NTCA, along with our rural allies OPASTCO and WTA, sent out a letter to all members yesterday outlining where things stand with the industry effort and the rural associations’ plan. We sent this information to help all members get a better picture of what’s happening and how it may impact the industry. No decisions have been made—our goal is to ensure that you can make an informed and balanced analysis of what’s happening, and know that we are doing our very best to seek outcomes and options that will be good for our industry not just in the short term but for the long road ahead. We have been keeping all of our options open and trying not to put all of our eggs in one basket. It’s important, too, that each of you make your own judgments based upon the facts at hand and a careful examination of the options that are really before us — for example, is what’s on the table better than the National Broadband Plan, the FCC’s NPRM or what we might see out of a FCC order? Does this position my company for what it needs to do for its customers going forward? What are the options if we don’t go this route, and what do those other options mean for my company? In the end, the NTCA board and committees will sift through all the information and will make the best decision that they can on these kinds of questions with our members’ input.
