Mapcom Meets with Members of Congress to Discuss Broadband Reform
Attends urgent NTCA ‘Fly-in’ in Washington to express concern about proposed USF reform
July 28, 2011 – RICHMOND, VA – Representatives from Mapcom Systems, a leading provider of Geographical Operations System (GOS) software, accompanied by over 100 rural local exchange carrier (RLEC) representatives, assembled in Washington, D.C. as part of an effort to meet with representatives from across the U.S. Mapcom’s representatives visited with the offices of Sen. Webb, and Reps. Cantor, Forbes, Hurt and Wittman on July 13 to discuss the significant role that rural communications providers play in delivering affordable broadband services to consumers.
The National Telecommunications Cooperatives Association (NTCA) organized the ‘Fly-in’ meeting so that its members could express specific concerns about the potential impact of rural broadband reform with members of Congress and the FCC. RLEC representatives participated in this effort to discuss the importance of broadband to their local economy and educate policymakers on the importance of Universal Service Funds (USF).
Mapcom representatives Scott Combs and Tom Nation spoke with members of Congress about the reform of the federal USF as more of a grand experiment than a focused effort to update and fine-tune a system that has worked well. Also discussed was how the reform being considered could devastate the nation’s RLECs, the small businesses that provide telecommunications services to some of the highest-cost, hardest-to-serve areas. It will mean the elimination of broadband Internet access in some of the more remote corners of the United States. Beyond the impact on telecommunications providers, there will be a ripple effect that will extend into the supporting industries.
In a related effort to educate Congress and the public about broadband reform currently under consideration, on July 14 in Washington, D.C., U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) and U.S. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) joined the effort led by a group of rural telecom associations to urge the FCC to promote and preserve sustainable broadband access for rural customers. The rural telecom associations included the NTCA, the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) and Western Telecommunications Alliance (WTA). These associations have launched a campaign of advertising and social media efforts intended to educate consumers and members of Congress about the consequences of rule changes currently under consideration, and how these proposals would adversely affect rural consumers and small business. For more information regarding this educational campaign, go to www.SaveRuralBroadband.org.
About Mapcom Systems
Mapcom Systems is the developer of M4 Solutions – a map-based Geographical Operations System (GOS) software suite that allows telecommunications providers to enhance their information flow by displaying data in a geographic view. The open-system approach enables users to integrate and correlate data from existing billing, accounting, GPS tracking, element management, network monitoring and vehicle tracking applications with a geographically-correct land base map of all network elements in M4. Since 1971, Mapcom has worked with independents, cooperatives, fiber communities, and campus telecommunications providers of all sizes across the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean. For more information, visit the Mapcom website at www.mapcom.com.
Media Contact:
Scott Combs
804-743-1860 x262