MICHAEL K. POWELL
                           Commissioner
                Federal Communications Commission
                                 
            Opening Remarks (as prepared for delivery)

        Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's Public Forum
            on the Year 2000 Problem and Public Safety

                                 
                          Washington, DC
                           June 1, 1998
                                 

     Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  On behalf of Chairman Kennard and my
colleagues on the 8th Floor, I welcome everyone to the FCC's first public forum on the issue of
the Year 2000 Problem and its potential impact on the various telecommunications industries.  I
would also like to take a moment to recognize Clay Hollister of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Chairman of the Emergency Services Working Group of the President's
Council on Year 2000 Conversion, and other guests from the public safety community.

     As most of you probably you know, many automated and intelligent systems were not
designed to take into account the millennial date change that will occur on January 1, 2000.  And
while computer and technology experts have not been able to ascertain the total likely effect of
this problem, one thing is certain: the Year 2000 Problem, or so-called "Millennium Bug," has the
potential to affect every industry within the telecommunications sector.  In other words, radio and
television broadcast, cable television, wireline telephony, terrestrial wireless, and satellites could
experience disruptions and failures in the year 2000.  Our collective failure to avert significant
network and system failures could be calamitous.

     One area of profound concern to the FCC is the public safety subsector.  The prompt and
continuous provision of public safety services, including, but not limited to, those of police, fire,
ambulance, and other emergency service organizations, may be threatened by the Year 2000
Problem.  Accordingly, we have convened this forum to raise awareness of the Year 2000
Problem, to assess the pace and extent of the implementation of remedial actions, and to seek and
communicate solutions to all interested parties.  At bottom, we have assembled all of today's
wireless public safety participants with one objective in mind -- to ensure that all is being done to
avoid any serious disruptions or failures in public safety communications service.

     Although we are aware that many entities in the wireless telecommunications community
have already acted to address this situation, we are concerned that others may not have taken the
necessary steps to prevent system failures.  As the FCC Defense Commissioner and Chairman of
the Telecommunications Working Group of the President's Council of Year 2000 Conversion, I
am particularly concerned and motivated to ensure that the integrity and continued operations of
the nation's critical communications infrastructure is preserved and that whatever disruptions
occur do not lead to calamitous outages and failures.  Time is of the essence -- there are only 579
days till January 1, 2000.

     Today's public safety forum is emblematic of the seriousness with which the FCC takes its
responsibility to ensure that the Year 2000 challenge is successfully met.  As part of the
Commission's sector outreach initiative, the FCC is engaged in activities divided into three distinct
but interrelated operational modes: (i) outreach and advocacy; (ii) monitoring and assessment; and
(iii) regulatory actions and contingency planning.  This forum is a significant part of this triad of
activity.  The FCC has also been working closely with other Federal departments and agencies on
the Year 2000 Problem.  For example, the FCC is a full participant on the President's Council on
Year 2000 Conversion.  The efforts of this government-wide group are detailed in a special
Internet Web site located on the World Wide Web at <http://www.y2k.gov>.  The FCC has also
been actively working, through its internal Year 2000 task force, to coordinate internal Year 2000
compliance efforts and bureau outreach to the telecommunications community on this issue.  The
FCC's Year 2000 page on the Internet, located at <http://www.fcc.gov/year2000/>, serves as a
resource center concerning the Y2K problem and the telecommunications community.  

     Without a doubt, it is critical that the U.S. telecommunications community -- the FCC and
the industry alike -- take prompt, comprehensive and effective action to address the Year 2000
problem.  Clearly, our national well-being is dependent upon the reliability of all the nation's
telecommunications networks, including those of the wireless public safety community; and
government and industry must work together to ensure that whatever disruptions occur do not
lead to widespread outages and failures.

     Thank you for everyone's particiaption today.  I look forward to the discussion.