Five Questions: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai

In an effort to better understand the challenges facing rural broadband internet service providers, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has been traveling west from Milwaukee (WI) toward Wyoming for the past week, making stops in rural towns across America. On June 9, he made a stop at Black Hills State University for a roundtable discussion with area telecommunications stakeholders. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) was also in attendance.

Asked, "Can you speak a little bit about the FCC’s efforts to increase broadband service to rural areas as it relates to closing the digital divide between rural and urban areas?" Chairman Pai said, "This to me is the No. 1 issue that we need to be focused on." Asked, "There’s been a pretty consistent characterization of you as an enemy of net neutrality. What’s your reaction to this label? Is it wrong?" Chairman Pai said, "I would hope that people of goodwill would focus on the facts, and the facts are that everyone supports a free and open internet....No one is talking about leaving consumers to the mercy of any competitive monopolist. All we’re talking about is how to best preserve that core value of the open internet and preserve the incentive to invest in the networks going forward."