During her opening remarks at RTIME, NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield shared her “Magic 8 Ball” predictions for NTCA’s 70th year and labeled 2024 as the “Year of BEAD.” To kick off her predictions, Bloomfield shared a portion of a fireside chat she recorded in late January with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
Raimondo encouraged the group of small, community-based broadband providers to pursue Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program grants, telling Bloomfield that the agency will continue to work to help address administrative burdens, supply chain constraints and workforce challenges.
Raimondo also discussed the Biden administration’s goals for the program—representing the single largest public investment made to try to connect every American to top-notch broadband service—and shared that the agency stands ready to support small providers as they vie for BEAD grants beside much larger operators.
“My message to the thousands of people listening to us today: Apply, apply," Raimondo said. “We want you to apply. We need you to apply. We will work with you and hold your hand so that you can apply. The message is: Prepare to compete and win. You can win.”
Raimondo also stressed that collaboration is critical to the success of the program, noting NTCA’s advocacy to achieve a waiver of certain Letter of Credit requirements as one example of the “pitch and catch” required between government and industry stakeholders.
NTCA has focused recent BEAD program advocacy on broadband map challenge processes, promoting fiber deployments to the greatest extent possible, seeking clarification related to requirements for low-cost and affordable services and arguing for greater flexibility in state and tribal historical preservation reviews, among other things.
New NTCA Board Chair Mike Grisham, president and CEO of Shawnee Communications (Equality, Ill.), encouraged members to “roll up their sleeves and get to work” in 2024. He also addressed NTCA’s continued advocacy work on the Universal Service Fund (USF). While we await the outcome of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision in a case challenging the USF’s contribution mechanism, Grisham emphasized that NTCA remains focused on both Enhanced Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) implementation as well as what comes next for companies that did not take that path as the association prioritizes achieving a sustainable USF for the future.
Shifting from policy to services and programs NTCA provides to members, Bloomfield highlighted several resources and collaborations available to help “NTCA members stand out in a crowded space,” including a collaboration with NRTC to offer special Mobile Virtual Network Operator solutions, an update to the NTCA-Corning Rural Broadband Supply Program, the NTCA Cybersecurity Series and the work of CyberShare: The Small Broadband Provider ISAC.
She also encouraged NTCA members to continue to make their voices heard, whether it be on BEAD, USF or other policy concerns, as she “strongly believe[s] that we are at our best as an industry when we stick together. Our political capital and policy arguments are strongest when we speak in a unified voice.”
She closed out her remarks with a call for providers to continue telling their stories far and wide.