Michael Powell Speaks at The Media Institute

Earlier this week, NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell participated in a virtual Q&A at The Media Institute on the state of the cable industry, the future of gigabit networks, net neutrality, rural broadband, and more. Check out some of the highlights below:

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, an unprecedented number of people quickly transitioned their work, school and personal lives to be entirely online. Thanks to the decades of investment and thoughtful network planning, America’s broadband networks were a success story.

With the influx of federal infrastructure dollars, the U.S. has an historic opportunity to accomplish universal broadband connectivity in the coming years. Hear Powell’s thoughts on how the government should set up proper guardrails to get the most people connected and to make sure taxpayer money isn’t wasted.

Since the beginning of the Biden Administration, there has been renewed discussion around the FCC starting yet another net neutrality rulemaking. Hear Powell’s thoughts on how that is counterproductive and ignores the reality of the marketplace.

As broadband infrastructure projects ramp up, how do agencies define broadband, and how do they define unserved versus underserved? Powell talks about the importance of consistency among federal agencies and warns against setting a standard that will benefit those who already have broadband at the expense of the truly unserved who are the most in need.

To see the full video, view it here.