NCL to honor FCC Commissioner Clyburn with annual Trumpeter Award – National Consumers League

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A longtime champion of consumers and a defender of the public interest, Commissioner Clyburn considers every proceeding with an eye toward how it will affect each and every American. She is a strong advocate for enhanced accessibility in communications for citizens with disabilities and works closely with representative groups for the deaf and hard of hearing. Clyburn’s push for capping greatly inflated calling rates charged to incarcerated prisoners and their families resulted in a victory at the FCC, this summer.

Clyburn has fought to promote strong competition and ensure a robust marketplace of consumer choice. However, when the market is not adequately addressing consumer concerns, Clyburn is an outspoken champion for smart, targeted regulatory action. She has pushed for media ownership rules that reflect the demographics of America, affordable universal telephone and high-speed Internet access, greater broadband deployment and adoption throughout the nation, and transparency in regulation.

Commissioner Clyburn is a member of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, Federal-State Joint Board on Separations, and the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services, all of which she chaired for three years during her first term at the FCC.

Clyburn began her service at the FCC in August 2009, after spending 11 years as a member of the sixth district on the Public Service Commission (PSC) of South Carolina. Prior to her service on the PSC, Clyburn was the publisher and general manager of The Coastal Times, a Charleston-based weekly newspaper that focused primarily on issues affecting the African American community. She co-owned and operated the family-founded newspaper for 14 years.

Clyburn is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking, Finance and Economics.