February 19, 2019
Background: Today, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai circulated the draft of its 2019 Broadband Deployment Report as required by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The report found a more than 25 percent drop in Americans lacking access to fixed broadband meeting the FCC’s benchmark speed of 25 Mbps/3 Mbps. The majority of those gaining access to such high-speed connections (approximately 5.6 million) live in rural America.
The following statement can be attributed to Jonathan Spalter, president and CEO, USTelecom:
“Bottom line: more Americans have broadband connectivity today than a year ago. This is another proof point that the multiyear commitment of broadband innovators to infrastructure investment is expanding both the availability and speed of wired broadband service and reaching consumers in the hardest to wire parts of the country. This is a public policy goal USTelecom shares with the Commission and its Chair. The FCC’s drive to modernize regulations and remove outdated barriers has helped usher in a pro-consumer environment while stoking the engine for more innovation and investment.”