Chairman Pai Remarks at Georgia Chamber of Commerce

I'd like to give a brief high-level overview of the Federal Communications Commission's priorities and activities since I became Chairman in January 2017. In 2019, if you can’t get online, the field is tilted against you—whether you’re a student, entrepreneur, a farmer, or someone with a chronic healthcare issue. To highlight this digital divide, I’ve made it a point to get out of Washington (DC) whenever I can. I’ve seen firsthand the ways that digital technologies are transforming communities. And I’ve also seen how the lack of Internet access is creating problems for the people and places being bypassed by the broadband revolution.

2018 was a record-breaking year for fiber deployment in the United States, with buildout to nearly six million additional homes. And we’ve seen significant increases in broadband speeds. In 2018, according to a report from Ookla, the average fixed broadband download speed in the United States increased by more than 35% over the prior year. And after network investment by broadband providers declined for two straight years at the end of the prior Administration, it is once again on the rise.