I always appreciate having the chance to share some thoughts with NTCA members and a “look back” at a wild year was another reason to do just that….
Sharing some shared thoughts.
To say “what a year this has been” as we wind to the end of 2020 would be an understatement. Somehow this year has flown by while also feeling like it has lasted a decade. For the first time in more than a century, our nation has been rocked by a pandemic that has changed the ways in which we live, learn, work, and otherwise interact, and we have all had to adapt quickly. At this time, more than ever, regardless of where you live, connection matters. Broadband connectivity matters, and it has become a critical lifeline to one another and the rest of the world for every family, workplace, and school.
Of course, NTCA members have long recognized the capabilities and potential of broadband, and the services you deliver were there to provide those critical connections where and when they were most needed. From “broadband in a box” with technicians jumping through hoops to help with self-installation to the posting of hot spots and rapid installation of fiber to help keep customers connected, your stories were inspiring for policymakers and the broader public. Your efforts and actions also inspired NTCA staff to work as hard as possible with Congress, the FCC and the Rural Utilities Service to do whatever we could to ensure that policies and programs would enable you to not only continue the work you had been doing in serving the most rural areas of our country but to also have opportunities to bring new service to those still waiting for broadband in other rural areas.
In addition to seeking relief and flexibility from various deadlines affected by the pandemic, we worked with Congress on widely supported legislation to help keep customers connected even as they find it harder and harder to pay their bills. While we are still waiting for Congress to act on this legislation, we are finding ourselves actively engaged in every single initiative on the table regarding broadband deployment. And trust me, there are more than just a few! We are pleased that several dozen NTCA members appear to have prevailed in the recent Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, and the FCC’s initial reports of the scope of Gigabit connectivity are encouraging. (Although everyone should note that individual applicants are in a “quiet period,” so many details of applications cannot yet be seen and must remain confidential.) That said, it could not be clearer that the real work is only just beginning to deliver broadband for those who were already let down once by a universal service system that over-promised but seriously under-delivered in too many places and for too many people. There is real risk this could happen again if the process is not done right, which is why we warned the FCC and others time and again in advance of the auction that bidders should be fully qualified BEFORE bidding to preserve the integrity of the process and ensure customers will get served as promised. Unfortunately, that did not happen and from what we can see now the gates were opened behind closed doors for bids at questionable and speculative levels of performance—making it all the more important now for the commission to vet thoroughly those who made such promises in their applications. We are already making every effort to make sure that vetting happens, both for process integrity and to ensure we all find out now (rather than five or six years from now) whether these consumers can in fact be served as promised.
Turning to the good work you continue to do, the opportunities to share your stories in 2020 were plentiful, and I even had the honor of representing all of you before the Senate Commerce Committee for one of its very few in-person hearings this year. While it was eerie being on Capitol Hill with no one around and masks and gloves the protocol, the irony that this hearing on broadband was held in person was not lost on me! We have also participated in numerous congressional round tables and key discussions—bicameral and bipartisan—as well as FCC initiatives on pandemic response and Department of Homeland Security working groups on maintaining the safety of networks. We were also a partner to CISA and pleased to be able to provide not only tens of thousands of masks to our membership (with our team socially distanced as we stuffed hundreds of boxes to ship out!) but also to confirm essential worker status on the federal level that gives our members’ field personnel greater ability to get access to areas where they need to install or maintain critical infrastructure.
As we watched a shift in job and geographic patterns, we also realized that this could be the time for a true rural Renaissance—and that nothing could tell the story better of how the rural America served by NTCA members has the infrastructure and commitment to lure talent and new industry to rural communities than our Smart Rural Community (SRC) initiative. If you haven’t joined our licensing program yet, I encourage you to take a look. I loved nothing more than hearing from a member that in his local post office he ran into a new subscriber from New York City who had decided to move his family because of the branding/stories/social media on this Smart Rural Community and its NTCA gig-certified status. Your stories are powerful, and we love to tell them—and SRC is the best possible way for us to do so.
We also found during these trying times that those who would prey on the vulnerable found their opportunities. Cyber threats in the first half of 2020 alone increased by about 35 percent, and we were so grateful that we had our CyberShare program to help providers obtain information on how to mitigate those risks. In some ways, this program provides access to an entire cybersecurity team without having to hire one. I’m excited to see this program grow because the more NTCA members who participate, the more we can work together to protect your networks and those you manage. This week alone (sadly) was a good example of the power of the program with a special invitation to join CISA for a briefing on the SolarWinds breach reported this week.
We are also keeping a daily eye on supply chain issues and how the lengthier lead times for fiber, routers and other CPE are affecting your builds and deadlines. And we’re also always thinking about how to better serve you and your team. Our newly launched discount program for GM vehicle purchases is open for business, our redesigned weekly Bandwidth newsletter is now complimentary, and we welcome you signing up everyone in your company to stay on top of policy and trends important to your team. Meanwhile, our staff did an amazing job in pivoting to providing top-notch training and programming in a digital world.
Our Cybersecurity Summit was a success with leading national voices in this space, and we have opened registration for the 2021 Rural Telecom Industry Meeting & Expo with the opportunity for everyone to hear the most important trends for the rural broadband industry without having to pay for flights or hotels! From fascinating keynote speakers to tech trends for your subscribers, game plans for 2021, and insights into the new Administration—we’re ready to keep this industry moving at warp speed! That being said, I have my eye on where the association needs to be heading in the future to best serve you and would love your responses to a question that is top of mind for us: What is the one thing NTCA should accomplish in the next 10 years? Please share your answers with us using this handy online form.
So, while this year has been one of high anxiety as I worry at every turn how we keep our staff and members safe, how we keep our operations running remotely, how we maneuver through the loss of traditional revenues from our meetings, and how we maintain that all critical connection to our members, it has also been a year that I can look back on with pride at the work we have done to ensure there is a bright future for rural America—powered by broadband connectivity from NTCA members. Your efforts to keep us connected during this time of great uncertainty will not be forgotten.
I wish you all health, peace, creative ways to stay connected to loved ones (thank goodness for your broadband!), and happiness this holiday season. Here’s to a speedy rollout of a vaccine so that we can all get together again soon.
We miss you and look forward to working together in the year ahead!