When you look up the word "playbook" in the dictionary, the definition is pretty uninspiring and mostly seems to reference football strategies. But when you turn to Accenture, the international consulting firm, they note that a playbook includes “process workflows, standard operating procedures and cultural values that shape a consistent response - the play.”
“The play” itself is why NTCA was so excited to partner with the Fiber Broadband Association to produce a Broadband Infrastructure Playbook that we think will be a valuable tool for states, policymakers, broadband offices and other stakeholders as so much of the federal broadband funding focus will shift to the states. We wanted to create a compilation of best practices, tips from the field, and examples of what has been successful to date in broadband deployment - and do it in a way that it’s easy to take from knowledge to reality. Months of working together, along with Cartesian, have resulted in the launch of this Playbook last week. Are folks anxious to learn more about how to get started? Big time! We had nearly 1000 people on our joint webcast on a Friday afternoon.
Our hope is that the Playbook will be a useful guide for states as they prepare to receive billions in funding for broadband through the BEAD Program. Each state is different, but the Playbook will outline statutory requirements, best practices, case studies, and practical checklists to facilitate the BEAD implementation process regardless of whether you’re starting from scratch or have had a state grant program for years.
President Biden said in his recent State of the Union address that we’re now looking at an infrastructure decade. You all know just as well as I do how rural providers have been working on this for many decades but we are ready to be part of this new moment— and we need to make sure our states are ready, too. We want to partner with all NTCA members in addition to our state associations in making sure the states use these federal funds as effectively as possible, leveraging providers with proven track records to deliver the best possible broadband to rural areas in need. I hope you’ll download the Playbook, share with those you are working with, share with your state broadband officials, utilize it with your local leaders and economic development teams and let’s work together to make the most of this broadband moment.