If there was ever a time for NTCA members to show up, tell their stories of bringing connectivity to rural America and help shape the policies coming from Washington, D.C., it was this week at the 2025 Legislative and Policy Conference. And boy, did our members show up.
Nearly 550 representatives of community-based broadband providers joined NTCA to hear from members of Congress and key policymakers before heading to Capitol Hill to advocate for universal service and our industry.
In this critical time for the Universal Service Fund (USF), the conference was a great opportunity to highlight NTCA’s four-pronged approach to defending the fund. In addition to playing a leading role alongside the FCC in arguing on behalf of USF before the Supreme Court, NTCA has been working hard on legislative engagement, coordination with the commission and building a groundswell of support among stakeholders. Panels with our own Mike Romano and Jackson Hoppe highlighted those efforts, as did a session with Congressional staffers working on industry issues.
Also on Monday, I spoke with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service Acting Director Christopher McLean about rural broadband funding opportunities and ways for members to stay engaged with the agency. Boyden Rohner, assistant director for the Integrated Operations Division at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), also joined me to highlight resources and training available to help small providers strengthen their cybersecurity posture amid ongoing threats. If you haven’t checked out CISA’s resources on its website, please do. And then head over to our CyberShare information on NTCA’s own website to complete your cyber hygiene!
A major Monday highlight and personal honor for me was presenting my friend and long-time industry leader Denny Law, general manager and CEO of Golden West Telecommunications Cooperative (Wall, S.D.), with the Excellence in Advocacy Award. He was also presented with an entry in the congressional record by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).
We closed the day with a federal and regulatory update from NTCA Vice President of Policy and Industry Innovation Josh Seidemann, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP attorney Tom Cohen and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP partner Andy Lipman. Thanks to them, as well as Nick Degani, principal of Reticulated Strategies, Blair Levin, policy advisory at New Street Research, Greg Guice, chief policy officer of Vernonburg Group and Roslyn Layton, executive vice president of Strand Consult for sharing their insights and observations.
On Tuesday morning, we presented Fred Johnson, CEO of Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative (Rainsville, Ala.), with the Grassroots Advocate of the Year Award for his work on behalf of rural telecommunications and his continued efforts to lead the Legislative and Policy Conference efforts on behalf of our Alabama membership.
Then, U.S. Reps. Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.), Sandford Bishop (D-Ga.), Rick Allen (R-Ga.) and Russell Fry (R-S.C.) spoke about the important work being done every day by our members back in their states. NTCA also recognized Reps. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) and Angie Craig (D-MN.) with the 2025 Congressional Champion award for their efforts to support policies that empower rural broadband providers and the communities they serve.
NTCA members then headed to Capitol Hill, meeting state-by-state with their congressional delegations to encourage continued support for rural broadband. A very busy Legislative and Policy Conference ended with an event hosted by the NTCA Rural Broadband PAC at Ford’s Theater, where attendees watched Sister Act and helped support the critical work our political action committee does to help our advocacy team have a seat at many policy tables with key members of Congress.
Thanks to all who attended this year – you answered the call. My thanks as well to those who are working year-round to advocate for policies that enable rural broadband providers to connect and empower their communities to thrive every day.