Pai Urges FCC To 'Embrace' IP Transition, End 'Regulatory Uncertainty'

Hill, Alabama, where AT&T is conducting an IP transition trial. "I saw firsthand the age of the brittle copper wires and the vast distances those thin wires needed to travel to connect everyone in the community," he said in a statement. "I saw the central office building where an enormous switch still stands to power the old copper network, even as most Americans carry more computing power around with them in their pocket. And I saw firsthand the improved reliability and quality of service that new technologies offer." He said community leaders were excited about the IP services but also noted the need for digital outreach and education. Pai said he also visited communities in Mississippi served by MaxxSouth Broadband: Carthage, where fiber-to-the-home service was deployed, and college-town Starkville, where gigabit speed service is being offered. He said he is also visiting Cox Communications in Atlanta and hoped to hear about its planned national gigabit rollout. "The one refrain I have repeatedly heard from these operators is the need for regulatory certainty if they are going to continue investing in their networks," Pai said. "It’s no secret that the broadband providers substantially reduced their capital expenditures once it was clear that broadband would be subject to 20th-century utility regulation. And I saw on this trip even more evidence of how old rules are deterring new investments, and how regulatory uncertainty is deterring private enterprise from taking on new risks. I hope the FCC will soon learn what the American people already know: That innovation is not a threat, but an opportunity for a better tomorrow." FCC Democrats have said the February net neutrality and broadband reclassification order and August IP transition order will facilitate innovation and investment while protecting an open Internet, consumers and competition.