Continue reading »]]> I had the privilege of spending some time this week with the Human Resource professionals from a number of our member telcos from around the country and was so impressed with the engagement of this group and their passion for playing a strategic leadership role for their telcos.

We were able to have a dialogue on “What your CEO wishes HR knew” and i appreciated hearing from them “What HR wishes their CEO knew”.  These professionals are on the front line with all employees and senior management and play a key role in setting culture and organizational excellence.  I also enjoyed hearing Roy Sheneman, the Senior HR Manager for Valley Telephone in Texas share his Leadership Lessons from the HR Perspective: Leaders Go First.

We also talked about the regulatory front and why recent FCC policies have created the angst and revenue pressures for their companies and why achieving some incremental improvements in the USF/ICC reform and achieving some regulatory certainty for these companies was so important.

On a more personal note, there were a number of participants from Oklahoma and Kansas at the conference and my heart went out to them when  we were all sitting at dinner with them as they were receiving text messages from their families and loved ones who were taking shelter in basements and cellars during the hellacious storms this week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Oklahoma and NTCA has activated our Disaster Clearinghouse today in case we can be of any assistance to our members who might have been impacted by this tragedy.

Continue reading »]]> This picture of the long line of travelers looking to rebook their flights out of Reagan National Airport here in Washington, D.C., looks more calm than it feels today. The season of disrupted travel plans has begun as I work my way to Atlanta, Ga., for the NTCA Human Resources Conference and OSHA Seminar today.  You know that travel woes are in effect when the bagel stand is already out of bagels and we haven’t even hit the dinner hour yet! The line for McDonald’s is long as parents seek to entice (bribe!) their children to endure the long waits.

We just heard an announcement that there is a whole new line of thunderstorms moving through Atlanta, so I have another hour to hang out, sitting on the floor, the only space available now in the airport.  Sigh … it will be a long summer!

Continue reading »]]> I just finished watching the running of Preakness. I’m not really a horse racing fan. I have yet to really figure out how the odds are set, and the only hat I own is a nice wool ski cap for skiing (obviously) and for walking Cassie on those cold winter nights. But I can appreciate the beauty of these majestic beasts. Earlier this week, I was in the heart of horse country in beautiful Lexington, Ky., for the most recent Retirement & Security Program and Savings Plan Trust Committee meeting. It was a beautiful flight into Lexington and the landing provided spectacular vistas over many acres of pastures, horses and barns larger than many government buildings in Washington, D.C.!

In spite of the beautiful surroundings, the trust committee members spent the day inside a meeting room, continuing to assess market allocations, funding levels and new investments. I always come away from these meetings admiring the hard work and effort that our trust committee members put into ensuring that there are healthy benefit plans for rural telcos’ employees.

Continue reading »]]> Today, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau took some positive steps toward addressing a number of issues that NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association has raised about the Universal Service Fund (USF) reporting requirements, as well as the continuing need for the commission to actually create a targeted support mechanism for broadband support for rural areas and consumers served by small, rural telecommunications providers.

It was gratifying to see some continued incremental movement, improvement and fixes to the FCC’s USF/ICC order and recognition from the agency that maybe it didn’t really understand all of the moving pieces, and that continued changes to the order are necessary to ensure that rural Americans really do have access to advanced services.

So what did they do?  First, they issued an order granting an emergency petition filed by NTCA and other rural associations for a blanket waiver of five-year buildout plan filing requirements and clarifying the applicability of other reporting requirements. This should take a load off of carriers’ plates in the short run since filing a five-year plan would have been a complete shot in the dark for rural carriers.

Second, the FCC issued a public notice on how the agency might create a targeted, broadband-focused support mechanism for consumers in rural, high-cost areas served by RLECs. This will kick off a new round of discussions that will focus specifically on how existing USF rules should be updated to further the goals of broadband affordability in areas served by NTCA members.

Disappointingly, but not unexpectedly, the bureau issued a public notice seeking comment on a staff report exploring options and making recommendations for reperscription of the authorized interstate rate of return. The staff report recommends the commission represcribe the authorized rate of return to between 8.06% and 8.72% and suggests data and procedures for the FCC to do so. This item will seek public comment, as well as an “external peer review” of the staff report.

Overall, some good steps forward.

Continue reading »]]> Sixty-three members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a missive today to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that it conduct a report to monitor and measure the effects of modifications adopted as part of the FCC’s order intended to modernize the high-cost component of the Universal Service Fund (USF) and advance the availability of broadband services.

This will be a great opportunity to have a “report card” issued on the impacts of USF and intercarrier compensation (ICC) reform. What happened to end user rates for voice and broadband? What has been the effect of the reforms on average fixed and mobile broadband Internet access speeds?  What are the disparities and trends on speed?  What has been the impact of reforms on access and adoption of broadband services?  And what has been the impact of USF/ICC reform on the magnitude and pace of investments in broadband networks, including investments financed by RUS, and the disparities and trends on investment in rural and urban areas.

Kudos to NTCA members from across the country who worked with their congressional delegations to educate them on the need for Congress to watch, assess and engage in the implementation of USF/ICC reform, which has critical implications for rural consumers.

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My husband, Don, continues his recuperation after surgery, but fear not that I am leaving for work each day with him needing to fend for himself.  I have plenty of homemade soups in the freezer and fridge, and he has a full-time furry companion to ensure that plenty of time is spent together snoozing on the couch!

Continue reading »]]> The White House formally submitted Tom Wheeler’s nomination to chair the FCC to the Senate yesterday. The process has begun. Commissioner Robert McDowell’s departure in the next week also ensures that there will be a nomination for both the Democratic chairmanship and a Republican commissioner. In these partisan times, it is likely that the nominations will be paired together for the best chance of moving something through the Senate Commerce Committee and the full Senate. However, don’t hold your breath expecting a speedy process. While Wheeler has been anticipated for months and formalized in the past few weeks, there continues to be some vetting for candidates on the Republican side, followed by confirmation hearings and Senate meetings.  Factor in that formal Washington, D.C., closes shop for most of August, we could be looking at a number of months with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in her acting chairwoman role.

However, that has not stopped Tom Wacker and me from having some good leadership discussions with folks on Capitol Hill this week regarding where the nominations are heading and why sensitivity to rural America and the unique challenges that exist in bringing advanced services to the 40% of the landmass where NTCA members serve is so important.  By definition, other than states like Rhode Island, all U.S. senators represent part of rural America. We’ll be tapping into their rural constituencies to ensure that some of the key issues facing rural providers, including fixing the QRA caps, fixing the waiver process, creating a Connect America Fund for rural carriers, and addressing call completion, access to affordable programming, retransmission consent, spectrum issues, etc., are all raised with an eye to hoping that the new FCC commissioners will have some sensitivity and commitment to rural consumers.

Continue reading »]]> Given the quality of my photojournalism skills, I’d better keep my day job, but I snapped this covert photo of Sen. Tim Kaine (D–Va.) this morning when he spoke at a Capitol Hill breakfast. Kaine has served as a mayor, governor and now senator, and I find him to be pragmatic, thoughtful and committed to getting something done during his tenure on Capitol Hill.  Meagan Foster and I had the opportunity to chat with the senator prior to his remarks and shared with him how much our Virginia telcos enjoyed meeting with him during our recent Legislative & Policy Conference and appreciated his engagement on rural broadband issues.  Not only did the senator remember meeting with our folks, but he also remembered and recommitted his interest in actually getting down to some of their operations to see their networks in action! Wow! 

Virginia has been an interesting state politically, especially recently with a divide between the northern part of the state, which can sometimes be seen as an extension of Washington, D.C. (like Arlington, where NTCA’s headquarters are located), and the more rural portions of the state. I’m excited to see that Kaine is committed to representing all of the interests in Virginia, including those of his rural broadband providers that have done so much to bring advanced services to rural Virginia.

Continue reading »]]> Today, we had some of the folks from Connected Nation over to the office to compare notes on our different broadband deployment and broadband adoption initiatives.  It was also a nice opportunity to congratulate Raquel Noriega, director of public policy for Connected Nation, for her recent appointment to the Universal Service Administrative Co. board of directors. She is thoughtful and pragmatic and will be a strong addition to that board.

Connected Nation has a number of grant projects up and running in five states, including Michigan, Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and Texas. Much of Connected Nation’s focus is on middle mile initiatives and really getting the communities, carriers and critical partners, like the IT folks from the local hospital, together in a room to discuss what are the future network needs of the community and how can they work together to build those networks. It was fun to bring the group up to speed on our Smart Rural Community Initiative, which has gotten off to a really strong start this spring with our advisory board finalizing some exciting initiatives to showcase some of our member communities and the work that telcos have done in building and partnering to create their own Smart Rural Communities.  More to follow on that in the near future.

Continue reading »]]> With all of the issues facing cable providers, I must say that I am baffled by the time and energy that sector of the industry focuses on attacking the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) programs and denigrating all of the excellent work that RUS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have done in getting broadband deployed to rural America. Most cable operators provide service to the “donut hole” or the more densely populated communities, and have historically left the “donut” or the low density, high cost areas unserved in video provision. They have not looked to take on the carrier of last resort obligation, which would require them to provide services to all consumers, regardless of the extra effort and expense. That carrier of last resort obligation is one that rural telecom providers have taken on, and it has ensured that so much of our country has been served with high-speed broadband. These carriers have been willing to do the paperwork and jump through the necessary hoops to participate in the program.

RUS is known as one of the “super appropriations” programs, because the agency has returned millions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury. Due to the low default rate, RUS has actually made money for the government and has connected millions of Americans who would not have had access to high-speed broadband. RUS allows carriers that do not have the luxury of cherry picking service territories to obtain funding to connect areas that otherwise would have remained unconnected.

Right now, the Senate is taking up consideration of the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013 (S. 10), which frankly fails to assist the 18 million households currently unserved by broadband. Instead, it creates a complex, difficult to implement program that is likely to not provide incentives for ANY providers to build broadband. I sometimes wonder if this is an example of appealing rhetoric over actually getting the job of broadband deployment done.  The legislative effort is also unnecessary given the 2008 Farm Bill included new, sensibly drafted provisions that were designed to further improve the program and implement congressional, USDA Office of Inspector General and industry recommendations. The new rules implementing these legislative changes were just finalized in February. The delay in implementing and finalizing the Farm Bill rules, in addition to the FCC’s USF/ICC reforms creating regulatory uncertainty, have led to virtually no new loans being approved in years. If this administration and Congress are really serious about moving the United States higher up on the broadband rankings, now is not the time to rewrite the program and continue to delay investment. Let’s allow these new rules to work before more precious construction time is wasted.