PCCA Journal|3
rd
Quarter 2015
10
tively working to advance legislation to
expand the power and communication
market, PCCA will also ensure that the
industry is heard when overreaching
regulatory proposals are introduced and
move through the maze-like regulatory
process.
Three weeks after agreeing to move
forward with federal advocacy, several
PCCA members traveled to Washing-
ton, D.C., October 13-14, to refine its
legislative/regulatory strategy and began
outreach to government and industry
organizations. The following is a recap
of this successful event.
NTCA – The Rural
Broadband Association
Representing approximately 900 inde-
pendent, community-based telecom-
munications companies that serve rural
communities across the country, NTCA
members provide state-of-the-art internet
service to rural consumers. Because
NTCA represents a major customer base
of the PCCA membership, meeting with
NTCA’s Washington team kicked off
PCCA’s first visit to the Nation’s Capital.
It didn’t take long for NTCA’s govern-
ment affairs people to realize that work-
ing cooperatively with PCCA toward
shared goals could lead to a long-term
alliance. After discussing both the oppor-
tunities and challenges presented by the
Federal Communications Commission’s
(FCC) Connect America Fund (CAF),
both organizations agreed to work to-
gether at tackling the challenges of pro-
viding and sustaining universal access in
rural areas. According to FCC, the CAF is
intended to ensure “universal availability
of robust, scalable, affordable broadband
to homes, businesses and anchor institu-
tions in unserved areas at an affordable
cost.” Unfortunately, the uncertainty
surrounding the CAF program may be
impeding investment in broadband ser-
vices. Both PCCA and NTCA agreed to
reach out to FCC and share information
about the CAF program and the most
effective way to acquire and utilize CAF
dollars.
NTCA clearly saw the value of having
the industry’s “job creators” participate
in their lobbying efforts and invited
PCCA to NTCA’s Telecom Executive
Summit in Washington, D.C., on Novem-
ber 15-17. Several members of PCCA’s
government relations team (four contrac-
tors and two staff members) participated
in the NTCA event, including a Capitol
Hill Day, where attendees took to Capitol
Hill to educate lawmakers on the issues
involved in building the projects and em-
ploying the workers that deliver broad-
band all around the country.
The focus of NTCA’s legislative agenda
is to ensure that federal programs in-
tended to expand broadband service give
ample consideration to the needs of rural
America. Such programs include the
Universal Service Fund, which subsi-
dizes projects to provide universal access
to telecommunications services across
the country, and the FirstNet program,
authorized in a 2012 tax bill. FirstNet
is intended to help build, operate, and
maintain a nationwide wireless broad-
band network dedicated to public safety
and emergency communications.
PCCA was enthusiastic about joining
NTCA in their Capitol Hill event, and we
look forward to working with them in
future advocacy efforts.
Rural Utilities Service
The Department of Agriculture’s Rural
Utilities Service (RUS) works to improve
economic opportunity through financ-
ing for electric power, communications,
and other services for individuals and
businesses in rural communities with
a population of 20,000 or fewer. PCCA
members work on projects that improve
the quality of life for rural America
through infrastructure improvements
funded by RUS dollars, underscoring
real-life benefits that come with the
program.
PCCA was founded in 1945 to work
with the USDA’s Rural Electrification
Administration (which later became
the RUS), and we have maintained an
outstanding working relationship with
the agency for more than 70 years.
Continuing this relationship, fly-in par-
ticipants sat down with representatives
from RUS’s Policy and Outreach Division
(Telecommunications Program) to dis-
cuss ways that PCCA can promote RUS
programs on Capitol Hill and with other
industry organizations. RUS appreciated
our offer of vocal support of RUS and
said they look forward to working with
the association on a range of issues in
the future.
Resources from RUS’s electric program
help finance construction of electric dis-
tribution, transmission, and generation
facilities, including repair and replace-
ment projects to improve service in rural
areas. For the most part, loans are made
to cooperatives as well as to corpora-
tions, states, and local governments
that supply the power in rural areas.
Additional grant assistance is provided
to rural communities with exceptionally
high costs to construct, extend, upgrade,
and otherwise improve electric facilities.
RUS also provides loans and grants to
build and expand telecommunications
and broadband networks, which are
now crucial for educational, social, and
economic reasons as well as job creation
and economic growth. Broadband is
increasingly closing the digital divide
between rural and urban communities,
and RUS dollars are helping make that
happen.
Loans to build broadband networks
that deliver service to rural households
and businesses are offered to rural tele-
Inside Washington
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