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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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A New Game Plan Is Needed
NTCA’s CEO, Shirley Bloomfield talks about changes to USF, Intercarrier Compensation and how rural operators need to try a different game plan to have their and their customer’s voices heard in Washington D.C. She suggests that the uncertainty needs to be resolved, as it is delaying operators’ plans for rolling out broadband. And this uncertainty…
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FCC’s Order – Delay and Uncertainty Abound
The industry has been, “shaken upside down”, because of the FCC’s order on USF and Intercarrier Compensation, so says Brent Christensen, president of MTA. He explains that his organization and members are still trying to determine the impact of this order and how much it will cost end consumers. The FCC order is causing uncertainty,…
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Telecom ’96 and Blowout Author Speaks
The United States is still, “A country of opportunity,” said former Senator Byron Dorgan, in his speech to the Minnesota Telecom Association in Minneapolis, today. He suggested that, as a country, we need to find ways to work together. He compared the efforts to bring broadband to rural America with the wagon train of the…
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Comments on the National Broadband Plan
Bill Hegmann of NECA discusses the National Broadband Plan in this interview at the 2011 Minnesota Telecom Alliance Annual Convention. He points out that the majority of the un-served customers are located in price-cap areas, as opposed to the areas served by rate of return operators. He also provides details of their research, which indicates…
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8 Points to Consider Regarding Rural Broadband
Douglas Meredith of JSI outlines eight concerns he has with the National Broadband Plan in this video interview filmed at the OPASTCO 2010 Conference. Citing FTTH Council figures, he suggests that the cost figures for getting to the “unserved” may not be as big investment as indicated in the plan. He recommends that the FCC…
