CHICAGO - It only took Michael Powell one Cable Show introductory keynote to show that he's no longer a federal regulator. The former FCC chairman, now president-CEO of the NCTA made it clear that his old life is behind him.
"We will always urge a little regulatory humility," Powell said during the opening day address where he further emphasized that cable "believes in competing in free markets" and sees a future that is "uncertain and daunting."
Regulation, which Powell used to spearhead, could add another layer of complexity to the challenge of remaining a viable industry.
"Cable helps power the American dream," Powell told an audience of cable listeners and that dream, Powell hinted, is not television but broadband.
"We did not invent the Internet (but) we were broadband before broadband was born," he said. The lesson from the Internet is that a "bit is a bit" and that "you have to be everywhere to be relevant."
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