Mapcom meets with congressional representatives to discuss challenges to future rural broadband investment.
April 29, 2013 – RICHMOND, VA – Representatives from Mapcom Systems, a leading provider of visual operations management software, accompanied representatives from Pembroke Telephone Cooperative, Scott County Telephone Cooperative and Buggs Island Telephone Cooperative and met with the offices of Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and Congressman Eric Cantor in Washington, D.C. last week to discuss the significant role small communications providers in Virginia play in delivering consumers affordable broadband services.
Mapcom representatives John Granger, Donna Granger and Tom Nation accompanied Scott County, Pembroke and Buggs Island representatives to speak about the importance of broadband for rural business development and growth. They also discussed the ways in which broadband brings education, public safety, telemedicine, and other opportunities to rural consumers. The group provided an overview of their service areas in Virginia and highlighted the types of services they provide to businesses and consumers in the community. They also pointed out the number of jobs they provide in the state and other services that contribute to the area’s economic development.
Scott County, Pembroke, Buggs Island and Mapcom representatives urged their congressional delegates to help them continue to provide the services their community needs at an affordable rate by ensuring that Universal Service Fund (USF) and intercarrier compensation reforms do not deter future broadband investments in rural America and penalize small businesses that have already invested. They explained that cuts to this important fund are putting existing investments in rural broadband at risk and discouraging future investment in new broadband-capable networks by small companies, which may lead to increased rates for telephone, broadband, and other services.
Scott County, Pembroke, Buggs Island and Mapcom representatives were in Washington to participate in the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association’s Legislative & Policy Conference, April 22-24. More than 500 rural telecom representatives from around the country gathered in the nation’s capitol 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
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