Comcast will have a cable ISP seat on the FCC's new Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee.
FCC chairman Ajit Pai announced the creation of the committee on Jan. 31 to get input on the best way to deploy and promote high-speed broadband.
“I’m excited that the Committee will soon be getting to work on recommendations that will help break down barriers to broadband deployment,” Pai said in a statement. "Closing the digital divide across America is my top priority, and the work of this committee will be a crucial step toward meeting that goal.”
The FCC Thursday announced the 29 members of the committee, which includes David Don, VP of regulatory policy at Comcast.
Among other notable companies on the committee are Sprint, Google Fiber and AT&T Mobile. Also at the table are University of Pennsylvania Professor Christopher Yoo, LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute's Carlos Gutierrez, and Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council CEO Kim Kennan.
Pai also announced the creation of five working groups: Model Code for Municipalities, Model Code for States, Competitive Access to Broadband Infrastructure, Removing State and Local Regulatory Barriers, and Streamlining Federal Siting. Jonathan Adelstein of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, a former FCC commissioner and head of the Rural Utilities Service, which dispensed billions in broadband deployment stimulus subsidies will chair the federal siting working group.
The committee will hold its first meeting April 21.
