A documentary for the 100 Year Anniversary of the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association – WSTA. Produced by Roger Bindl HEM Productions.
100 Years of Telecom in Wisconsin
– May 26, 2010Posted in: Stories from the Heartland, VBlogs by Roger, ViodiTV @ WSTA
DON’T LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF… I was reminded today how small, independent, rural telcos have a history of innovation and a reputation for providing services that others won’t or can’t provide. The reminder came in the form of previewing the documentary above and my wife commenting, “isn’t that something that the FCC should should hear?” about the same time I wondered the same and thought “will history repeat itself”.
The documentary seemed freshly relevant as I listened to stories on why rural telephone companies were formed – because rural was being ignored, service was bad, and the residents wanted something better. 100 years later I heard the story repeated as technology enabled services evolved and again small telcos were asked to come to the rescue with video this time. Next I listen to how land lines are declining as people switch to cell phones or VoIP and the business of staying in business is becoming more challenging. Just the same, these small telcos continue to innovate and adapt.
So I couldn’t help but think about the Broadband Plan and how relevant history is. Perspectives based on knowledge help so we don’t let history repeat itself. Rural services have decline more than once when large companies focused on metro areas and ignored rural. The video shows how the first phone lines came about, how social networking is nothing new, why small companies formed, and how small is evolving faster than their big brothers. History is relevant.