FCC Copps Couples Broadband Plan will Investigation of Media's Future

Federal Communications Commission Michael Copps identified a two-prong challenge before the Commission: ensuring that the Internet of the future can support the information infrastructure which democracy requires and, stemming the decline of traditional media journalism that still supplies the overwhelming bulk of our news and information.

"So I'm pleased," Commissioner Copps said, "that the National Broadband Plan recognizes the need to come to terms with the news and information implications of the digital transition, and I am also pleased that the Commission has launched a separate, but really inherently related, examination focusing on 'The Future of Media and Information Needs of Communities in a Digital Age.' A Commission without steady focus on this would ignore one of the core implications of broadband infrastructure. This is an area where public policy needs to be proactive. Technology in and of itself is neutral. It can do great good-or it can cause real harm. What determines the outcome is what we make of it."

Concerning spectrum policy, Commissioner Copps reminded that "the airwaves belong to the American people and the stewards of this precious resource should at all times be serving the public interest. Our allocation of the people's spectrum finds its touchstone right here. In matters involving competition in our communications ecosystem, we will have to be vigilant to ensure that our strategies actually work. Lack of competition could conceivably require us to take actions going beyond what is generally discussed here."