Stories of Innovation

While the ink is still drying on the truly historic signing of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs law, it’s going to be very important to stay in front of policymakers and federal agencies on the importance not just of building...

Sometime in the first half-year of COVID (we now speak of it as its own distinct era alongside Classical, the Middle Ages, Early Modern, etc.) a noticeable number of media outlets reported on an urban exodus: people were fleeing the...

Today, NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee, the Cloud Communications Alliance, INCOMPAS, Public Knowledge, and the SHLB Coalition led a broad-based group consisting of 254 organizations in calling on broadband policymakers to repair the Universal Service...

This is not a “change the world” blog post. Rather, it is a “I heard something interesting last week that I’d like to share” report. About two years ago, I compiled a Smart Rural Community (SRC) report that examined trends...

Today is National Rural Health Day, and at NTCA, we are proud to celebrate the collective work of the association and our members using technology to help meet the health care needs of individuals across rural America. Rural Americans often...

Fans of the HBO series “The Sopranos” might recall a scene in which mob boss Tony Soprano enters a bakery through the front door only to exit through the back door so that he can cross an alley to the...

The House of Representatives on November 5 passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act , a landmark bill that provides $65 billion in funding for broadband – including $42.5 billion for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program that...

There has been a running joke in Washington for well over four years about Infrastructure Week. Each time it was declared, there was some noise and efforts around defining what infrastructure actually was. Roads and bridge, sure. NTCA, however spent...

Tax law limits the dollar amount of contributions to retirement plans and IRAs and the amount of benefits under a pension plan. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced these limits for 2022, and this is how they apply to...

When I was little, I was known to declare to my family (quite boldly in retrospect, I might add) that I was going to be the first Jewish woman President of the United States. While I thought that combination might...

As NTCA continues its full-court press to ensure that policymakers put community-based providers on equal footing - regardless of their corporate structure or status - I had the opportunity this morning to take our message “right to the top” while...

For better or for worse, I found myself on the internet today. While searching for reports on the relationship between broadband, senior citizens, and social isolation, I came across this article , dated March 12, 2020 – the day before...

I spent some time on the road this week as I am currently winging my way (literally) from the Calix Connexions Show in Las Vegas to meet with NTCA’s Midwestern members at the MATSS meeting in Kansas City. As always...

I recently had the opportunity to share some thoughts regarding how critical and timely broadband deployment is with The Hill , a premier publication that closely follows Congress and the Administration. It was gratifying to be able to share how...

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...

I get it. Every time we see a survey land in our inbox, our first thought is, “I simply don’t have time to give someone more information that has no benefit to me.” At a time when we are all...

There was a collective sigh of relief as NTCA was able to hold its first large, in-person gathering in 19 months as we hosted our Fall Conference last week in Nashville. After weeks of pondering, reviewing safety protocols, working with...

The 2021 Fall Conference continued in Nashville with various educational sessions geared toward setting members up for success in their communities and analyzing the legislative and regulatory issues that will affect the industry over the next decade. Bill Esbeck, executive...

NTCA opened its first large in-person event in 18 months on Saturday, as the 2021 Fall Conference got underway at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville. While attention was paid to how NTCA and members had to pivot with the...

We’re all entering a brave new world as we navigate what it takes to safely host and conduct meetings. Here at NTCA, we have been thinking, dreaming, stewing, and noodling on how to host our first large in-person event in...