Contact: Lauren Gaydos, 703-351-2015
Arlington, Va., (May 3, 2022)—Brent Gillum, president and chief executive officer of LightStream, a small rural broadband provider based in Buffalo, Ind., today testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety on the need for a strong workforce to build and sustain robust broadband networks across the country. LightStream is a member of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, which represents approximately 850 community-based providers offering advanced services throughout some of the most sparsely-populated areas of the country.
In the hearing “Connecting Workers and Communities: Preparing and Supporting the Broadband Workforce,” Gillum testified, “Access to broadband is the backbone of the 21st century economy, and deploying networks capable of delivering this vital service to every American household has become a national priority. To do so, however, the telecommunications industry urgently needs an expanded trained workforce so that the United States can remain competitive in the ever-expanding range of sectors that rely on advanced broadband services.”
With over $42 billion in funding for broadband deployment from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as well as additional broadband funding made available during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gillum said, “The ultimate success of these efforts to expand the availability of broadband will turn substantially on ensuring skilled workers and sufficient supplies are available to build these networks.”
Last year, LightStream was recognized by NTCA as a Smart Rural CommunitySM (SRC) Showcase Award Winner, given to providers that best exemplify the SRC program’s goal of driving growth in rural communities. Smart Rural Community recently released the issue brief “Labor and Workforce Development in the Rural Telecom Sector” with information and case studies on creating development opportunities for the broadband workforce.
Gillum’s full testimony can be viewed on the committee’s website.
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NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing nearly 850 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovative change in smart rural communities across America. In an era of transformative technological developments, regulatory challenges and marketplace competition, NTCA members are advancing efforts to close the digital divide by delivering robust and high-quality services over future-proof networks. Their commitment to building sustainable networks makes rural communities fertile ground for innovation in economic development, e-commerce, health care, agriculture and education, and it contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy each year. Visit us at www.ntca.org.