For Immediate Release
Contact: Hillary Crowder Smith, 703-351-2086, [email protected]
Arlington, Va. (June 14, 2016)—NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association today issued the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield in response to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s decision to uphold the FCC’s network neutrality rules:
“NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association has serious concerns about some of the specific ways in which the FCC has sought to expand and apply certain Title II regulations to broadband. At the same time, the association has consistently stressed the need for common-sense rules of the road to govern how various entities interact in the broadband marketplace. In particular, we have noted that a stable, light-touch regulatory framework can prove useful in providing certainty—provided that any rules adopted are properly calibrated and applied.
“Even as today’s court decision may uphold the commission’s authority to subject broadband to a Title II framework, we urge the commission to avoid regulatory over-reach in the decision’s wake and to focus instead on how best to adapt existing rules in a thoughtful, limited, clear-cut way as necessary specifically to promote certainty and serve core statutory principles such as universal service and consumer protection. Along these lines, NTCA encourages the commission to use this decision as a springboard for a closer look at interconnection arrangements, which the court notes are a telecommunications service. As NTCA has long highlighted, these arrangements are two-way in nature, and reciprocal rules of the road are essential to ensure that all consumers—especially those in rural areas—can obtain and enjoy the full benefits of broadband.”
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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.