Political Quotes

“In the four years since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, dramatic changes have occurred in our telecommunications markets. We have seen competitive environments in such areas as wireless communication and long distance service. Advanced telecommunications services have great potential for deployment in the near term, if only the Federal Communications Commission would more aggressively promote them. All of this change is occurring in the context of an explosion of information technologies and the Internet. Yet the '96 Act dealt with much more than the high tech changes we read so much about these days. The legislation was designed to transform the entire telecommunications industry under the leadership of the FCC, to the benefit of all consumers. And the Act was designed to ensure that all Americans could have access to the vast array of services the Act will stimulate. Today I would like to briefly address one aspect of the '96 Act that is often overlooked in the glamour of 'high-tech.' Public payphones are a critical piece of this access.”