Copper Theft Testimony of PTA President Steve Samara
Despite the transition to fiber optic cable that Pennsylvania’s RLECs and other telecom providers are involved in, it is important to note that copper cable still plays an important role in delivering...
View ArticleHouse Consumer Affairs Committee Testimony by PTA President Steve Samara
The PTA is comprised of RLECs ranging in size from several hundred access lines to those who serve several hundred thousand lines, but the key characteristic of all of my members is that they serve...
View ArticlePTA President, Steven J. Samara Testifies Before Senate Transportation Committee
My name is Steven Samara, and I am the president of the PTA, a trade group which represents the interests of more than two dozen rural telcos operating in all corners of the Commonwealth. PTA members...
View ArticlePTA President Steve Samara’s Testimony on Rural Broadband Before House...
Good morning Chairman Godshall, Chairman Daley and members of the House Consumer Affairs Committee. On behalf of the rural local exchange carrier (RLEC) member companies of the Pennsylvania Telephone...
View ArticlePTA President Testifies on State of Telecommunications Industry Before House...
House Consumer Affairs Committee Information Hearing on the Telecommunications Industry March 22, 2017 Testimony of Steven Samara, President, Pennsylvania Telephone Association Read the Full Testimony
View ArticlePTA President Steve Samara Testifies on Underground Utility Line Protection
House Consumer Affairs Committee Information Hearing on The Pennsylvania Underground Utility Line Protection Law on June 5, 2017 Testimony of Steven Samara, President, Pennsylvania Telephone...
View ArticlePTA President Steve Samara testifies before the Senate Democratic Policy...
PTA President Steve Samara testifies before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee on robocalls. Click to view
View ArticlePTA President Steve Samara testifies before Senate Communications and...
PTA President Steve Samara testifies regarding rural broadband deployment on Wednesday, August 7, 2019. Click here to view his testimony »
View ArticleJune 21, 2020
Broadband has held up better in the U.S. than Europe because of the higher capital investment here, the Tax Foundation says. And that investment is higher here because of a lighter regulatory approach....
View ArticleJune 23, 2020
This week, little Door County in Wisconsin is expected to ease restrictions on the use of broadband towers as a way to encourage more investment in internet service in the rural county. Advocates of...
View ArticleJune 25, 2020
Allowing internet providers to compete is best for advancing rural broadband, says David Redl, former administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and now Univ. of...
View ArticleJuly 6, 2020
Deregulation is a big focus of a package of bills introduced by House Republicans to speed broadband deployment by clearing away red tape. And one part of that will streamline the permitting process...
View ArticleJuly 20, 2020
In a commentary, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance writes that “low take rates and failing systems show why federal, state and local leaders shouldn’t look to government internet projects to close the...
View ArticleJuly 24, 2020
Over regulation of the banking industry under Dodd-Frank has cut off over one million Americans from the banking system, a Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) study shows. CEI says that one of the...
View ArticleJuly 31, 2020
In a webcast speech, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly said that rules meant to promote diversity in the broadcast industry have been a “complete failure.” He maintained that removing “our limitations”...
View ArticleAugust 11, 2020
“Competitive carriers also shouldn’t be forced into a Hobson’s choice of having to accept the scarlet letter of the outdated ‘common carrier’ classification of the old telephone monopolies of the...
View ArticleAugust 19, 2020
“The Covid experience has shown that market incentives have delivered socially valuable outcomes,” writes Roslyn Layton in The Regulatory Review. “Such service contradicts the progressive prediction...
View ArticleSeptember 2, 2020
Paul Gessing of the Rio Grande Foundation writes that instead of investing more in broadband government should eliminate obstacles to investment, obstacles it created in the first place. He cites New...
View ArticleSeptember 14, 2020
Brett Swanson of the American Enterprise Institute writes that the “pandemic has validated the historical US approach to broadband that values private investment over government regulation.” “Facing...
View ArticleSeptember 18, 2020
The Internet Society has launched the first-ever regulatory assessment tool kit — it’s a guide to ensure regulation, technology trends don’t harm the internet’s infrastructure. “The Internet’s ability...
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