For Immediate Release
Contact: Ted Hearn
(202) 713-0826
[email protected]
PITTSBURGH, June 12, 2018 – American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement one day after the formal effective date of the Federal Communications Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which is designed to protect consumers, promote faster Internet speeds and help close the digital divide.
“It is one day after the ‘end of the Internet as we know it,’ and today everyone, astonishingly, is still using the same Internet ‘as we know it.’ Nothing, I repeat, nothing changed to the stellar broadband networks built and provided to their customers by American Cable Association Members’ ISPs.
“The only thing that changed was the elimination of the heavy-handed rules adopted in 2015 by the prior FCC, which were wholly unnecessary because the Internet wasn’t broken then and did not need government intervention to confront ANY market failure. The restoration of the light-touch regulatory approach that formally took effect yesterday means that hundreds of smaller ISPs represented by ACA can move forward with confidence knowing they can now invest in their networks without fear of the government coming in and adopting new rules that would undermine those carefully planned private-market decisions.
“The FCC is boldly relying on market forces to propel the Internet’s next growth phase, embracing an approach that had solid bipartisan support for two decades until the prior FCC veered off course when it came up with one-sided, investment-curbing restraints that were particularly disruptive to smaller ISPs based in rural communities. Consumers do not need to fear that the Internet will become less open because under the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, ISPs have the incentive to invest and give their customers more of the broadband service that they want. Under the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, the future is bright.”
About the American Cable Association: Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing about 800 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’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/.