STATEMENT OF 
COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI
Re: Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Clarify 47 U.S.C. § 572 in the Context of Transactions 
Between Competitive Local Exchange Carriers and Cable Operators; Conditional Petition for 
Forbearance from Section 652 of the Communications Act for Transactions Between Competitive 
Local Exchange Carriers and Cable Operators, WC Docket No. 11-118
Today we take a modest but important step towards eliminating regulatory barriers to 
infrastructure investment.  As I noted in Pittsburgh this past July, section 652 of the Communications Act 
places an unnecessary hurdle to transactions between cable operators and competitive local exchange 
carriers.  When a cable operator purchases a competitive LEC, local competition is likely to increase and 
more infrastructure is likely to be deployed to serve the enterprise market.  Congress entrusted the 
Commission with forbearance authority to eliminate counterproductive regulatory schemes just like this 
one, and I am glad we are exercising our authority today to do just that.  The end result of our 
deregulatory action will be more robust, facilities-based competition.