FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to Deliver Keynote at Calix ConneXions 2020

Calix, Inc. has announced that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai will deliver a keynote address in the opening general session at ConneXions 2020 on Tuesday, October 27.

As the U.S. continues to adapt to working and learning from home, awareness has rapidly grown about the importance of access to high-speed broadband and the need to close the digital divide. Chairman Pai will discuss the FCC’s efforts to expand access to high-speed Internet across the country.

On October 29, two days after Ajit Pai addresses the ConneXions audience, the FCC will launch an auction for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), a $20.4 billion initiative to bring high-speed Internet access to millions of rural homes and small businesses. This auction comes on the heels of previous funding efforts as well. According to Conexon, which helps electric cooperatives get started with broadband businesses, nearly $25 billion has been spent since 2015 throughout the country to close the digital divide.

“Broadband is critical to modern American life, and, while we’ve made tremendous strides in expanding access to high-speed Internet over the past three years, too many rural communities remain unconnected,” said Pai. “The pandemic has further highlighted the importance of bridging the digital divide and ensuring that no American is left behind in the digital revolution. The upcoming RDOF auction represents the FCC’s largest effort yet in closing that gap. Bringing broadband to rural communities will help create jobs and increase access to everything from healthcare to education. I look forward to robust participation from rural providers in the auction and the opportunity that these broadband deployments will bring to millions of Americans.”

Ajit Pai is the Chairman of the FCC, designated chairman by President Donald Trump in January 2017. He had previously served as FCC Commissioner, appointed by former President Barack Obama.

“Calix customers attend ConneXions knowing they’ll get the latest, actionable insights from forward-thinking visionaries, and with Chairman Pai on the virtual stage, this year furthers that tradition,” said Carl Russo, president and CEO of Calix. “We believe the Chairman’s vision to connect America exists in harmony with our own. Over the past 20 years, Calix has become a leader by developing the technology, services, and support that’s enabling our customers to turn data-driven, fiber-based, networks into lasting revenue streams. We’re honored to welcome Chairman Pai and look forward to hearing him share his vision for eliminating the digital divide.”

ConneXions 2020 is an immersive virtual conference designed for communications service providers (CSPs). By taking the event virtual, Calix will add more content than ever. There will be specific sessions, keynotes and breakout sessions targeting individual job functions such as general management, marketing, network operations, customer experience, and network engineering. The dynamic content is arranged for each role on specific days, taking place October 26-29, with training and certification classes offered the following week.