Connect Americans Now (CAN) Applauds FCC Action to Clear Regulatory Barriers to Innovation to Help Bridge the Digital Divide

The following article was published on October 27, by Connect Americans Now.

Washington, D.C. – Connect Americans Now (CAN) released the following statement Tuesday after members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously to adopt a Report and Order to update rules regarding TV white space (TVWS) technology.

“We applaud Chairman Ajit Pai and the members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for taking this important step to clear regulatory barriers to innovation to help bridge the digital divide,” said CAN executive director Richard Cullen. “We commend the FCC for demonstrating a bipartisan commitment to maximizing spectrum resources to expand broadband connectivity, a critical need for millions of Americans made more urgent by the pandemic.”

“CAN has been a longtime advocate for updated TVWS rules that will unleash the full potential of this technology as a critical tool to help eliminate the broadband gap,” Cullen continued. “We welcome the FCC’s unanimous vote to support broadband innovation today and look forward to continuing to work with the Commission, Congress and other policymakers to completely eliminate the digital divide in America.”

Connect Americans Now (CAN) is a coalition of more than 275 organizations and companies representing voices for agriculture, health care, education, small business, technology, veterans, rural advocacy and more — committed to completely and swiftly eliminating the digital divide in America by supporting a mixed-technology approach that leverages the full potential of every tool in the nation’s toolkit.

Read CAN’s recent ex parte letter in support of updated TVWS rules, co-signed by 41 companies and organizations, HERE. 

Read more about CAN and solutions to eliminate the digital divide HERE.