Statement Of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai On Decision To Reverse Charter Communications Overbuild Requirement, Modification Will Help Close the Digital Divide

My top priority is making sure that any American who wants high-speed Internet access is able to get it. Today, we take another step toward achieving that goal.

[In 2016], Charter Communications agreed to build broadband out to two million new customers as part of its merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission appended an ‘overbuild’ condition to the order, requiring that half of those new locations be already served by another provider. Since these one million overbuilt deployments would be credited against the total, it would substantially reduce buildout to unserved areas. This is like telling two people you will buy them lunch, ordering two entrées, and then sending both to just one of your companions. This condition was not and is not in the public interest, and it runs directly against the goal of promoting greater Internet access for all Americans. Following our decision today, Charter Communications is still obligated to build out to two million new locations. The difference now is that the beneficiaries will be consumers currently on the wrong side of the digital divide. That’s a major difference, and one that will go a long way toward helping deliver online opportunity to all Americans.