FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Visits Blackfoot Communications; Tours Fiber Network Sites
June 19 2018 - 4:08PM
Business Wire
The tour provided an opportunity to meet with Blackfoot
customers and see Blackfoot’s multi-year broadband network upgrade
across ILEC and CLEC territories.
Blackfoot, the owner and operator of the region’s largest
multi-gigabit network, welcomed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to Montana
today. During Chairman Pai’s visit, Blackfoot CEO, Jason Williams
led a tour of the company’s fiber construction, followed by a
working session that was focused on delivering broadband access to
rural communities across Blackfoot’s service areas.
“Bridging the digital divide and expanding Internet access to
all corners of the country is my top priority at the FCC,” said
Chairman Pai. “That’s why I appreciate the opportunity to visit
states, including Montana, to see how service providers – large and
small – are driving broadband access to communities. During my
visit with Blackfoot Communications, I heard about their efforts to
expand high-speed broadband to remote parts of the state. I also
visited the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation to see firsthand the buildout happening to connect
Tribal lands with digital opportunity. Everyone who wants to
participate in the digital economy should be able to do so.”
In addition to its fiber construction, Chairman Pai met with key
Blackfoot stakeholders to discuss new customer-focused initiatives
including Blackfoot’s open innovation lab C2M beta, new residential
and enterprise-level product solutions, and company-wide smart
growth projects.
“We were proud to host Chairman Pai and his team at our offices
to provide an update on our multi-year broadband network upgrade
project,” said Jason Williams. “In addition to extending our fiber
across Montana, we were thrilled to describe the entrepreneurial
opportunities created through our new open innovation lab; as well
as our efforts to increase digital access to our residential and
enterprise business customers by delivering new, state-of-the-art
products and services.”
To learn more about Blackfoot, visit www.blackfoot.com.
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FCCTina Pelkey, 202-418-0536tina.pelkey@fcc.govorBlackfootWil
Anderson, 406-541-5212wanderson@blackfoot.com