at the world conference on international committee keeshan prepares to meet later this year to reviewore than fitting for her subcommittee subcommittee to convene this hearing to hear from some of our nation's leading experts and you are all a source of pride to us from the public and private sectors. the internet has advanced rapidly and with it about a quarter of a century ago. i guess they don't meet that often. we have gone from dial-up modems to high-speed internet powered by fiberoptic. with this dramatic boost in speed, consumers today can experience high-definition video, social networking, videoconferencing and much more without regard to where this content is hosted in the world. i think that is the way it should be. there's no question there are real threats facing the internet continued growth and stability. our three hearings held earlier this year are evidence of such vulnerability but international proposals imposing new mandated roaming rates or termination charges for data traffic are a fundamental departure from the international telecommunication regulations adopted