January 24, 2024 – ACA Connects President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer announced today that Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will be a keynote speaker at the ACA Connects Annual Summit, the annual fly-in event that attracts broadband and video providers from across the country.
“It will be great for our Members to hear directly from Commissioner Starks,” said Spellmeyer. “We’re looking forward to the insights he will provide on how small and rural providers can work with the FCC to invest in infrastructure that offers vital telecommunications services to areas that would otherwise have none.”
The Senate unanimously confirmed Commissioner Starks to serve as a FCC Commissioner on January 4, 2019. He was renominated for a second term by President Biden, and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for a second time on September 30, 2023. Prior to his time as a Commissioner, Starks helped lead the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, handling a wide variety of complex investigations. At the Department of Justice, he served as a senior advisor to the Deputy Attorney General on a variety of domestic and international law enforcement matters and received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service—the highest honor award a DOJ employee can receive.
Commissioner Starks is also a leader on national security policy, working to eliminate untrustworthy equipment from America’s communications networks. His Find It, Fix It, Fund It initiative brought national attention to the urgent need to support small and rural companies as they work to make their networks more secure.
Before he entered federal public service, Commissioner Starks practiced law at Williams & Connolly, clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, served as a legislative staffer in the Illinois State Senate, and worked as a financial analyst. Commissioner Starks graduated from Harvard College with high honors and Yale Law School.
For the past 30 years, the Summit has provided ACA Connect Members with a forum to gain insight into business trends and policy developments, advocate for a level playing field, and engage with policymakers and industry leaders.
The theme for this year’s Summit is “Invest and Innovate.” The event will take place March 5-7 at the Grand Hyatt, 1000 H Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. More speakers are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
About ACA Connects: America’s Communications Association –America’s Communications Association – ACA Connects is a trade organization representing approximately 500 smaller and medium-sized, independent companies that provide broadband, video, and phone services covering 29.5 million households. ACA Connects Members operate in every state, providing advanced communications to connect homes, companies, main street, schools, hospitals and more. America’s economic prosperity in smaller communities and rural areas depends on the growth and success of ACA Connects Members, who believe a connected nation is a prosperous nation.