PITTSBURGH, March 1, 2017 – American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement regarding Cable ONE’s participation in last Friday’s invitation-only broadband deployment forum hosted by U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who represents the 7th District Of Tennessee and is Chairman of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee:
“ACA is very pleased that Cable ONE executive William R. (Rusty) Robertson, Vice President, Southeast Division, was able to participate at the Feb. 24 broadband deployment forum at Columbia State Community College in Columbia, Tenn., hosted by Rep. Marsha Blackburn.
“Along with other ACA members in Tennessee and other states with a rural profile, Cable ONE is a recognized leader in developing ways to keep the rural economy vibrant and dynamic through access to advanced communications services funded by the private sector.
“Rep. Blackburn, Chairman of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, has for years been a leader in advancing policies that promote broadband investment free from burdensome and heavy-handed government oversight and regulation.
“Echoing points made by Cable ONE’s Robertson at the Tennessee forum, ACA recognizes the difficulty of making a business case to build high-performance networks in unserved locations with very high costs. In these locations, government has a role in eliminating barriers to deployment and to provide targeted, efficient support that is competitively and technology neutral.
“In Rep. Blackburn’s home state of Tennessee, ACA members are keeping their promises to build better broadband. Cable ONE has long provided service in Dyersburg and nearby areas including Bonicord, Dyer County, Finley, Fowlkes, Friendship, Lakewood, Lenox, Millsfield, Roellen, and Tigrett. All of these are relatively smaller communities or less dense areas.
“ACA members serving rural Tennessee continue to announce network upgrades:
- Last week, Mediacom Communications announced that the company launched 1 Gig Internet speeds in Giles County and Lincoln County in Tennessee, south of Nashville on the Alabama border. Mediacom’s privately funded upgrade to the DOCSIS 3.1 “Gigasphere” platform will mean area residents and small businesses will enjoy download speeds that are up to 40 times faster than the minimum broadband definition set by the Federal Communications Commission. Rep. Blackburn’s 7th District includes some of Lincoln County.
- Two weeks ago, TDS Telecom announced plans to expand broadband to more than 16,000 rural locations in predominantly rural areas of Tennessee owing to funding from the FCC. The FCC allocated an average of $7.25 million a year for the next 10 years to reach residents in some of the hardest to serve areas in Tennessee. The funding will also be used to maintain a voice and broadband network as well as building out to these locations. Depending on location, most TDS customers in eligible rural areas will receive guaranteed broadband speeds of 25Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25/3).
- Last October, WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone announced the availability of broadband speeds up to 1 gigabit in Knoxville. WOW! will provide thousands of Knoxville residents the fastest Internet speeds in the market. Broadband speeds up to 1 gigabit allow residential users to stream high-definition video with little to no delay, and download movies, songs and TV shows in a matter of seconds.
- In mid-2015, Vyve Broadband announced completion of network upgrades in Tazewell, New Tazewell, Harrogate, Speedwell, Cumberland Gap and other areas of Claiborne County that include increasing available Internet speeds to 25, 50 and 105 Mbps. Vyve’s enhanced broadband network provides customers with the fastest Internet speeds available in these areas – enabling customers to experience better gaming, faster streaming content and superior social media experiences. Vyve’s speed increases in these areas north of Knoxville were important milestones in Vyve’s plan to provide cutting‐edge broadband speeds in rural markets that have traditionally lagged behind in technology offerings.
“As Chairman of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, Rep. Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) has jurisdiction over the FCC as well as subject matter jurisdiction over electronic communications, both Interstate and foreign, including voice, video, audio and data, whether transmitted by wire or wirelessly.”
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, visithttps://acaconnects.org/