Thank you to Sens. Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin, Reps. Paul Ryan, Mark Pocan, Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, Jim Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri, Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble for their bipartisan support of rural telecommunications providers.

 Too much news from Washington, DC is about gridlock and partisan disagreements. In stark contrast, the Wisconsin delegation recently united on issues important to rural telecommunications providers and the communities they serve. On October 24, 2013, our entire delegation signed a letter (tinyurl.com/Wis2013FCC) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) encouraging changes to 2011 FCC reforms that are stifling rural broadband investment. The Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association conducted a survey in 2012 and found that half of Wisconsin’s rural providers are delaying or canceling broadband projects due to the regulatory uncertainty introduced with the 2011 FCC reforms.

 Earlier this year, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association surveyed their national membership and discovered 70 percent of their members are delaying or canceling broadband projects. The delegation letter seeks rational changes to the FCC reforms that will provide rural companies regulatory certainty and encourage additional broadband investments. Again, thank you to Wisconsin’s congressional delegation for their bipartisan support of rural telecommunications providers.

By: Bill Esbeck, Executive Director Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association, Madison

###

Originally published here by: The Oshkosh Northwestern