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Former FCC officials to keynote ACA Connects event

Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (left) and former FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn appear in undated handout photos.
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (left) and former FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn appear in undated handout photos. (Courtesy photos, Graphic by The Desk)

Two former federal regulators will keynote the ACA Connects 30th Anniversary Summit dinner in Washington, D.C. later this month, the organization said in a press release on Thursday.

The keynote address will be delivered by former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and former FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn.

“While serving the American people at the FCC, Ajit and Mignon were admired and respected because they had the key qualities for success: Vision and stamina, grit and endurance, backbone and staying power,” Grant Spellmeyer, the president and CEO of ACA Connects, said in a statement. “In addition, they are two of the most decent people you will find anywhere. It’s going to be a special night.”

After their stints with the FCC, both Pai and Clyburn entered the private sector. Pai currently works as a partner with Searchlight Capital Partners, an investment firm in New York City, while Clyburn joined MLC Strategies as a principal consultant.

Pai and Clyburn will speak at the ACA Connects Summit Dinner, which takes place February 28, one day before the ACA Connects Summit’s public policy forum.

Confirmed speakers at the public policy forum include former FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington; NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli; Calix President and CEO Michael Weening; U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund Director Joseph Wender; and New Street Research Policy Advisor Blair Levin.

The ACA Connects Summit will take place between February 28 and March 2 in Washington, D.C. It is the first time the group has held an in-person event since 2019, the year prior to the start of the global coronavirus pandemic.

ACA Connects is the leading American communications association representing small- and mid-sized pay television and broadband Internet service providers. The organization represents members who serve more than 23 million residential and business television, Internet and phone customers across the country.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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