I have had such a great time spending days with our NTCA membership during recent travels and hearing all of the exciting stories of broadband deployment and innovation. We understand now how critical our Smart Rural Community brand has become to our membership and their communities as more people look to relocate to rural America for not only the great quality of life, but also the great broadband that NTCA members provide. With each showcase award and the stories behind them, I continue to be inspired by the work community-based providers do to utilize broadband to not only enhance the economics of their localities but also to tap creativity in how their robust broadband powers local solutions.
In pursuit of more positive branding and storytelling opportunities for our SRC members, the NTCA Board and I have long had a strong interest in working with real estate pros who can help us tout the benefits of fiber when purchasing a home, point urban relocation towards Smart Rural Communities and connect home buyers with the terrific broadband services provided by our membership. But, frankly, we have run into a few brick walls with the national real estate associations and companies who have not quite been able to connect the dots on why this information would be helpful to them and their agents as they promote homes for sale.
It really hit home for me reading a Washington Post article that noted how many folks in the metro D.C. area purchased homes only to discover that their broadband options were limited and insufficient. And then the pandemic hit and the horror stories and massive disappointments were well documented.
As it now turns out, the real estate world is dying for this kind of info, as well, and we are thrilled to announce that we have started a new partnership with the creators of what we think will be the new Zillow for broadband-connected homes, FiberHomes.com. Our fabulous partners at Fiber Homes are reaching relocation researchers, real estate agents, and new movers with realtor engagement programs, they have created Zillow plug-ins to help home buyers locate fiber-connected homes, MLS integrations, and will launch a national, consumer-friendly website later this spring. I cannot wait to watch this effort gather some great momentum. And if the lines of NTCA members at their RTIME booth are any indication, we are well on our way to having another venue to share the power that fiber broadband brings to communities—rural, urban and everywhere in between.
Through this exciting partnership, NTCA will highlight what makes Smart Rural Communities great places to live and how the services provided by our more than 200 SRC providers stand apart from other, national providers through a story platform and digital campaigns later this year. And as if this was not already exciting enough, I was most appreciative of our friends at Calix for stepping up to work with NTCA and our SRC program to support an economic study to actually assess the home valuation impact that fiber connectivity has. We know there is a value add but we’ve never seen good economic research supporting that hypothesis so we’re excited to have SRC produce some intellectual capital that will continue to show the value that fiber brings to homeowners as a return on their investment.
If you are a SRC provider, you will hear more from me about this branding opportunity for your community in coming weeks. If you are not a part of the SRC brand yet, what are you waiting for? Join us today.