FCC’s O’Rielly: Presumption of Competing Provider Effective Competition is an Idea Whose Time Has Come

I am pleased to approve this Report and Order streamlining the effective competition process to reflect current realities in the video marketplace. With a track record of 99.5% of the communities the Commission has evaluated having been found to have effective competition since the start of 2013, adopting a rebuttable presumption of Competing Provider Effective Competition is an idea whose time has come. At the same time, I do not believe that this item and the reasoning articulated within will impact the continued existence of the basic service tier. It is certainly not my intent to do so in this item and those reading the statute in such an extended way seem misguided. That is not to say it is not a logical consideration for Congress to explore and assess given the changing video marketplace.