This is traditionally the time when the incoming chairman provides his leadership address. He…or she…shares their vision for the coming year. Some years are easier than others. Now, it seems that the job of being OPASTCO chairman is to strengthen our industry to prepare it for even greater challenges ahead.

What do you do when the prairie dogs chew up your fiber network in Ulysses, Kansas?

(Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from 2011 OPASTCO Chairman Ron Laudner’s Leadership Address at OPASTCO’s 48th Annual Winter Convention in January in Miami.) Opportunity can be defined in several different ways. Many of them involve words like “risk” and “uncertainty,” but all of them refer to a “positive” outcome.

Today at noon, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives began the first session of the 112th Congress by swearing in new and returning members.

The ramifications of the National Broadband Plan’s (NBP) proposed changes to the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation have, appropriately, seized the attention of carriers nationwide. Even as proceedings related to the NBP’s implementation are underway, developments in the video sector continue to unfold.

The August recess is a golden opportunity to talk to your members of Congress about, and perhaps show them, how the National Broadband Plan will affect their constituents.

In January 2010, Lou Mize of ElectriCom was recognized as OPASTCO’s Grassroots Advocacy Excellence Award winner. After attending the OPASTCO/WTA 2009 Legislative & Regulatory Conference, Mize wrote an article on his lobbying efforts in his “View from the Road” column in ElectriCom’s newsletter. Here is an excerpt from that article.

Excerpts from 2010 Chairman Catherine Moyer’s Leadership Address at the OPASTCO Winter Convention, January 2010

The FCC just announced that 93 million Americans are not connected to high-speed Internet connections at home. It’s written in black and white in the FCC’s latest National Broadband Plan Consumer Survey, “Broadband Adoption and Use in America.” But how will policymakers and lawmakers ensure that each and every one of these 93 million Americans is given the same opportunity to join the digital economy?

Is your state PUC questioning your company’s OPASTCO membership and whether or not it’s a legitimate expense on the state level? Here's how your dues hit home.