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FCC: One of the most exciting themes is the potential of Wi-Fi

May 31, 2012

The session took place during the second day of The Cable Show in Boston

In the plenary session during the second day of The Cable Show in Boston, the president and CEO of NCTA, Michael Powell, held a discussion with the current chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Julius Genachowski, regarding various issues in the industry like the expansion of bandwidth and the innovation of the telecommunications sphere. Genachowski spoke about the challenges within the industry and the fact that the US has successfully grown in bandwidth and is demanding more speed. “One of the most exciting factors is the wireless connection. There exists a grand segment to attend to because 66% of the US doesn’t have access to bandwidth. Regardless, in the last year, we’ve made a lot of advancements”. The FCC chairman also mentioned the retransmission rights, recognizing that content generators have to add a price and a legal marking of these deals for 20 years now. He indicated that although 93% of the US has cable, the 7% that don’t amounts to about 18 million households. Powell emphasized the work done by Genachowski’s administration in modifying the Universal Service System from being focused on telephone to a focus on bandwidth. Before the discussion, a moderated panel that included Julia Boorstin of CNBC, Edward Burns, Rio Caraeff of VEVO, Dan Mead of Verizon Wireless and Neil Smit of Comcast Cable talked digital.