One of my favorite scenes from the amazing historical musical “Hamilton” is when the cast of characters including Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton all gather to decide the location our nation’s capital, our banking system and other building blocks for our country. The narrative is a backstory on how public policy was (and is) created and the horse trading that goes on to reach a deal. In Hamilton, Aaron Burr is cut out from discussions so he bemoans, “No one really knows how the game is played/The art of the trade/How the sausage gets made/We just assume that it happens.”
Obviously, negotiating key policy initiatives is seldom done these days exclusively in closed-door dinners but rather involves great public discourse and engagement. But it’s still important to be in the right rooms at the right time with the right people.
That is why I was delighted to hear from the White House recently that Gina Tomlinson, CEO of Cochrane Communications (Cochrane, Wisc.) was being invited to an Infrastructure Kickoff with President Biden in Wisconsin last week. It may have been a big room. Okay, it was actually in the La Crosse bus depot checking out their electric and hybrid buses before the president addressed a crowd on other key parts of his infrastructure initiative, including a big investment in broadband deployment, but Gina was invited into that room and had the opportunity to not only hear the important presidential commitment to connecting all Americans, regardless of where they live, but to also meet with him as well.
Never one to miss an opportunity (in the best of ways!), Gina found herself in the short line to meet with the president after his infrastructure speech. After she introduced herself, President Biden asked her what she did. She responded that she manages the smallest, yet oldest broadband/telephone cooperative in Wisconsin. He then asked her if they have fiber and in classic Gina fashion, she responded “Well of course. We’ve been 100 percent Fiber to the Home since 2010.” President Biden noted that this country needs more Ginas! Here at NTCA, we have an association of “Ginas” working 24/7 to plow fiber and build infrastructure to those still waiting for connectivity and upgrading their existing customers. So, on behalf of all NTCA member companies, Gina thanked him for the past support through American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funding with hopes that a bigger infrastructure package will make it through Congress this year. She shared with the president, “You keep the money rolling and I’ll do what I can to keep the fiber growing.”
We have the opportunity this summer to expand that room when Congress is home. I encourage all NTCA members to share with your congressional delegation the hard work you and your teams are putting in to extend your networks to those still waiting and to reiterate that any final deal should:
- Prioritize deploying future proof technology
- Ensure that the many agencies including state and federal that are involved stay coordinated
- Promote local partnerships to enable community-based providers to work with their local governments and anchor institutions to expand access
- Include support to maintain networks once they have been built
- Include government monitoring of the existing supply chain pressures to ensure any new initiatives can be successful.
We have a once in a generation opportunity as a country to fill the broadband gap. Let’s get everyone in the room and get it done!
