FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told the agency’s Consumer...

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told the agency’s Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) Monday that as a former businessman he was “horrified” by the state of FCC computer and other systems, based on what he has seen so far, including during a field trip to the FCC office in Gettysburg, Pa. Wheeler said the FCC is funded by user fees paid by industry and, ultimately, by consumers. “It all comes down to money and I'm trying,” he said. Wheeler also said the work such advisory boards do is critical. Wheeler, former chairman of the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council, noted that TAC’s work on the IP transition laid the groundwork for what is now “a major area of policy focus” at the commission. “I believe strongly in the work that you all are doing and the importance of it at the commission,” he said. CAC will have a big role to play in assessing the “series of trials” expected across the country as the FCC looks more closely at the “impact” of the IP transition, he said. Wheeler also said emphatically that the FCC will have a continuing role as deregulation moves forward. “There are some in the carrier community” who believe “the FCC should be out of the picture and it should be the FTC” that protects consumers, he said. “We disagree.” He said he’s very focused on making certain that students and the disabled benefit from broadband. “If we are not using networks to deliver 21st century abilities for our students, shame on us,” he said. New generation networks should solve long-standing problems with the Telecommunications Relay Service and Video Relay Service, which are important to the disabled, he said.