Stories of Innovation

There is a saying that we have used a great deal in our industry: “May you live in interesting times.” While seemingly a blessing, this saying is used ironically during challenging times. Well, this past year and a half has...

“I feel like I really get it now, after being out here.” That’s what one congressional staffer told us as we ate dinner in beautiful Montana, where the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) hosted this year’s annual Congressional Broadband Tour...

As we near the end of the summer, many of us are traveling more, and it has felt good to see so many of you as I have crisscrossed the country to state meetings and other industry events. At NTCA...

The Dixie Chicks have a fabulous song entitled “Wide Open Spaces:” A young girl’s dream’s no longer hollow, It takes the shape of a place out West So, I certainly found myself humming that song more than a few times...

My sincere thanks to the Polar Communications team based in Park River, N.D. who took the time to lay out the differences between these three terms in their recent newsletter. These terms get bantered around a great deal these days...

Please indulge me as I get off the broadband infrastructure train for just a minute to share some thoughts as the Tokyo Olympics come to a close. Every four (or in this hopefully rare case, five) years, we see the...

NTCA has been wildly focused over the course of the past few years on how to encourage policymakers to think with a hand in the present but an eye toward the future. Easier said than done in a town where...

Even with fingers and toes crossed, we were not able to host our 5th annual Women In Telecom fly-in in person this year. Between ongoing Covid spikes and a slow return to the Capitol after January 6th, it just seemed...

Whether you are a leader, colleague or just joining us in the rural broadband industry, you likely know someone who has performed above and beyond or given of themselves in a way that impacts others’ lives. I love giving special...

I’m so impressed by the many NTCA members who got out there in the hot summer weather to complete the FRS Rural Run virtual 5K! Almost 850 of you logged more than 2,625 miles, across 21 states and Washington, D.C...

One of my favorite scenes from the amazing historical musical “Hamilton” is when the cast of characters including Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton all gather to decide the location our nation’s capital, our banking system and...

On July 2, a supply chain ransomware attack occurred against Kaseya VSA and the managed service providers (MSP) that employ VSA software. Kaseya VSA is a cloud-based MSP platform that allows providers to perform patch management and client monitoring for...

NTCA Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield gives an update on NTCA's advocacy efforts, the return to live events, and the association's new campaign to promote the benefits of fiber-based networks.

As July looms on the calendar, here at NTCA we are getting ready for our Summer Symposium, and hopefully our last virtual one for a while. Myrtle Beach and Branson are already on the 2022 calendar. This meeting is the...

This post continues our Smart Rural Community series on ag tech. Please visit NTCA Newsroom for previous installments. FACTORS IN AG TECH ADOPTION 1. Farm Size Several factors have been identified when assessing the rate and pace of ag tech...

This week is a critical week on the infrastructure front here in Washington, D.C., as a key bipartisan group of senators continue their deliberations in haste with the White House. In the midst of this (hopeful) momentum, Denny Law, general...

Here we are, 15 months from our world grinding to a halt in terms of personal interactions. So, it is hard to overstate how powerful it was to have our NTCA, SMC and Group Health Plan leadership meeting face-to-face as...

The following is the third preview installment of an upcoming Smart Rural Community SM paper on ag tech. Previous installments provided an overview of the U.S. farm industry and examples of ag tech for crop and livestock production. AG TECH...

The independent community-based communications world lost a giant in our industry this past week with the passing of Marjorie Silliman Rose Becker, a life-long resident of Middleburgh, NY and the Chairman of The Middleburgh Telephone Company (MIDTEL). She was known...

By Jason Smith This article is presented by the NTCA Innovation & Business Opportunity Committee (IBOC). The author currently serves as chair of the IBOC. Like other rural communications providers, Rainbow Communications (Everest, Kan.) enjoys a special connection to its...