PITTSBURGH, Feb. 24, 2016 – American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement on a bipartisan agreement between House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) on legislation to provide a five-year exemption for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with 250,000 subscribers or fewer from the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet enhanced transparency requirements:
“ACA commends Chairman Walden and Rep. Loebsack on joining to craft legislation to give smaller ISPs critical regulatory relief for five years from the FCC’s Open Internet enhanced transparency requirements.
“ACA had argued to the FCC that applying the enhanced transparency requirements to smaller ISPs provided no real benefit to their customers yet at the same time subjected these ISPs to substantial burdens. ACA was heartened when the FCC first adopted and then extended the temporary exemption for smaller ISPs, but, at the end of the day, smaller ISPs, which already need to comply with existing transparency rules and other onerous Open Internet requirements, need the certainty that only a long-term exemption can provide. They can then use their scarce resources to invest in their networks and provide innovative, advanced services to their subscribers.
“This bipartisan agreement is a win-win-win — for ISPs, their customers, and content providers.”
About the American Cable Association: Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing nearly 750 smaller and medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband services for nearly 7 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA’s members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visit https://acaconnects.org/