October 17, 2017
Last week, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai gave a speech entitled, Morning in Digital America at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. As Pai reiterated, his foremost priority is bridging the digital divide. He said he has emulated some aspects of former President Reagan’s governing approach to his own in tackling the digital divide and other issues.
Chairman Pai emphasized the disparity between those who have broadband and those who do not, especially those with a lower income, and others living in rural areas. He stressed that every American deserves to participate in our digital economy, and that bridging the divide can help distressed communities and bring new hope.
Pai said that the most powerful tool for expanding digital opportunity is market-based, light-touch regulation, reinforcing the fact that we must embrace the free market, cut red tape, modernize rules, and promote private ingenuity and investment instead of penalizing it. This maximizes private investment in high-speed networks, he added.
Fewer barriers are necessary for new technologies and services to enter the marketplace, he said. Doing so, promotes competition and benefits consumers.