Ban Will Stifle Workforce Investment in Broadband Industry
April 23, 2024—ACA Connects President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer released the following statement on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) adoption of a rule banning non-compete clauses in employment agreements across virtually all sectors of the economy, including in the telecommunications marketplace.
“ACA Connects Members are working every day to provide excellent customer service and deploy faster, more reliable broadband performance. Many Members rely on reasonable and narrowly tailored non-compete agreements to invest in training their employees so they have specialized skills required in the broadband industry. Others rely on these agreements to provide equity rewards to their employees. With this skilled workforce, our Members can meet the bipartisan goal of closing the digital divide in the hardest to reach communities in America.
“It is disappointing the FTC is poised to undercut small, independent, and rural broadband providers with a sweeping ban on non-competes. This unjustified action will make it more challenging to provide quality service, crush competition and allow large incumbents to raid talent and obtain propriety information. In the end, people will have fewer affordable choices in the marketplace. ACA Connects continues to urge the FTC to revisit and reevaluate the harmful scope of such a broad, anti-competitive rule.”
Note: In the matter of the Non-Compete Clause Rule, ACA Connects filed comments to the FTC on April 19, 2023, that stated, “Imposing a sweeping rule across the economy that would have the effect of increasing concentration and limiting consumer choice in the broadband market would be at odds with the Commission’s mission.”
About ACA Connects: America’s Communications Association –America’s Communications Association – ACA Connects is a trade organization representing more than 500 smaller and medium-sized, independent companies that provide broadband, video, and phone services covering 31.9 million households, 7.3 million of which are located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. 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.