I recently sat down with Kristi Westbrock, the CEO and general manager of CTC (Brainerd, Minn.), to talk about her experience partnering with municipalities and local governments to expand broadband. I so appreciate her perspective, and I believe she gave good advice to other NTCA members who are considering how best to work with municipalities. With the White House's infrastructure plan putting special emphasis on municipal broadband and using states as the conduit for federal broadband dollars, it is important that members have a plan for engaging with their local leaders.
Kristi told me that CTC first started working with municipalities before she joined the company, starting off by partnering with the local school district to build off its network under a long-term lease agreement, which was recently renewed. A more recent partnership with the city and its economic development entities was successful, but Kristi noted that it took two years to get it moving.
Relationships are key, and Kristi believes that municipal projects only move fast if you have established relationships with decision makers and have done the work before. It is also important that any naysayers are brought on board before going public with the plan to ensure a united front, which is where building relationships comes in again.
Kristi’s advice to other providers who want to work with municipalities is to see them as potential customers and present them with an actual project that notes the costs and the potential impact- don’t just show up to talk about broadband in general. She believes that local officials need something requiring action that they can share with other stakeholders.
CTC’s success in working with municipalities, which has enabled small businesses to stay and grow in the community, really encourages me, and I hope more NTCA members will consider how they can partner with local officials to reach even more of their underserved and unserved neighbors.
Watch Shirley's discussion with Kristi:
