Broadband Beat – Page 2 of 175 – Thoughts & Perspectives from Shirley Bloomfield

Sharing Adam’s Mississippi Fiber Adventure

August 29, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 0 Comment

I am in Montana, at the wrap of the MTA meeting and will share my own western thoughts shortly but wanted to share the words of our own Adam Jorde following his trip to Mississippi this week for some key time with NTCA members and DC leadership. Read on….. On a muggy August morning in Bay Springs, Mississippi, Joey Garner and Lisa Wigington of Telephone Electronics Corporation (TEC) graciously welcomed me to their headquarters. Appearing more like a construction site…

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National Dog Day? Might Be My Very Favorite!

August 24, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 1 comment

Monday, August 26th has been declared National Dog Day. Love dogs? So do I, that is why I am extremely delighted to celebrate this national holiday! While we have all become accustomed to the greeting card industry creating numerous holidays how can you go wrong when you designate a day that celebrates all breeds, pure and mixed, and has the public focused on the need to rescue dogs from shelters. This is very near and dear to my heart given…

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Bringing Together HR and Benefits Leadership

August 21, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 0 Comment

Nearly wheels up from NTCA’s recent successful HR, Benefits and OSHA conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. What a treat it was to spend a few days with the folks who are so key to rural broadband operations when it comes to recruiting, retention, benefit enrollment, safety training and so much more. The sessions were all packed and the attendees were really engaged (who could be more welcoming than a team of HR professionals?). I loved how many folks came…

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Rural Partners Gather

August 20, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 1 comment

I’ve always been a little envious of the annual gathering that has been held between NRECA (the electric coops), CFC/RTFC, NRTC, and NISC as they compared notes on the status of their respective industries – electric power, lending and technology solutions – and was delighted to be “invited to the party” this year.Vern Dosch, CEO of NISC kicked off our day with a reminder on how key each of our industry segments are to the future growth and vitality of…

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It’s Iowa State Fair Season…and Rural America is in the Spotlight

August 14, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 0 Comment

Having grown up in the Midwest, I know very well that many of the states in that region are a mix of urban, suburbs, college towns, rural communities, state parks and farm land. The first time I really had a sense of anything different was when I was dating my now husband, Don, and driving up to visit his home in New Jersey. As he announced the towns and cities we were passing through, I was taken aback by the…

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Steamy Savannah Sets the Stage for Strategy Skills for NTCA Attendees

August 7, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 0 Comment

Heading back from hot and humid but lovely and hospitable Savannah, Georgia as we wrap up our inaugural Summer Symposiums for the year. Nearly 400 NTCA rural broadband providers gathered for a few days of focusing on what matters, strategic thinking, good governance policies, the latest in advocacy topics for the industry, cybersecurity and a host of other topics relevant to ensuring that the time in a company’s boardroom is time well spent. The opportunity to hit on these critical…

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Opioids, Rural America and Broadband

August 4, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 0 Comment

It’s hard to pick up a news source these days without seeing a reference to the epidemic of drug overdose deaths here in our country. In 2017, more than 72,000 Americans died from a drug overdose. That number translates to 197 people a day. That counts as a national tragedy and epidemic for sure particularly since an overwhelming majority of these overdose deaths involve an opioid. Rural America can be particularly hard hit given the lack of some support networks…

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Video Issues are Critical to Rural Broadband Providers Too!

July 30, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 0 Comment

While mission critical issues such as Universal Service have occupied a great deal of the press from NTCA in terms of what we are up to these days, that certainly does not mean that we also don’t devote a fair amount of time and energy to video issues – battling the crazy imbalance on retransmission consent agreements that our members are subjected to (because I would not even consider calling them a negotiation in any way, shape or form!), working…

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Kicking off Programs on Leadership and Governance

July 28, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 0 Comment

Leadership is defined as the action of leading a group of people or an organization. Governance is the process of governing over a social system – like a rural broadband provider. Both of those skills sound easier to implement than they can be, so I’m really excited that we have transformed with the times here at NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association and transitioned away from our long-held regional meetings to a new format focused on director training (for both…

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As FCC Prepares for August Meeting, NTCA Looks to Promote Better Broadband Mapping – and Better Broadband Results!

July 25, 2019 Shirley Bloomfield Comments 0 Comment

As has been the case pretty much every month on Chairman Pai’s watch, the FCC has a packed agenda for August. A number of important issues are teed up, but NTCA has focused on a couple that are very important to overcome the digital divide – and to sustain broadband where it’s in place today. As the time to talk with the FCC before its votes draws to a close, we’ve been reaching out to the commissioners’ offices to make…

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