Here at NTCA, we took another step forward this week with our two new member programs: Smart Tribal Community SM and Smart Connected Community SM , all under our fabulous Smart Rural CommunitySM network. The power of this Smart Rural Community brand really hit me last week when I was “chatting” with the Senate Finance Committee on broadband as part of any infrastructure package and I realized that every senator peppering me with questions really wanted to have Smart Rural Communities in their own states - that is the end goal of creating federal programs that help to build and maintain future-proof networks that elevate the communities they serve in Congress.
We are tremendously proud of the work our Smart Rural CommunitySM providers are doing to enable the fast, reliable and sustainable connectivity needed to thrive in an online world. Our SRC providers are serving unique communities across the country, and we wanted to recognize the diverse, growing SRC network with new opportunities for NTCA members that serve Tribal lands and areas with metropolitan characteristics. We are proud to establish the Smart Tribal CommunitySM and Smart Connected CommunitySM programs to create new opportunities to share the amazing stories of the work our members are doing. While policymakers and community leaders may not understand megabits, they understand the applications and innovation that comes when they are in a Smart Rural Community.
The Smart Tribal CommunitySM program will be open to any SRC provider who offers broadband service to Tribal lands. Ya-Ta-Hey, New Mexico, served by NTCA member Sacred Wind Communications, is the first community to be recognized as a Smart Tribal CommunitySM.
I was delighted to hear what Sacred Wind CEO John Badal had to say about the program. “We at Sacred Wind Communications are proud to be on the ground floor of NTCA’s Smart Tribal Community initiative, highlighting the exceptional dedication of those broadband providers who work closely with our Native American communities to build infrastructures in challenging geographic areas and to deliver services in a manner that reinforces tribal cultures,” he said.
The Smart Connected CommunitySM program will be open to SRC providers who serve incumbent or competitive service territories that demonstrate metropolitan characteristics. GRM Networks, along with their subsidiary Mi-Fiber, LLC, serving the Des Moines, Iowa, metropolitan area, and Home Telecom, serving the Charleston, S.C., region, are the first NTCA members to be recognized as Smart Connected CommunitySM providers.
“One of our subsidiaries provides fiber-to-the premises in suburban areas,” said GRM CEO Ron Hinds. “We were looking for a way to assist these communities in attracting residents and businesses with their new high-speed networks. NTCA delivered! Smart Connected CommunitySM: The name says it all.”
“Home Telecom is proud to be a founding member of NTCA’s newest brand, Smart Connected CommunitySM,” said Home Telecom Senior Vice President and NTCA Board Vice Chairman H. Keith Oliver. “It is critical for the future success of all member companies that collectively a nationally recognized consumer brand is promoted. A brand that represents our common culture of quality and locally provided services as well as unites NTCA members as a national choice for state-of-the-art broadband service. At Home Telecom, we are excited to begin using the Smart Connected CommunitySM brand that effectively represents all of the markets we serve.”
The added Smart Connected CommunitySM program is a great way for NTCA’s community based providers to share with those in new markets how lucky they are to have a proven broadband leader willing to serve that area and expands the focus and marketing tools for NTCA’s members in competitive markets.
We don’t have big bucks like others in the field to create a national brand but we do have the stories from our existing Smart Rural Communities on what it means to be “smart” and how they are driving economic success for their communities. For more information about the program, visit www.NTCA.org/Smart. Come join us!
