i can put things in at night and charged them. it is expensive work. flying over there, miscellaneous expenses that you accumulate. it sure beats embedding with the taliban. as an american, i will probably make it through. >> david axe, and thanks for your work. thank you for joining us. >> video journalist david axe has covered the wars in afghanistan and iraq as was the conflict in sudan. you can watch programs produced with his material on our web site, c-span.org. go to the search box in the upper right-hand corner and type in a-x-e. >> the president plans to

address the nation of the future of afghanistan at 8:00 p.m. eastern from west point. we will have live coverage on the c-span networks. >> coming up, sec commissioner, and on america and the courts, and look at recent changes in the supreme court. >> american icons, three nights of c-span original documentary on the iconic homes of the three branches of american government continues. tonight at 8:00 p.m., the capitol.

american icons, tonight at 8:00 p.m. on c-span. get your own copy of american icons, a 3 disk dtv said. order online at c-span.org /store. >> this week, a discussion with fcc commissioner meredith atwell maker. she discusses net neutrality, media ownership rules, and federal rabin policy. >> meredith atwell maker is the best this week on "the communicators." also here is kim hart to join in the questioning. if we did start with the issue of network neutrality and debt management. reduce the price that chairman genachowski emphasize this as his priority -- were you

surprised? >> certainly the president had outlined in his campaign speeches, so we knew this was a priority of the chairman. i think a lot like to start with something we all agree on, which is the fact that we ought to have an open internet and we want to have the free flow of lots of, -- content on the internet. i think read disagree is whether consumers and innovation would best be served with fcc rules on net neutrality. i worry about the unintended consequences. >> devoted to go ahead with the open, and period, but still expressed reservations. >> correct. there have been two instances of bad actors, and i think they have been dealt with expeditiously.

there is a tremendous opportunity for the industry to help us. >> in the beginning of the process, you had raised concerns that decisions had been made before the process even began. ashley said that you were prepared to address a whole initiative. what changed your mind? >> the item as it was originally introduced was very conclusion oriented, and i think that the bureau had four very helpful in working with us where we are asking questions. we are at the beginning of this process, not at the end. there is not a determined and yet at this time.

>> what about network management? what does that mean to you, and how would you like that definition to unfold as we go forward in gathering this data and asking new questions? >> i think it is an evolving process. there is not one definition. there has to be prioritization on wireless networks in order for them to work. they could have shown me the exact same slides that the wireless industry has shown, but they have to prioritize their content. i think is going to be an evolutionary discussion. there is not one definition yet that we know of, but we will be working with industry to come up with something reasonable. >> i want to pick up on something you said in your testimony about the vote to go ahead with the comment period on network management.

>> i think the way the wireless networks work is basically on a network management prioritization. as we move forward, i am not clear how we could use those rules on the wireless networks. i think we will leave it to the engineers as we move forward in these workshops to see how we actually could do that. what we do not want to do in the course of developing a national broadband pan is do anything that would harm the innovation and investment of these networks. we are encouraging them to build out and make them faster and bigger and better, so we want to make sure we do not do anything to damage that. >> i also think important questions are outstanding about our legal authority to regulate broadband internet access services that we need to explore. >> i think jurisdiction is still a question here. i think that certainly people

are comfortable with the principle that the fcc has enacted, but there is a dispute as to whether the principles are enforceable. there is joint -- >> you mentioned that the last thing you want to do is to hinder any investment into these broadband networks. what do you think is the best way to spur and encourage that investment? >> we are looking at for the national broadband plan that is due in february. that has been a very widely encompassing effort. there have been 24 public notices so far, over 30 workshops and field hearings. we are learning a bunch of different things. in the deployment area, we have actually done a pretty good job. there have been economic incentives. there is some research and development tax credits that

have worked very well. i think that the regulatory environment we have created, which has allowed these networks to build out free of overburdensome regulations. that has really empower the networks to be built. when we move forward with the national broadband plan, we want to make sure we continue those incentives as well as finding others. >> speaking of national broadband plans, could you give us a primer on your guiding philosophy when it comes to building l broadbent? >> i have made pretty clear what i think our regulatory philosophies are. competition and the marketplace allows consumers the best choice. whatever we can do to encourage private-sector investment in these networks is going to be the primary goal, as far as i am concerned. in the end, consumers benefit from investment, innovation, and

competition. we have to be careful what we do at the commission, because what we do and what we do not do both have ramifications. we need to make sure we set up an economic environment, and regulatory barnett that can allow this investment to flourish. next the believe that the government has a role in helping that private companies would not? >> i do. that is part of the mapping process of the broadband plan. possibly we need to look at how we use government subsidies to get broadband. as the digital economy continues to increase, it is important for every american to have access to broadband. >> testing under previous experience of the commerce department, spectrum was a big part of your job there. your agency was responsible for

many areas. as the broadband plan goes forward, there is a spectrum shortage, are a concern that will not have enough air waves to meet the demand, especially in the wireless area. what are some of the ideas you have in terms of the spectrum, and making sure that we optimize what we have? >> that is a great question. let's take a step back. i think we have done a very good job. we have put three times as much spectrum out for commercial access currently. these networks are still just being built, so we are good today. where we do not have a strategic plan for tomorrow, we need to develop a plan for short-term, mid term, and long-term plans for commercial spectrum. let's take a look at some of the numbers. right now there are about 270 million mobile subscribers. only about 40 million our

internet broadband subscribers. if you drill down, the '80s from 18 to 29, 93% of those our internet mobile subscribers of broadband. our crisis is not today, but it will become an around the corner pretty quickly. we need to lay the groundwork by 2020, when everyone access the internet by mobil, that we are prepared and america continues to be competitive. it has to be a three-pronged answer. we need to find new spectrums. we need to leverage the spectrum that exist currently more efficiently, and we need to encourage new technology and innovation in that area. >> you also talked about being more flexible with spectrum policy. what do you mean by that? >> that goes to leveraging the current spectrum management that we have more efficiently. i am talking about a more

vibrant secondary market. i am talking about sharing both commercial and federal spectrum. there is a lot that can be done in those areas. that almost all depend on a better database and what currently exists. we will have a more user- friendly database that can be used on a minute to minute basis. >> you talked about finding new spectrum. a couple of weeks ago there was some brouhaha about taking away some of the broadcaster spectrum and giving it over to our list. do you agree with that? >> i think all ideas should be on the table. broadcasters have 294 megahertz of spectrum. we are talking about needing 800 mhz in the future. it is not the golden egg. it might be part of the solution. these discussions -- we have a

great broadcasting infrastructure here. these people are part of our local and national dialogue. i do not think the discussion should be at all anti-broadcast. the broadcasters are also looking for new business models. the mobile standard was just set. i think we ought to take a look at whether those broadcast rules needs to be attached to that service. a comprehensive look at everything should be on the table. it should not be anti-broadcast. it should not be acrimonious. we may come up with some solution that are eight win-win. >> prior to being confirmed as an sec commissioner earlier this year, he did serve as acting administrator of the national telecommunications and information agency. you may remember her from the coupon program, when the nation

made the switch over to digital tv. kim hart is a reporter. >> following up on the spectrum question, we know senator kerrey and congressman waxman have introduced bills that are looking at to try to get a better sense of what the agencies themselves have. is there a possibility that maybe reallocation of the defense department or what the military has in terms of sharing of that spectrum, or do you have any ideas on that? >> that is a valid question to ask. there was an executive order from president bush that actually called for a strategic plan. there was a federal strategic plan looking at the spectrum that the federal agencies use. we need to do the same thing at the fcc.

maybe some of the department of defense wants to use some of the commercial spectrum. we have one test bed, and we may need to implement more test beds. some of the technologies out there, cognitive radios, software defined radios, these are technologies that are in development. they are going to make all these things easier. there are smart technologies where they can see when something is being used. we need to expedite the development and make easier for them to be brought to the market. i think we certainly need to work together. >> i was just curious about white spaces. do you know if the fcc is moving

forward? we have not heard much since then from google and others about using this technology. >> we are looking at some of the issues with wireless right now that are in the white spaces. as soon as we saw that problem is the is all part of a long- range plan. you do not want to move wireless microphones to a place where you have to move them again. it is a long range planning process. >> chairman genachowski told us last week that if the fcc made a decision, it would still take 6- 13 years to implement that decision when it comes to world spectrum. what are your thoughts about that? >> i show the scars of the

events were lists spectrum that we move to the department of defense. we passed a law in congress to were those who bought the spectrum actually paid for the department of defense to move. the departure of defense got new equipment, and the commercial industry got the spectrum for the next generation of wireless services. it is a win-win, but that coordination takes a while. hopefully we have laid the groundwork and figured out where some of the bugs are. maybe we can do it better and quicker next time. >> you talked about finding new spectrum. it is a limited commodity, isn't it? rex is a limited commodity, but i do not expect we will take all the broadcaster spectrum. there may be some that can be more efficiently used in a commercial wireless cents. the same is true for some of our other allocations. we are looking at a bunch of different parts of the spectrum to see if there is a more

efficient use of it, so that consumers could have a wider variety of choices. >> another issue -- i want to return to the broadband development plan that is due in february. chairman rockefeller of the commerce committee said he is worried that the plan will come to the congress and will be an incomplete road map. it will not be specific. >> i appreciate his view. you certainly want to make sure that we comprehensively take the pen to all the data we have gathered, but it is impractical to think we are probably going to solve universal service within the plan. i laugh about the commission these days, because all of these decade old problems, they are all walking around saying if you

saw me, you have solved a broadbent for america. i hope we have a comprehensive look and we cannot move forward to solve all of them, but that probably will not be by february 70. i think we will have action plans shortly thereafter. hopefully it will set out goals that we can make it work throughout the next year. we will be very busy. >> regarding the universal service fund, potentially using that to help pay for the federal part of broadband deployment, do you agree that with some on the commission say the usf is outdated and flawed, the way it is set up now? >> it has achieved a lot for keeping americans connected, but in the change marketplace, it is time to reevaluate the universal service fund. we need to do it in a transparent and cooperative way. the time has come for it to be

reevaluated. >> but you do not see that happening before the february deadline? >> clearly we have been gathering data on universal service fund. i do not think they are ready to vote on how the path forward is going to be. i am ready to put the wheels in motion to come up with the new plan, but i do not think we are ready to say this is the direction the reform is going to take. >> come february, is the one large recommendation that you see as being essential that the fcc put before congress? >> i think there is a lot of progress in the deployment area. where we are lacking is in the adoption area. i think there will be some concrete -- there is not a one- size-fits-all on adoption. there are problems because of the price and because of visual literacy. there are problems with online content. people are not adopting for a lot of different reasons.

the fcc itself can do a much better educational part in helping americans realize what the valley is to broadband. i hope the fcc will use the digital television transition model to help educate americans and how to utilize broadband better. >> can you give us an update and your thinking of media ownership rules? i know the fcc is due for a review by law. >> people are extremely passionate about media ownership and the rules there. the quadrennial review is going to start in 2010. i think we have changed marketplace, and we need to look at that. i am concerned when i see some of the small and mid-sized media markets having financial problems in these hard economic times. i am encouraged that it seems we

are putting ourselves on a course to develop rules that are actually going to be sustainable. the head of the media bureau has already started with workshops to discuss how we should go about formulating these rules. i encouraged with the effort we are going to make. >> the have particular concerns with some of the consolidations going on, the proposed comcast merger that will probably get a lot of scrutiny? >> when your charged with looking at third the public interest, i do not want to comment on something we may have in front of us shortly, but i do think it is important to do it in a timely manner. i think it is important to do it timely, and philosophically, i feel that mergers should be dealt with on the merger proceeding in front of you, you should not attach conditions that are extraneous to the

actual deal in front of you. >> what about internet parental controls? that has been a smaller issue, but you have put out a couple of statements and talked about what you feel a need for greater control for parents over what their kids are accessing on the internet. what is your philosophy regarding that? >> it is something i feel really strongly about. i have four stepdaughters who art in the teenage to 20 range. to watch them deal with the new media landscape is entirely different from the way we watch television ourselves. the television has become a laptop, which has become the ipod. it is all integrated, but we have not educated power in the parents on how to raise their children in this digital age. chairman genachowski also feels passionately about this. we are going to move forward to encourage technology that is out

there and help educate the parents to know, we need better education and better technology so that the next generation of children will have parents who are empowered to let them watch what they want and not watch what they should not be watching. >> city see it as more of an educational campaign on the parent's side to feel confident? >> there are technologies out there that are not well known by the parents. i think they could be easier to use. they need to be used across all platforms. hopefully we will work with industry to come up with solutions that work across all platforms. >> that speaks to the issue of the very rapid change in telecommunications in our world today. is the fcc prepared an up-to- date on all these changes, the way it is structured?

>> we are trying. i think government agencies historically been the the problem with the federal communications commission is that is federal, meaning that government can always be a couple of steps behind the industry. the new leadership has brought an excellent team into the fcc where we are really trying to get out to see what is going on outside the walls of the government agencies. i am encouraged that we will have the relationships to actually deal with the realities as they exist, as opposed to what we read. we are actually allowed comments in the proceedings now. we are working to becoming a new media agency. that entails a lot of education, but what we are working toward that. >> the structure of the commissioners themselves, you are really not allowed to meet with each other. is that correct? >> we need one-on-one a lot, but because of the sunshine rules,

we do not meet together. >> de thing that is helpful? >> i think it would be nice if we could actually do it ourselves. >> you have also been, judging from the number of meetings you have been having on the net neutrality issue, you and commissioner clive turn have been having a busy schedule with meetings. what are some of the questions you are being asked, what are the biggest issues that are coming to you with? >> network neutrality has a couple of different sides to it. you have the core principles that were originally as else, and then you have those that were tacked on. we really need to get past the lawyer words into what the actual engineering of the networks look like, to make sure that we do not impede innovation. as far as i am concerned, we are

trying to drill down and understand what exists now and what are the plans for the future, to make sure whatever we do is not harmful. >> there is maker is a lawyer. what surprised you in your few months at the fcc? >> having come from ntia, you are part of a larger team. it is fun because you are part of the economic agenda, but you are always answering as a team, not necessarily what you think. the depth of the expertise at the fcc is incredible. my third day of work i met a woman who said she had been

working on the universal service fund for the last 18 years. it is terrific to be able to have the expertise to really understand these issues and be able to make decisions for communications for the next generation. >> you have gone from the presidential administration to a minority position on the f. cc >> that is true but when people have analyzed it, we boat together 90% of the time. >> what are some of the other priorities you have over your term that we have not talked about? broadband clearly takes a lot of the discussion these days. do you have other things? >> i think my experience with spectrum can add a lot to the fcc agenda. i want to work on the strategic plan, so we have a short-term, mid term, and long-term plan for

the next generation of spectrum usage. that is something i really hope to bring to the table, and those relationships and that knowledge is important. i think we need to empower the parents with the technology to parent their children better. >> finally, any leftover issues when it comes to digital tv and the digital transmission? >> i think we are still analyzing some of the market's. >> meredith attwell maker is the newest commissioner on the federal communications commission's. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> coming up on "america and the courts," the review of recent changes in the supreme court. later, explore the history,