Jim Quello is always a tough act to follow. He is a dear friend and mentor and possesses uncommon wisdom. Jim has been around the Commission such a long time, there are rumors that he once played tennis with Alexander Graham Bell. I don't believe it -- I think it was Theodore Vail. And I'll bet Jim won.

I am the last of the five members of the FCC to speak at this convention. By now, I think you have a pretty good idea of the Commission's plans and priorities.

Although there is much that we agree upon, each of the Commissioners contributes a unique perspective -- and the results of our deliberations are enriched by these contributions. Reed Hundt brings experience as an antitrust litigator, Jim Quello as a former broadcaster, Andy Barrett as a former state public utilities commissioner, and Rachelle Chong as a communications lawyer representing wireless companies.

The special lens through which I often see issues is as a former banker lending exclusively to communications companies -- broadcasting, cable, programming, cellular, satellite, long distance, and rural telcos. Over a decade of experience, the bank never lent money to the RBOCs; they didn't need it. They lent to us!

Back in the mid-1980s, a gentleman from a rural telephone company came to me seeking to finance a fiber optic link from Charlottesville to Richmond. That gentleman was Warren French of Shenandoah Telephone, and a past Chairman of this Association.

It was an experience to work with Warren. My introduction to the FCC was as part of tour he hosted in Edinburg, Virginia, where we examined all the operations of a rural local exchange carrier. After successfully completing Telephony 101, we celebrated with a barbecue and homemade ice cream at Pat and Warren's log cabin.

Back at my own home, we have a different telephone company, but we too have excellent telephone service. The section of Maryland where I live has frequent thunderstorms and almost as frequent power outages. At the first clap of thunder, my ten-year-old daughter immediately gets candles and flashlights. Then the lights go out and the cable goes out and the computers go out, but our phones always work. And, I hasten to add, this was true long before I became a Commissioner.

Last Saturday, I took my son to his first soccer game. Imagine a schoolyard filled with six-year-olds, most never having spent much time with this sport. Before the boys began to play, the coach took each one aside separately and asked him in which direction on the field he needed to move the ball -- toward the left or the right. By and large, the kids answered correctly, but the question needed to be asked.

In some respects, making communications policy is a bit like playing soccer. The ball is clearly at our feet, but we need to make sure we are headed in the right direction. I know the goal toward which we are driving is marked competition -- but it isn't always easy to know the best way to go forward.

I am well aware that some are trying to kick the ball in a different direction. That's why I keep my shin guards at the office.

"Going forward." That's a phrase drawn from our recent efforts to implement the Cable Act, but the phrase also could be applied equally well to the telephone context.

The pace of change -- whether in technology or in the marketplace -- seems continually to accelerate. Government policies must reflect the changing environment.

Business leaders expect us to be as fast as a Pentium chip and as wise as King Solomon. It's quite a challenge.

It would have helped enormously to have had new legislation this year, but -- as has already been mentioned once or twice over the past few days -- that didn't happen. Still, the only logical course for the Commission is to press ahead as best we can -- to go forward. There is much to be done in wireless and wireline, cable and broadcasting, and international.

I see no reason why the Commission should be deterred from aggressively pursuing its efforts to promote competition. That's the chosen vehicle to expand consumer choices, reduce prices, create jobs, and spur innovation.

Having heard Reed Hundt and my other colleagues, you have undoubtedly noticed that we all sing the praises of competition. This is truly today's "conventional wisdom." Yet it was less than 20 years ago that Congress seriously considered enacting legislation to outlaw competition in long distance service and CPE.

How did this sea change occur? Why is it that competition is the hallmark of policies pursued by the Congress, the Administration, state legislatures, and public service commissions?

I have two answers to these questions. One, telephone competition has worked, and worked well. Two, you have helped to make it work.

The industry initially resisted competition in long distance, but later played an instrumental role in devising interconnection, switching, and compensation arrangements needed to permit the entry of new competitors. The industry at one time insisted that all premises equipment be supplied by the local carrier, but later cooperated in formulating the technical and administrative rules that allow CPE competition while avoiding network harms.

Similar changes are occurring today, and accommodations again must be made to enable competition to take root. The LECs which will be most successful over the long term are those which do not fight change but instead embrace the challenge of competition -- and go forward.

In urban areas, some large telephone companies are resisting efforts by competitive access providers even to arrange "virtual collocation" at LEC central offices. In contrast, at least one carrier -- NYNEX -- is now cooperating in providing the "physical collocation" preferred by the new rivals.

In more rural areas, some small telcos are anxious about ways in which competition may jeopardize traditional support mechanisms for high-cost companies. In contrast, others are planning how to harness new technologies, expand their lines of business, and use their new efficiencies to take away customers from nearby areas.

These companies appear to know which way they're going on the field and which goal they're shooting at.

Our main goal is to extend competition to local telephone and cable markets. Throughout much of this country, it would be unheard of for a consumer to call the cable company to arrange telephone service or to contact the telephone company for video service. A year or two from now, who knows?

Video dialtone is coming. Consumers will be able to receive multichannel video programming delivered on a common carrier platform. There will be an alternative to the service offered by the cable company -- and the telephone company will provide it, as already occurs in some rural communities today.

By the same token, we can reasonably expect that the cable company will soon be offering a two-way switched alternative to the service provided by the telco. That's undoubtedly why Cable Labs recently requested proposals for telephone switching equipment.

The coming changes will in many respects be more dramatic than the onset of long distance and CPE competition. In the telephone-cable convergence, both industries will simultaneously play the roles of incumbent and insurgent.

Meanwhile, the field of play is changing in other ways. DBS is finally here, MMDS has new opportunities, and LMDS is coming. Cellular and paging face new challenges from broadband and narrowband PCS. I hardly need to remind you of the growth curve of the competitive access providers.

All in all, the future will be much more competitive than the past.

The answer to these concerns is not to shrink from competition or to try to postpone the inevitable. Rather, individual companies must try to manage the forces of change by being alert, prepared, and flexible. And, collectively, we need a broad and inclusive dialogue to think through the new issues.

Like any banker, I am pragmatic. I want to acquire the information needed for intelligent disposition of issues. I must understand better your technologies, finances, business strategies, aspirations, and constraints. In my first months as a Commissioner, I have met with dozens of telephone industry representatives, and they have taught me a lot, building on what I remembered from Warren French's lessons years ago. During my time at this convention, I have learned a whole lot more.

I look forward to continuing the dialogue with you.

Let's go forward together.