mr. mcdowell can tag team on these two questions i have for you all. i read mr. mcdowell's piece in the "wall street journal." you alluded to the fact there was a lack of leadership on this from the u.s. and it sounded as if mr. beaird when he was speaking that the obama administration and state department were looking forward to these talks and really gaining traction and i was wondering if you could clarify that. second, mr. beaird, you said that with the countries and the member states that everyone was fearful of losing their sovereignty and something you wanted to protect. when i read i believe it was "the wall street journal" piece you had said that -- losing my train of thought now. that it seemed like there was almost a majority of member countries that were looking into these itr regulations and based on treaties, the u.s. doesn't have a veto and where we're seven or eight countries short of countries looking to make these changes to the itr. i wondered if you could expand on those. >> thank you for the question. so i had an 800-word op-ed, a statement of

mr. mcdowell, any comments you want to say on this? in fact, you might suggest what as a legislator and i and my fellow colleagues could do here based upon this evolving consensus where it appears we're nine votes short. >> actually, i think, also going back to the dialogue with congressman markey, it's important that this not be an issue of the united states versus -- >> i agree. >> we need to cultivate allies in the developing world. they have the most to gain from an unfettered internet and the most to lose if this goes forward. so that's where i think we need to be whipping up the votes, to use your term. >> is there anything that the fcc is doing right now that would impact this itu? >> yes. we have an international bureau that works on this and works closely with the state department. they are busy working with member states throughout the world. >> commissioner mcdowell, you mentioned in your extended testimony the potential outcome of a balkanized internet if pro-regulation nations are successful in december. could you perhaps

mr. mcdowell? >> i believe you're speaking about the waiver process at the fcc. >> all right. >> and we had an interesting dialogue earlier regarding that. we do, we're taking this very seriously. we want to make sure that the waiver applications are as detailed as possible. so we truly understand what the hardships may or may not be for the applicants. we also want to keep it as streamlined as possible. this is a work in process, and we hope to be able to refine our process going forward, and learn a lot as we go. >> the process proceeding. >> i think it's proceeding fine thus far and we will make determinations as quickly as possible. on those waiver applications. >> well, thank you very much. and i appreciate folks sticking around. i look to counsel, to see if there's magic words i need to say. do i need to adjourn the hearing or -- >> this is the most power i've had in quite a while. if there's no objection from the other members of the committee, we'll keep the record open for two weeks. hear

mr. mcdowell or the others, is there anyone who wants to weigh in on this as well. >> it's very important that we keep the coverage to a minimal amount. when we go back to 2007, when i voted on the july 2007 order for the 700 megahertz auction. there were encumbrances for the b block encumbrances and the c block encumbrances. the intended winner for the c block didn't make a winning bid and nobody bid on the d block or had a minute mum bid. by the time the auction takes place, and certainly by the time these networks were built out, the market has passed by the thinking of the government at that point in time. that's why which think it's important to adopt what we call flexible use policies and the chairman and i have talked about that a lot recently. >> i know there's a lot of us that want to ask questions, but if we don't get a second round, i do have some questions for the record. does mr. chairman. >> thank you senator hutchinson, senator kerry? >> thank you mr. chairman chairman. you've even countered some of the progress made and some of the advances in technology. obviously the tec

mr. mcdowell, do you have a point of view here about when we ought to get started on looking into this? >> i think the senator stated it eloquently. >> i heard. >> i agree. >> senator, we do have a process in place, they have a the right to file before us, and when and if they do, we take all of those matters seriously and will review in a timely manner. >> senator rosenworcel. >> it speaks in terms of technical qualifications to the commission should monitor the situation. >> and senator, i have nothing original to say. i will associate myself with a colleagues on the question and commit to you in the context of the license renewal proceeding, i will sate the record carefully and support appropriate action. >> well, i think that some action here is absolutely require required in terms of where it economists, it would be the fourth largest media market in the country. charges are flying in all over. while there's not enough

mr. mcdowel or the others, is there anyone who wants to weigh in on this as well? >> i think it's right, senator. it's important to keep it to a bare minimal amount. if we go back briefly to 2007, when i voted on the order, i voted for the d-block, but i did not vote for the c-block. but in both cases, it did not turn out as expected. the intended winner didn't make a winning bid and there are all sorlts of other collateral problems with it. so with the best of intentions we can make these designs. but then the market has passed by the thinking of the government at the time. i thank the chairman for talking a lot about that recently. i know many people want to ask questions. >> thank you, senator hutchinson. senator kerry? >> thank you, mr. chairman. obviously the technology -- in a lot of the things that people have a choice on. there are really only two wireless providers. 96% of americans have a choice so my question to you is how would you say the law has, in fact, either encouraged or discouraged competition in the best sense of the word in terms of number num

mr. mcdowell do you have a point of view here on when we ought to get started on looking at this? >> i think the chairman has stated it quite eloquentlies that -- >> i heard it. >> i agree with what the chairman said. >> we have a process in place. a petitioner has a right to file before us, when they do, we'll take all those matters seriously, and review in a timely manner. >> the communications app speaks in terms of technical and broadcast for license es. the commissioner should monitor the situation. >> at the risk of going last, i will associate myself with my colleagues. and commit to you, i will state for the record carefully and support it for redaction. >> i think some action here is absolutely required. and we ought to get going on this. new jersey where one of the stations exists, would be the fourth largest media market in the country. and here these people have a license and they're fiddling around with this, charges are flying in all over. and i think while we're not -- there's not enough evidence for us to make a decision, certainly we ought to be looking at this an

mr. mcdowell? >> thank you very much, randy, and this room is packed. you probably can't see at all all c-span, but it's standing room only. this is a testament to everything the free state foundation has been able to d l building itself up and good work. it's so crowded i notice the c-span technician, his operation center is actually in the bar over there, and so i think that was a good placement on his part. so -- with that, thank you for also highlighting this very important issue. i think we could all agree that mobile internet connectivity is improving the human condition more rapidly and more fundamentally than any other technology, distracted technology in history. in the united states, a lightly regulated and competitive wireless market spark add sustained cycle of investment, innovation and job growth, not to mention lower prices and increased functionality for consumers. sophisticated devices and complex mobile politiciaapplica however, are taxes our nation's spectrum capacity. recognizing the need to satisfy this demand in february congress p

mr. mcdowell do you have a review? >> the chairman has stated it quite eloquently. >> i heard it. >> very good. i agree with what the chairman said. >> senator, we do have a process in place of a potential petitioner that has a right to file before us and when and if they do, we take all of this matter seriously and will review in a timely manner. >> mrs. rosenworcel. >> the technical qualifications for licensees of the commission should monitor the situation. >> senator come with the risk of going last day of nothing official to say but it will associate themselves with college on the question can commit in the concept of renewal presenile state the record carefully and support appropriate action. >> i think that some action here is absolutely required and we have to get going on this. new jersey, where one of the stations exist would be the fourth-largest media market in the country and hear these people have always been in the fiddling around with this and i think what we are not -- there's not enough evidence for u

mr. mcdowell, do you have a point of view about when we should get started on this? >> the chairman stated it eloquently. >> i heard. >> i agree with what the chairman said. >> we do have a process in place of any potential petitioner has a right to file before us and when and if they do we take those matters seriously and we will review in a timely manner. >> the communications act speaks in terms of character and financial qualifications for broadcast licensees so they should monitor the situation. >> at the risk of going last sins i have nothing original today, i will call on a question and commit to you that in context of license renewal proceeding i will stay in the record carefully and support of reaction. >> some action here is absolutely required. we ought to get going on this. in new jersey where one of their stations exist, would be the fourth largest media market in the country and these people have a license and they are fiddling around with this. while we are not -- there is not evidence enough to make a decision, certainly we ought to be looking at this

mr. lee and chair mcdowell for the fabulous job they did. thank you very much. >> hello, my name is eric marsh from district 11. i think everyone for allowing me to state my piece. i'd represent these ocean view. we work hard at these activities come along with all of my neighbors in action, which have great idea for the neighborhood. i believe we have a lot of resources. we are geographically located for people who live in san francisco and commute throughout the bay area. we of a bart line, muni line. unfortunately sometimes we feel we are the forgotten neighborhood. the area i am speaking about is broad street to san jose and randolph from 19th avenue. that whole area. just in the past 18 months we have had three documented shootings. shooting at broad and plymouth on march 9 of this year. a man was shot in the foot. this is on the night super miser avalos was there with his children. -- supervisor avalos was there with his children. the next i a man was shot in the head. if you drive down you will see about five but doenitnut rings k by

mr. chairman. i'll be brief. commissioner mcdowell wrote a piece titled the u.n. threat to freedom. you were talking about the international telecommunications union. i know you're all interested in the process. can you give us brief update as to where we stand on the issue, what role the commissioner will play in that regard? >> the commission plays a supporting role as a technicaled a virz to the state department. the state department takes the lead role in that. i understand through both private and public information that the state department will be announcing ahead of the u.s. delegation, a head negotiator probably next month some time. this comes as a crucial time. it's important, especially in dw developing world that can be devastated by international regulation of government. >> does the commission have a supporting rule? what we should be advocating for or against in terms of an agenda for the summit? >> thus far i've been very encouraged by administration statements on this issue. there was a block posting a couple of weeks alaska by the white house and state department

mr. chairman. commissioner mcdowell. >> thank you mr. chairman and ranking member hutchinson.this is my first opportunity. i want to thank the senate for confirm my comments, they were able to hit the ground running. little did i know that they would be hitting the ground running before the u.s. senate 48 hours being sworn in. they can handle it, i'm sure. we have plenty of work to do in the coming months and years. i believe that america and the future is bright when it comes to putting the power of new communications technologies into the hands of consumers. specifically, i believe we are in the early days of the golden age. we can encourage and strengthen america's leadership in wireless if we first implement the new spectrum law with simplicity, humility, and regulatory restraint, acting, work harder to ensure that federal, state and local governments really wish more spectrum for auction. and third, commence a comprehensive effort to adopt policies that make it easier to deploy technology that enhances spectral efficiencies. when it comes to implementing the new law, we s

mr. robert mcdowell. [applause] >> i am glad he didn't say x. tang was gentleman. good afternoon. is everybody? well, good. many thanks two in cta and it's always difficult to follow in the eloquence of michael powell. what a great speaker and what a great leader for his organization. many thanks to the national urban league as well and lots to talk about regarding your study and i look forward to studying it very hard and learning as much as i can from it and also time warner cable. thank you for all your support in this effort and other efforts as well. as many of you know, last fall the fcc completed a monumental task by reforming the high cost portion of our universal service program, and earlier this year in january we worked on the reform of our lifeline linkup program. we repurpose the high cost program to support broadband while adhering to the budget for the very first time. not only was with our effort historic, but it was bipartisan and unanimous as well and that is something you don't hear much about in washington d.c. so i think the chairman and my distinguished colle

elaborate on that statement for us and then perhaps commissioner mcdowell, you might make a comment or to, as well. >> that's right. i'd be glad to, mr. chairman. basically, the anxiety we have about top-down arrangements involves both the economic performance of the internet if you will in terms of its dynamism, in terms of its ability to react to opportunities, the technology changes present, the business models present, changes in consumer behavior might present. we also are very concerned about whether or not top-town intergovernmental controls would aid in censorship or repression, that is, would aid any particular country that is concerned about the content that comes into this country that crosses its borders, whether or not these kinds of changes might permit it to claim that it's entitled to the aid of other countries in terms of preventing unwanted content. we believe both for economics but also for reasons of the broader political cultural social value of the internet it ought to be kept operating as it is today. >> commissioner mcdowell, any comment? >> i agree. i thought, by

mr. ambassador, welcome. i look forward to our exchange. and of course, commissioner mcdowell, we appreciate your service and thank you for being here this morning. your wise counsel has been helpful to me on many occasions. for both witnesses, this is a yes-or-no answer. is it true that some members of the itu may propose revisions in the itrs that set out descriptive international regulations for issues such as internet privacy and cybersecurity? yes or no. >> the answer is yes. >> yes. >> to both witnesses, do you believe that it's wise for the united states to aseed to international standards on internet matters not settled definitively? that is, privacy and cybersecurity by the congress. yes or no. >> it's unwise for us to get too far in front of the overall consensus. >> you find that to be a bit rushing thins. is that right? >> i now can't recall if this should be a yes or a no, but it would be a bad idea. >> i don't like to do that, but we have a lot of ground to cover. commissioner. >> unwise. >> now, again to both of our witnesses, i understand that some of the count

mr. morial and chairman genachowski and commissioner clyburn and commissioner mcdowell for taking the timeway from their very busy schedules to come down here and support us. and also a special thank you to fernando and the whole team at time warner cable, harvey and gail mckenna and for supporting us for a long time, for almost 12 months now and supporting other research in these areas. and then as very special thank you to neal from mta who will be such a great friend in this venue. so i will be very quick. the focus is going to be the panel but the basic storyline is that there are two major achievements in broadband adoption that we must celebrate. there are two major policy broadband adoptions that we must address in their strategy is to leverage or to utilize the achievements to design solutions that efficiently and effectively answer the problem. mr. morial just mentioned them earlier. there is undoubtedly a narrowing of the broadband adoption gap between african-americans and white americans. in 2009, the gap was 19 percentage points and in 2010, it was 11 percentage points. in all