NCTA Statement Regarding the FCC Report on Broadband Deployment


“The conclusions drawn by the FCC in its most recent broadband progress report are regrettable and wrong – not only because they fly in the face of the $250 billion investment made by broadband providers since 2008 to improve and extend networks, but also because they appear to ignore the Commission’s own facts.  The Commission’s own research shows that 95 percent of U.S homes have access to high-speed broadband service and more than 90 percent of consumers are satisfied with the speed of their service.  And while the Commission’s headline proclaims that 20 million Americans are denied access to broadband, by that measure private investment has fueled the build out of broadband networks to nearly 300 million consumers and is responsible for the jobs that flow from that investment.
 
“In addition to near nationwide deployment of residential broadband that is now available to 123 million homes across the U.S., cable’s ultra-fast broadband service with speed tiers over 100 megabits per second is now available to 80 million homes.  The speed of this transformation is not just reasonable, it is extraordinary.  More importantly, we are continuing to invest billions of dollars annually to build and improve this next-generation infrastructure.
 
“We hope the FCC will reconsider its erroneous conclusion and focus its energies on areas where it can make a more constructive contribution to progress such as through universal service reform and eliminating regulatory barriers that discourage investment and slow the adoption of broadband. While we are disappointed with conclusions of this report, we look forward to working with Chairman Genachowski and the full Commission on our shared goal of achieving universal broadband deployment for all Americans.”