Pai to Address ACA

FCC chairman Ajit Pai will address the American Cable Association annual policy summit in Washington, according to ACA.

Pai will speak on the morning of March 30, before the attendees fan out to the FCC and Hill to carry their message of keeping the needs of smaller and midsized operators top of mind.

"Chairman Pai has long recognized and appreciated the important role that smaller providers play in deploying high-performance broadband networks in small communities and rural areas and in bringing competition to urban areas," said ACA president Matt Polka. "Moreover, he understands that regulations can be disproportionately costly for smaller providers and deter them from investing to meet their customers' needs.

"ACA members have spent billions on their networks over the past decade, and, as these smaller providers prepare to continue upgrading and expanding their networks, they are eager to hear from chairman Pai about his plans for the FCC to remove barriers to growth and ensure broadband service is provided to all Americans as efficiently as possible," Polka added.

Pai joins the other FCC Republican, Michael O'Rielly, who is already scheduled to speak. The summit is taking place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel March 28-30.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.