It’s All About Making Time For One Last Trip to DC in 2019

It’s All About Making Time For One Last Trip to DC in 2019

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Ok, all of my frequent flier program friends. It’s that time of the year when I know what you’re doing…you’re checking your club status and thinking about what adding one more trip to the end of the year will do to move the needle for you getting a “possible” upgrade on your favorite airline sometime in 2020 (and if you’re like me, those upgrades are typically my tiny short flights like DCA to Nashville). Nonetheless, an upgrade is an upgrade…

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The Learning is Never Done on the Cyber Front

The Learning is Never Done on the Cyber Front

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In the “old” days (or at least in the movies), you could see the bad guys and knew that you should never get into a lightsaber fight with Darth Vader or never go into a dark basement in a haunted house.  Easy, right? These days, it’s so much more difficult to know who the bad guys are and where they are lurking.  I think, quite frankly, most of them have gotten lazy and are now just hanging out in cyberspace…

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Talking Broadband With Land O’Lakes

Talking Broadband With Land O’Lakes

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Rural broadband access has been a widely debated topic in Washington DC over the last couple of years as policymakers – local and national – have woken up to the fact that there are still a number of citizens in one of the most developed nations in the world that do not have connectivity where they live or work or raise their families. What was gratifying today was having a discussion with a Fortune 500 CEO, Beth Ford, leader of…

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It’s Time to Think About Employee Health

It’s Time to Think About Employee Health

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Certainly not the sexiest topic but one of the most important in the workplace is ensuring that our employees have adequate health care coverage.  Not to be overly maternal but it is a service and a benefit that I think employers have an obligation to provide if they are capable and conversely, employees should appreciate how much of an employer’s time and resources are devoted to the benefit side of the financial ledger for a company.  So, it is that…

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What Does Best Buy Want To Be In The Tech World?

What Does Best Buy Want To Be In The Tech World?

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Remember the days when you needed a television, printer or camera and you ran over to Best Buy, the big Blue Box store? I recently saw an interview with Corie Barry, CEO of Best Buy. She’s an interesting leader to start with but what I find so fascinating is after 20 years in various roles at Best Buy, her latest bet is that the retailer will be a critical partner with senior citizens on the technology front and that market…

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NTCA Members Focus on Vision in Denver

NTCA Members Focus on Vision in Denver

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Back in the Denver airport and getting ready to head back home after four action-packed days here at our Fall Conference. It was hard to argue with how we opened this meeting – with USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue heading to the podium to share with NTCA members how valuable their networks and connectivity are to the future of rural America. From economic development to precision agriculture, from telemedicine to education – the services offered by community-based broadband providers make all…

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The Foundation for Rural Service is Indeed About Service

The Foundation for Rural Service is Indeed About Service

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So many NTCA members really go above and beyond and make sacrifices for the young people in rural communities, knowing that this next generation represents the future of their areas. But Ron Laudner of OmniTel Communications, and former NTCA board member, is willing to go bald – all in the name of supporting Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) scholarships. Three shears (get it?) for Ron and OmniTel for their creative campaign to raise at least $25,000 for FRS scholarships by…

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Mapping Matters!

Mapping Matters!

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Today I had the honor and privilege to represent NTCA’s members before the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Committee on Energy and Commerce’s hearing on mapping, “Legislating to Connect America: Improving the Nation’s Broadband maps.”  Mapping is the new hottest topic here in Washington as policymakers recognize that a major challenge associated with making informed policy and investment decisions regarding the deployment of broadband in rural America is determining where there is or is not service already –…

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Secretary Perdue Heads to Denver to Talk to NTCA!

Secretary Perdue Heads to Denver to Talk to NTCA!

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I was so excited to get the phone call from USDA Secretary Perdue’s team to share that indeed he was going to make time on his busy schedule to join us in Denver at the end of this month to share his thoughts about the role broadband plays in the life of farmers, ranchers, ag producers and rural America in general. It will be a treat to have a Cabinet Secretary with us at our Fall Conference. USDA has been…

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Big Sky Country – A lot of Land, Not A lot of People

Big Sky Country – A lot of Land, Not A lot of People

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I was delighted to be invited by Geoff Feiss, head of the Montana Telecommunications Association, to come out to join his meeting this past week in beautiful Big Sky Country to share some thoughts and perspective on what is taking place in Washington DC and in the telecom industry generally. I seldom turn down a trip to such a beautiful part of our country…and am always stunned by the vast swaths of land with few inhabitants while I am making…

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