ACA Connects Urges NTIA to Hold the Line Against Rate Regulation

ACA Connects: America’s Communications Association sent a letter to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Arielle Roth urging NTIA to strengthen its prohibition on rate regulation in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. ACA Connects President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer commended NTIA for restoring BEAD’s main goal of connecting unserved and underserved locations expeditiously. Spellmeyer noted that ACA Connects agrees that the previous administration’s actions to encourage rate regulation were unlawful, raised costs, and prevented participation in the program. “As documented in our recent study with Cartesian, broadband rate regulation – even in less restrictive forms – depresses investment and reduces competition materially, and smaller providers with limited resources and scale are harmed most severely," said Spellmeyer. He urged Roth to take further steps to protect the BEAD program and the marketplace in general from unwarranted rate regulation.