December 12, 2017 Dear Member of Congress, As Representatives Of
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December 12, 2017 Dear Member of Congress, As representatives of smaller broadband companies serving rural and small-town America, and as fierce defenders of open internet protections for each and every one of our customers, we urge you to support Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal to free broadband services from the out-of-date 1930s-era regulation imposed on these essential services two years ago. This proposal assures that broadband services will be treated equally and fairly under consistent protections. It also will help advance our number one priority, which is to expand broadband infrastructure and investment and provide cutting edge 21st century communications services to every American. Our companies have deeps roots in the communities in which we live and serve. This is one of the reasons that broadband providers continue working hard to expand access and infrastructure, investing more than $70 billion in U.S. networks annually. As a result, over the past 10 years broadband connectivity in rural homes has risen 117 percent. The data on investment trends, however, suggest that regulatory structures matter. Since the Commission reclassified broadband as a public utility in 2015, investment has been heading in the wrong direction. In 2016, capital expenditures from broadband providers was $76 billion, $2.4 billion less than in 2014, the year before the FCC adopted its current misguided rules. Chairman Pai’s leadership is paving the way for more consistent protections for consumers across the internet and a level playing field for all companies online. It is precisely this kind of constructive policy environment that can spark increased investment in broadband infrastructure deployment throughout our nation—investment that will help close the “digital divide.” For improved services, education, healthcare and economic opportunity, it is clear that rural Americans rely heavily on broadband to build opportunity. Your strong, public support for the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom order will help us achieve our shared objective of a truly connected nation. Sincerely, Leonard Steinberg Scott Shilling Alaska Communications Bay Country Communications Anchorage, Alaska Cambridge, Maryland George Allen Russell Moore Bee Line Cable Big Bend Telephone Company Millinocket, Maine Alpine, Texas Jason Williams James Hunter Blackfoot Telecommunications Group BlueBridge Media Missoula, Montana South Pittsburg, Tennessee Patricia Jo Boyers William Bottiggi Boycom Cablevision Braintree Electric Light Department Poplar Bluff, Missouri Braintree, Massachusetts Bennett Hooks Christopher A. Dyrek Buford Communications Cable America Missouri Tyler, Texas Mesa, Arizona Herb Longware Ralph L Potts Cable Communications of Willsboro, Inc. Cable Co-op, Inc Willsboro, New York Oberlin, Ohio Thomas E Gelardi Chad Winters Calneva Broadband, LLC Cass Cable TV, Inc. Westwood, California Virginia, Illinois George Lee Arthur Cooper Central Telecom Services LLC Community Antenna Service, Inc. (DBA CAS Fairview, Utah Cable) Parkersburg, West Virginia Wayne Antcliff Brett Carroll Concept Communication Corporation/MiFiber Conway Corporation Newport, Washington Conway, Arkansas Nick Ramroop Gary Shorman DECCA Cable Eagle Communications, Inc. Ocala, Florida Hays, Kansas Trenton D. Boaldin Mark Anderson EPICTOUCH Farmers Independent Telephone Company Elkhart, Kansas Grantsburg, Wisconsin Tina Pidgeon Jared Johnson GCI Goldfield Access Network Anchorage, Alaska Goldfield, Iowa Robert Hunt Terri Jeffers GVTC Hickory Telephone Company New Braunfels, Texas Hickory, Pennsylvania Chris J. Philips Don Trednick Kalida Telephone Co. Kingsland Cable TV / Internet Kalida, Ohio Kingsland, Georgia Michelle Baudino David L. Magill Kinsman Mutual Telephone Co. Local Internet Service Company dba LISCO Kinsman, Illinois Fairfield, Iowa Tyler Kilde Craig S. Mitchell MLGC, LLC Morris Broadband Enderlin, North Dakota Hendersonville, North Carolina Chad Lawson Dan Overland Murray Electric System Pottawatomie Telephone Company Murray, Kentucky Earlsboro, Oklahoma Arne L. Haynes John J. Gdovin Rainier Connect RCN/Grande/Patriot Media Eatonville, WA Princeton, New Jersey John Strode C Lee Chambers Ritter Communications Sandhill Telephone Cooperative Jonesboro, Arkansas Jefferson, South Carolina Brian Lynch Tom Barth Schurz Communications, Inc. Scio Cablevision Inc Mishawaka, Indiana Scio, Oregon Christopher E. French Michael Steil Shenandoah Telecommunications Company Signal, Inc. Edinburg, Virginia West Bend, Iowa Richard J. Sjoberg Darby A. McCarty Sjoberg’s Inc. Smithville Communications, Inc. Thief River Falls, Minnesota Ellettsville, Indiana Walter E. Hooper III Gary Gilmer Spring City Cable TV, Inc. Southwest Texas Communications Spring City, Tennessee Rocksprings, Texas Frederick Rothammer Robert W. Goodenow Stowe Cable Systems, Stowe Communications Sunrise Communications, LLC Stowe, Vermont Onaway, Michigan William Pearson Robert Jacobson Thames Valley Communications Tongue River Communications Inc Groton, Connecticut Ranchester, Wyoming Jimmy Copeland Randy Fletcher Troy Cablevision, Inc TVC, Inc. Troy, Alabama Annville, Pennsylvania Rick Tidwell James M Gleason Valu-Net LLC Vast Broadband Emporia, Kansas Sikeston, Missouri Donald Hammer Dan Vaala Verneau Networks, Inc. Viking Cable Hillsboro, Wisconsin Story, Wyoming Duke Milunovich Patrick Knorr Volcano Internet Provider Wave Broadband Pine Grove, California Kirkland, Washington Galen Manners William D. Bauer Wave Wireless LLC Windbreak Cable Parsons, Kansas Gering, Nebraska Jack W. Keen-CEO Kathryn E. Ford WNM Communications WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone Silver City, New Mexico Englewood, Colorado Steve Timcoe Wyandotte Municipal Services-City of Wyandotte, Wyandotte Cable Wyandotte, Michigan .