mcdowell.

pal>> excellent. if you would raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, robert mcdowell, do solemnly swear -- >> bayh, robert dole do solemnly swear -- >> that i will support, defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic, that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. that i take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation. and i will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office i am about to enter.

so help me god. >> well done. [applause] [unintelligible] that was, as i said, a distinct honor and privilege. the first time i have sworn anyone in in say -- it is an awesome responsibility and a great pleasure to welcome you

for your next term. do either of my colleagues have opening remarks to begin the meeting? please? >> very briefly, mr. chairman, thank you very much. i could not think of a better way to launch the genachowski era. i think you have done a great job so far, sir. [laughter] there are four groups of thank yous right here. a will be as brief as possible. i think many folks for my renomination and reconfirmation -- certainly, my parents, got himself -- god himself. my parents are no longer with us, but i think about them often. to jennifer and my kids. these public service jobs are very demanding and frequently the burdens and stresses fall on their shoulders, and i thank

them for everything, all their love and support for the past two years and the time going forward as well. i would like to think the president for appointing me and the senate for confirming the. my fellow commissioners -- commissioner cox -- commissioner copps, and to julius genachowski. more about him in a said. to the team in my office. the office team i have had for years. you try hard to make me look good. i know that can be difficult. i appreciate that. also, the great women and men of the federal communications commission who worked so hard in the public interest. it has been an extreme honor, as i said during at my confirmation hearings, working with each and every one of you. i am excited to go forward and work with you some more.

the second category of thanks is i want to say spots to but to my friend and colleague michael copps for his tenure as acting chairman. thank you for your astute leadership for the last few months. i firmly enjoyed working with you through the era of the 3 a migos. soon you'll have the second era of the 3 amigos. your openness and sense of collaboration and execution of the dtv transition was exemplary. i wanted you to know how much i and my whole team in my office appreciate your and your staffs time and help. thank you very much. today we are missing our friends and colleague. he is back on his way to his

home state of south dakota for must -- for much deserved vacation. hopefully he will catch this in reruns later. johnson worked tirelessly for the public interest. he had an open mind along with an open door. he had sharp insight. his character, his ability to forge a sensible compromise, his sense of humor, and of course, his harmonica playing. i will especially miss the fun of disagreeing with him, because he never took disagreements personally and he could take it as well as he could dish it out. i am confident he will serve with excellence in his new position. i look forward to seeing his new digs three blocks away. finally, i want to congratulate and thank our new chairman, julius genachowski. we were confirmation partners.

for me, being tied to his confirmation was a bit like being waterskiing behind a naval ship. being so -- being confirmed so quickly with him, and as we started to get to know each other, he has been gracious and thoughtful drop. we have gotten off to a fine start. i am very much looking forward to working with you in the coming months and years. congratulations. thank you. >> thank you, commissioner mcdowell. [applause] commissioner copps? >> thank you. it was a real pleasure to be here when you wield the gavel for the first time as you did with real authority there. i look forward to your chairmanship. this is a wonderful moment.

we have the man and the hour. we have a lot to do, a full agenda here. you bring exactly the combination of vision and practicality and experience of having been here and knowing what needs to be done. onlooking for an altogether historic era -- i am looking for an altogether historic era and your leadership. you have gotten off to a great start. i commend your wonderful team. thank you. it is wonderful to watch my friend rob. congratulations to rob, jennifer, and the wonderful mcdowell family. i have commended his friendship, his cordiality, the palpable sense of commitment he brings to his work. i have a good sense of how he worked before i became chairman in january. but he really threw himself in

the dtv transition work with a special emphasis, making sure the call centers were up to snuff. he worked in innumerable cities to get ready for the switchover. we teed up all whole bunch when he got here, but it was his cooperative spirit and cordiality and sense of good humor that made him enjoyable to work with. we do work in a bipartisan fashion. i was a democrat appointed by president bush and he is a republican appointed by president obama. i do miss my friend jonathan for the partnership we enjoyed for

seven years. our thoughts went down the same trial. the mission was diversity, broadband, open enough for rural america, disabilities, reaching out to what i called non- traditional stakeholders and upholding his share. he served his country and the commission well. i am please he is going to be returning home from public service and i wish him and karen and they're wonderful kids nothing but the best for the road ahead. finally, if i may go for just a minute more, but i want to say a formal thank you to be fcc team, a team that is 200 plus strong. they have been working alongside us just tremendously. you could not find a more dedicated group of public service. when given the environment to do their best, the country week's

huge, enormous benefits. they stepped up to the plate with dtv, i will say more about that later this morning. they have stepped up on other issues too. they bring their intelligence and their plain good sense. it has made my job over the past eight years, but especially the last five months, very easy. in thank you for what you have done for me, and i consider myself many times blast -- blessed. from bureau chiefs to office directors to their staffs and the security forces to keep people safe, thanks for a job well done. in my office i owe a huge debt of gratitude to my chief of

staff. he did double duty on dtv. he brought his experience and wisdom. the acting it senior counsel to the chairman, doing those duties, plus becoming involved in the super-important broadband planning. to jennifer schneider and paul martti -- paul murray, for everything they did to keep the trains running. keeping us all organized. betty morris, nicole -- i thank you. you are the kinds of folks to make coming to work every day a pleasure. i am deeply indebted to all of you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. some may tell me this is inappropriate, but i would like to offer a round of applause for commissioner copps and commissioner mcdowell.

[applause] i would like to associate myself with the eloquent comments of my colleagues about each other. i expressed no view on their comments about myself. i have a great respect and admiration for both my colleagues and their service to this agency, in a particularly thanked commissioner copps for his service as acting chairman. our country is enormously fortunate to have two such extraordinary public servants at the fcc. i would also like to join them in thinking the commissioner for his years of public service. though he is no longer a commissioner, he will always be part of the family. i wish him all the best with his nomination to the world utility service. i hope he will be able to return quickly to government service, and i know once that happens, we will all be working with him on

some very important issues facing the country. i would also like to thank, before we get into the agenda, the fcc staff. it has been such a pleasure over the course of this week to start what would be ongoing conversations with some many people on staff. this is the country's expert agency on communications, the country's export agency on such an important part of our economy, and the future opportunity of all americans. it is a serious responsibility to be on the staff of the fcc, but i am pleased that so many talented people have made this comment -- this commitment to public service. as i said, we are the country's expert agency on communications, which means we are the world's expert agency on communications. i look forward to listening and

learning from all of you in the time ahead. finally, before we start the agenda, i would like to thank my staff and welcome them to the fcc. in some cases, i am fortunate to welcome back people who were here, love at the agency and respected, who have left and now returned. in some cases, i am please to have as part of my staff -- pleased to have as part of my staff people who have been at the agency for the recent future. i am also happy to welcome to my staff people who are new to the agency and in some cases entering public service for the first time. i think that one of the ways we will succeed as an agency is to have a real mix of backgrounds and talents, to bring to bear on all the issues we face.

i think that is true throughout the agency. i am pleased and grateful for the mixture of experiences i have on my staff. i am very grateful for the sacrifices that many people on my staff -- and i know many people on the commission make -- to be in public service. people on my staff are moving from other parts of the country, picking their kids up out of the school and figuring out how to find schools here. it is not easy. they are working very hard at the same time. i applaud my staff and the staff of the fcc. [applause] thank you for that. madam secretary, it is a pleasure to see you again. what we have on the agenda this morning? >> thank you, mr. chairman. today's agenda consists of two presentations. the first presentation will review the digital television

transmission. the second presentation will describe the status of the commission's process for developing a national broadband plan. this is the agenda for today. >> thank you, madame secretary. if i can consult with my colleagues -- we need the presenters to come up. so if i can -- while our presenters are taking the table, i would like to take a moment to recognize and congratulate commissioner copps, as well as the staff of the entire agency specifically for the handling of the dtv transition. i will have more to say. but now, we are ready? mike capman, if i could ask you

to start? i would note that bill lake who has worked around the clock as the dtv coordinator could not be with us here today. i do want to thank him in absentia for his great work and public service. rick? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i would first like to express my thanks to commissioner copps as well as commissioner mcdowell, and the former commissioner who is not here today. thank you. with me here at the table are three members of the policy board and they will provide a brief overview of the transition and where we stand today. first, we will hear from the chief information officer who was responsible for our call center calldtv.gov. he will give -- our call