March 20, 2019

FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly Applauds Broadband Deployment By ACA Connects Members

Advocates Oversight Reform To Promote Flexibility

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ted Hearn
(202) 713-0826
[email protected]

PITTSBURGH, March 20, 2019 — At this year’s ACA Connects policy Summit, Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) Michael O’Rielly praised ACA Connects members of for their steadfast deployment of broadband networks.

“Cable and broadband companies of all sizes, especially those small and medium ones, are critical to delivering greater broadband access across the country,” he said. “You haven’t received the appreciation that you deserve for all that you’ve done and will do.”  

O’Rielly, a steadfast proponent of building broadband networks in rural communities, made his comments during ACA Connects Summit 26, one of several national policymakers to participate. He further reported that the FCC remains committed to facilitating broadband deployment.

“From constructing, reforming, and operating more efficient subsidy programs, to installing regulatory flexibility for operators, to striking the byzantine regulatory straightjacket of so-called net neutrality, this commission has taken necessary actions to facilitate nationwide broadband deployment by the private sector,” O’Rielly noted.

He further observed that it is ACA Connects members who do “the heavy lifting” by putting their capital at risk to meet commercial and consumer demand for higher and higher network speeds.

ORielly’s promised to reimburse ACA Connects members for their harms related to C-Band reallocation just as he made that promise to broadcasters.

O’Rielly warned Summit 26 attendees to be vigilant to prevent federal funding from being misused, as the government seeks to promote broadband deployment to the roughly 9 million Americans without 10/1 mbps broadband service.

He said there is a “likelihood” that the new money could be used to overbuild ACA Connects member companies. “This amounts to government agencies actively harming privately funded broadband deployment,” O’Rielly added.

The Commissioner also stressed the importance of a “top to bottom” overhaul of telecommunications regulations. “We have an obligation as a government to modernize our rules,” he said, adding that the government’s oversight function needs to change to provide greater flexibility to those trying to meet consumer demand. 

The ACA Connects Summit is a special event where small and mid-sized broadband, phone and video operators serving hometown America connect with the leading lawmakers and regulators as well as media representatives on the communications policy beat in Washington, D.C.

@ACAConnects’  more than 750 independent operators play a unique role in providing best-in-class communications services to millions of consumers, many living and working in rural areas of the country. Created in the early 1990s, the ACA Connects Summit gives independent communications providers a vehicle for framing the diverse and complex issues in their own words during dozens of meetings on Capitol Hill and with regulators at the FCC.

About ACA — 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