Statement of NTIA Head Strickling on 20th Anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

Twenty years ago today President Clinton signed the 1996 Telecommunications Act into law, removing regulatory barriers for our nation’s communications companies and fueling investment in broadband networks. Since this time, we have witnessed an incredible transformation of our communications landscape.

As we look forward to the future, we must continue to support innovation and economic growth by strengthening competition and the free flow of information. In today’s fast-changing digital economy, multistakeholder processes are the most nimble and effective means for addressing our most pressing policy challenges. At the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, we are working to leverage multistakeholder processes to address today’s new policy issues.