FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai spoke at the 2012 Radio Show in Dallas on Wednesday, touching on a wide range of topics affecting broadcasters. In his comments, Pai discussed the importance of radio connecting people in times of disaster, as well as the FCC's role in broadband deployment.

Pai said, "I don’t view broadband as a substitute for broadcast.  Instead, I see broadcast and broadband as complements. Moving forward, it will make sense for some services to be provided through broadcast and others via broadband.  In fact, if we were to shift all of the services provided by broadcasters to broadband, that would actually be counterproductive.  It would make our spectrum problems worse, not better."

On the topic of media ownership rules, Pai said, "I think we should finish reviewing our ownership regulations by the end of this year," saying the current rules are outdated and that he believes " we should eliminate restrictions on newspaper/radio cross-ownership.  Not just in the top 20 markets, but in all markets."

He added, "no one has presented significant evidence to justify the continued prohibition of newspaper/radio cross-ownership.  Quite the opposite.  The record demonstrates the benefits of letting these combinations thrive in the same market."

You can read Pai's complete remarks to the Radio Show, including further in-depth analysis of the cross-ownership rule restrictions, here via the FCC's website.