Building Careers and Shaping Public Policy

16 March 2005

The Honorable Kevin J. Martin
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

Dear Commissioner Martin:

I am writing on behalf of IEEE-USA to encourage the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take steps to improve the technology capabilities and understanding of the FCC. Many of the important issues that the FCC must address in these rapidly changing times are increasingly technology driven including the explosive growth in wireless deployment, the need for reform in how the radio spectrum is managed, the implementation of fiber optic technology, the need for increasing the speed of digital communications, etc. If the potential opportunities of these new technologies are not accurately and effectively addressed, the public at large will suffer and the United States will surely be overtaken by other nations.

We therefore urge you to do everything you can in your role as an FCC Commissioner to support access to the relevant technological questions and answers related to decisions you have to make in today's rapidly changing technology world. In particular, we make the following specific suggestions; all of these are important actions, not necessarily in the order of their importance:

• We strongly recommend that each Commissioner obtain a balance of legal, economic, technical, and other relevant skills and expertise to your staffs. At least one of your staff members should have technical training and experience relevant to the Commission's responsibilities.

• The "Chief Technologist" position in the Commission has been vacant for several years. That officer has access as needed to each and every Commissioner, and therefore could provide both private as well as public information and suggestions to Commissioners. The office formally still exists, but no appointment of a Chief Technologist has been made for several years now. We strongly suggest that that office be filled as soon as possible.

• We recommend that the Commission’s Technical Advisory Committee be encouraged to enter into technology-related issues related to the FCC's agenda.

• We encourage the Commission to consult and cooperate with government and non-government groups outside the Commission when addressing complex technology-related issues on the Commission's agenda.

IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of the IEEE. It was created in 1973 to advance the public good and promote the careers and public policy interests of the more than 220,000 technology professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, please contact Deborah Rudolph at (202) 785-0017 x 8332; d.rudolph@ieee.org.

Sincerely,

Gerard A. Alphonse
President, IEEE-USA

(Also sent to all FCC Commissioners)