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Call Me – You Might Have to Call Again If I Live in Rural America
Trying to make a simple phone call last week presented a bit of a challenge in rural North Dakota. There was a delay – a long delay, like the kind I would have expected when making an international call some 30 years ago. There might have even been a call that wasn’t completed. I can’t…
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Transition Time In Tennessee
Larry Drake, Executive Director of the Tennessee Telecommunications Association, discusses their Spring Meeting held in Franklin, TN this week. He also talks about some of the regulatory challenges and uncertainties his 18 members face. Drake has an interesting background with a comprehensive knowledge of the telephone industry, having worked for organizations such as Bellcore and US Telecom. He…
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A Different Way of Thinking
One of the comments made by independent operators at the 2012 Broadband Communities Summit is that it was refreshing to hear different points of view. This point is touched upon in this interview with Hilda Legg, who was Co-Chair of the 2012 Broadband Communities Summit. Legg also talks about the formation of various entities to…
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Igniting Broadband
A partnership to drive broadband adoption is how Sue Spradley described the purpose of U.S. Ignite. With the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation, and the GENI Program Office as its catalyst, US Ignite is forming public and private partnerships to fulfill its mission. For instance, one of their…
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The Rural Banker
For 75 years, the RUS has jump started rural water, electricity and telecom infrastructure projects. In this video interview at the 2021 Broadband Communities Summit, RUS Deputy Administrator, Jessica Zufolo, talks about the role of the RUS, the changing business environment and the importance of having advanced technology infrastructure in rural areas.
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Donut Holes In The Land of Lincoln
After the dust settles on the transition from a POTS-centric, USF/Intercarrier Compensation to a broadband-centric/Connect America Fund approach for rural telecom, will the traditional definition of an incumbent still be valid? That is, if an entity other than the incumbent telco is already supplying broadband to a given area, should that entity be considered the…
