For Immediate Release
Contact: Ted Hearn
(202) 713-0826
[email protected]
PITTSBURGH, April 10, 2019 — ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement today regarding House passage of Save the Internet Act of 2019 (H.R.1644):
“Small Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who are members of ACA Connects support an open Internet. They do not block, degrade or otherwise impair access to the Internet by their customers and are willing to have these restrictions written into law.
“Rather, than simply codifying Net Neutrality principles, H.R. 1644, under the guise of saving the Internet, takes a much different approach. The bill would revive Federal Communications Commission rules that turn ISPs into common carriers and impose onerous and outdated regulations on them. This added regulation would not make the Internet more open. It would only retard investment in higher performance broadband networks.
“For these reasons, 190 members of the House voted against the bill, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called the bill ‘dead on arrival in the Senate.’ H.R. 1644, which was today passed on a largely partisan basis, has no chance of becoming law. So, instead of giving consumers the open Internet protections they need, the House has passed a measure that exacerbates division in Washington and further delays resolution of this important matter for consumers.
“Everyone supports basic open Internet protections, and after 20 years of unresolved policy conflict, it is time for Democrats and Republicans in Congress to come together to establish a national framework to achieve this aim. For any legislation to become law, it must be bipartisan, provide the Net Neutrality protections against blocking and impairing Internet traffic, and avoid heavy-handed regulation that discourages innovation and investment in broadband markets.”
About ACA Connects: America’s Communications Association – Based in Pittsburgh, ACA Connects is a trade organization representing more than 700 smaller and medium-sized, independent companies that provide broadband, phone and video services to nearly 8 million customers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA Connects’ 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