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The Honorable Ajit Pai 
Chairman 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th St SW 
Washington, DC 20554 
Dear Chairman Pai: 
February 7, 2017 
We write to congratulate you on your new role as Chairman of the Federal Communications 
Commission (FCC) and commend your recent establishment of the Broadband Deployment 
Advisory Committee. Providing the FCC with guidance on how to accelerate the deployment of 
high-speed internet access is a critical mission. 
We have been advocating for increased rural broadband deployment for our constituents, but as 
you know, many rural Americans lack sufficient high-speed internet access. Thirty-nine percent 
of people living in rural America cannot access high-speed broadband at home compared with 
only four percent in urban areas. These communities are cut off from many of the innovative 
technologies that promise tremendous economic opportunity. 
The FCC's efforts to close this digital divide in rural areas should be well defined with a targeted 
and clear goal. We therefore urge you to task the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee 
to establish this goal and to define successful broadband deployment in rural America before 
moving on to more detailed policies. Without first setting a clearly defined goal, we would be 
concerned the Committee may miss an opportunity to comprehensively address this issue. 
We look forward to hearing back from you on this issue and working with you on 
telecommunications policy issues, particularly those that impact rural America. 
PETER WELCH 
Member of Congress 
~o.t1\,Js~ 
DORIS 0. MATSUI 
Member of Congress 
Sincerely, 
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