USTelecom Statement on FCC Program Access Order
Background: Today at its Open Meeting, the Federal Communications Commission approved an Order to address program access issues.
The following statement is from USTelecom President & CEO Walter B. McCormick Jr.:
"In today’s order, the Commission took a balanced and legally sustainable approach to providing new video competitors with access to must-have programming that will greatly benefit consumers. Hundreds of telecom companies, most of them small and rural providers, are investing in networks to provide video competition to cable incumbents. But some incumbent cable companies have tried to maintain their grip on this market by locking up programming that consumers want—particularly by denying consumers the ability to follow their local sports teams if they switch to a competitor.
“As the Commission has previously found, where cable companies have to compete with another wireline video provider, rates are 17% lower. But the FCC correctly concluded that such competition simply won’t happen without access to essential content, including regional sports networks and HD. Just as importantly, the Commission recognized that the ability to offer a competitive video product is a critical component in making broadband deployment viable in rural high-cost areas. We congratulate the Commission on today’s action.”
The United States Telecom Association, USTelecom, is the premier broadband trade association representing service providers
and suppliers for the telecom industry. USTelecom represents companies offering a wide range of services across the communications
platforms, including voice, video and data over local exchange, long distance, wireless, Internet and cable services.