Media Contact:
Matthew Berry, (202) 418-2005
matthew.berry@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
STATEMENT OF FCC COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI
On Promoting Broadband Deployment throughout America
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, October 15, 2015.—The American government needs to embrace the IP 
transition.  Consumers and private enterprise already have done so, recognizing that next-generation 
technologies such as optical fiber and wireless broadband offer higher quality, more efficient services 
than the old twisted copper pairs of yesteryear.  Over the past two days, I have had the opportunity to visit 
two companies that are working to deploy these technologies to all Americans.  And I learned there just 
how important the IP Transition is for every citizen, and how regulatory policy can promote or impede 
broadband deployment.
Yesterday, I visited Carbon Hill, Alabama, one of two locations taking part in AT&T’s IP 
Transition Trial.  The FCC unanimously authorized these trials in January 2014 as a recognition that 
antiquated switches and last-generation technology were not serving the American public, and that 
requiring operators to continue to pour money into their upkeep was only hindering the deployment of 
new technologies.  Indeed, 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.  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.
Perhaps most importantly, I also heard from community leaders like Mark Chambers, Carbon 
Hill’s mayor.  Mr. Chambers spoke warmly of the IP Transition, and told me what faster broadband will 
mean for his community.  He also spoke frankly about the challenges in educating citizens about new 
technologies and how affirmative outreach could make a major difference.  Community leaders like those 
in Carbon Hill are just a sample of the many who want the better, faster services that the IP Transition 
promises.
I also had the pleasure of visiting MaxxSouth Broadband, which is experimenting with advanced 
fiber deployment in parts of Mississippi.  In Carthage, for example, I saw MaxxSouth’s fiber-to-the-home 
network offering high speeds to a rural community at affordable prices.  And in Starkville, I saw how 
MaxxSouth is deploying gigabit service to a college-town community, enabling students, professors, 
businesses, and everyday citizens to enjoy the benefits of ultra-fast broadband.
Today, I look forward to visiting Cox Communications in Atlanta, Georgia, which has a 
reputation as a fierce competitor that makes real and sustained investments wherever it builds. I hope to 
hear about Cox’s competitive history, and their planned gigabit roll out in states across the nation.
I would like to thank all of these broadband operators for their hospitality and taking the time to 
let me see how broadband gets rolled out on the ground.  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.  It’s no secret that the broadband providers substantially reduced their capital expenditures once 
it was clear that broadband would be subject to 20
th
-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.
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Office of Commissioner Ajit Pai: (202) 418-2000
Twitter: @AjitPaiFCC
www.fcc.gov/leadership/ajit-pai
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official 
action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).