For Immediate Release
Contact: Hillary Crowder, 703-351-2086, [email protected]
Arlington, Va. (September 2, 2015)—NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association today issued the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking released by the FCC regarding an update to the retransmission consent process:
“Members of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association serve the most rural subscribers, some of whom have no access to over-the-air broadcast signals and depend upon small business distributors for access to important content. Broadcasters have used outdated rules reflective of a market decades in the past to foist unfair and increasingly unsustainable fees for such content on the backs of rural consumers—fees that typically come in the form of ‘take it or leave it’ offers to distributors under the threat of blackout. A meaningful fresh look at the good faith standard could help level the playing field and provide relief to consumers, and NTCA looks forward to working with the FCC as it considers how to refine the good faith standard in retransmission consent negotiations.”
###
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing nearly 900 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovation in rural and small-town America. NTCA advocates on behalf of its members in the legislative and regulatory arenas, and it provides training and development; publications and industry events; and an array of employee benefit programs. In an era of exploding technology, deregulation and marketplace competition, NTCA's members are leading the IP evolution for rural consumers, delivering technologies that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. Because of their efforts, rural America is fertile ground for innovation in economic development and commerce, education, health care, government services, security and smart energy use. Visit us at www.ntca.org.