The Building Blocks of a Digital America
We sometimes take our connected lifestyles for granted – the ease with which we can stream a championship football game, play our favorite video game against a competitor in Japan from the comfort of our living room, or take an online professional development class to further our careers. But all of this is viable because of the myriad of Internet service providers, technology companies and businesses in our country that tackle the challenge of building a bigger and better network day in and day out. It takes a village, and cable companies have been among the leaders of building America’s
Why the FCC is Wrong On Broadband Deployment
In tonight’s State of the Union address, President Obama is likely to highlight the Administration’s success in expanding broadband access for millions of Americans. Yet, according to a document that FCC Chairman Wheeler released last week, in late January the FCC will draw a very different conclusion and find that broadband deployment remains inadequate. Why does that matter? Because, under a federal law called “Section 706,” the FCC is authorized to “take immediate action” – code words for regulation – if it determines that broadband is not being deployed to all Americans in a “reasonable
Once Again, ISPs Top Investment Heroes Ranking
According the latest Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) report U.S. Investment Heroes of 2015 issued today, ISPs (really, the cable and telecom industry as a whole) are investing more capital into infrastructure improvements than any other industry in America. In 2014, ISPs were the leader as well with $46 billion. In 2015, the number leapt to $48.7 billion, an impressive jump of nearly six percent. This is particularly significant as the United States continues to suffer through an investment drought. In fact, PPI cites capital per worker-hour has fallen since 2010. As the report says, “Given
Timeline: The Impressive Rate of Broadband Deployment And Adoption In America
Sec. Pritzker and Powell Talk Jobs, Security, Broadband Growth
Closing out the final INTX 2015 General Session, NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell sat down for a conversation with Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. On top of mind for both was the role of the Department of Commerce and it’s programs in both expanding broadband access and protecting businesses and individuals from inherent Internet threats. Secretary Pritzker started by emphasizing both her and President Obama’s commitment to expanding broadband access. She also affirmed the leadership role the private sector has taken in expanding broadband access. Secretary Pritzker noted
Correcting the FCC's Puzzling Comments on Pole Attachments
The adoption of the Open Internet Order has triggered much discussion about one of our favorite topics – pole attachments. As this is one of the most arcane topics within the FCC’s jurisdiction, it is not surprising that the public discourse is not always entirely accurate. We want to set the record straight. Cable has advocated for low pole attachments rates for decades because it is essential to speed and lower the cost of broadband deployments, particularly in less dense, rural areas. We don’t own utility poles ourselves. Instead, we have long supported and depend upon the Communications
Will the FCC Play Games with the National Broadband Map?
This week’s release of the final version of the National Broadband Map is a milestone. Beginning with funding from the 2009 stimulus bill, NTIA – a part of the Commerce Department – has supervised the collection of state broadband data and published the results twice a year. NTIA deserves credit for successfully managing this first-of-its-kind project, which generally has proven to be a reliable source of data for companies, government agencies and the public. NTIA is now turning over this important data collection effort to the FCC. We hope that the FCC will be able to pick up the mantle but