The Cable Show 2011: Genachowski: Broadband Adoption 'Just Not Good Enough' [Broadcasting and Cable]
On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski spoke to the attendees of the 2011 Cable Show in Chicago. One of the main tenets of Genachowski's tenure at the FCC has been looking at ways that the commission's policies can be used to increase broadband availability and adoption in the U.S., which dovetails with the message he shared with the cable industry this week.
In a conversation with new NCTA president and former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, Genachowski called on the industry to assist in increasing its broadband adoption efforts. Calling broadband what "powers the American dream and empowers people to find and get jobs, an education, and health care," Genachowski said that the nation must set our goal to get broadband adoption higher than 67 percent of American homes. He challenged the cable industry to help accelerate the current rate of increase to than one to two percentage points per year, where it is now.
Genachowski pointed to adoption programs that Cox Communications and Comcast have undertaken as model initiatives that can increase the adoption rate. He also took the opportunity to announce a public/private task force charged with coming up with new ideas that could increase broadband adoption.
NCTA President Powell noted that cable providers currently provide service to 93 percent of American households and that the industry looked forward to partnering with the FCC to increase the number of Americans with broadband.
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