WTA Members Visit FCC and Congress

This week, WTA members Deborah Rand and David Shipley of USConnect and Robert Johnson and Troy Radermacher of Dickey Rural Networks visited Washington, DC and held meetings with the FCC and Congress. In meetings with the Wireline Competition Bureau, Amy Bender (Commissioner O’Rielly), Jamie Susskind (Commissioner Carr), and Travis Litman (Commissioner Rosenworcel) the WTA members discussed the sufficiency of the USF budget and its importance to the future of their networks. They also discussed the recently released NPRM at length and highlighted possible issues that may arise if an A-CAM company were to acquire a rate-of-return company and vice-versa. In a meeting with the Media Bureau, WTA members described their significant troubles attaining reasonably priced content and the negative impact it is having on their video services and companies. On Capitol Hill, WTA members met with several offices and described the work they’ve done to bring broadband to their rural communities and what can be done to ensure they continue on the progress made.