Mapcom and rural telecommunications providers discuss challenges of future rural broadband investment with Congress.
April 18, 2014 – RICHMOND, VA – Representatives from Mapcom Systems, a leading provider of visual operations management software, accompanied board members and managers from rural telecommunications providers from across the country to meet with their respective Congressional representatives and staff in Washington, D.C. last week.
Mapcom representatives John Granger, Chuck Flournoy, Donna Leigh, David Hunsucker and Tom Nation accompanied representatives from several customers and other communications providers to discuss the need for Universal Service Fund (USF) reform as well as support for standalone broadband. They also spoke with their delegates about the importance of broadband for rural business development and growth, and the significant role small communications providers throughout the U.S. play in delivering consumers affordable broadband services. The members of the Mapcom team met with key members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate and their staffs in support of customers and other providers hailing from Virginia, Illinois, Oklahoma and Utah.
The communications providers and Mapcom representatives urged their respective congressional delegates to help them continue to provide the services their communities need at an affordable rate by ensuring that USF and intercarrier compensation reforms do not deter future broadband investments in rural America and penalize small businesses that have already invested.
Service providers and Mapcom representatives were in Washington participating in the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association’s Legislative & Policy Conference, April 6-9. More than 500 Association members from around the country gathered in the nation’s capital for educational briefings about emerging rules & regulations and to take part in visits to policy-makers on Capitol Hill and the FCC.
About Mapcom Systems
Mapcom Systems is the developer of M4 Solutions – a visual operations platform that allows service providers to manage their workforce, as well as fiber, coax, wireless and copper networks, including both outside and inside plant at the physical and logical levels. M4 Solutions enables users to integrate and correlate data from existing billing, accounting, GPS tracking, element management, network monitoring and vehicle-tracking applications in a powerful visual interface to all network elements. Since 1971, Mapcom has worked with independents, cooperatives, fiber communities, and campus communications service 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:
Sharon Kessinger
804-743-1860 x322