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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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