New NTCA chief: Universal Service is 'lifeblood' for small telcos

Shirley Bloomfield gave Connected Planet one of her first interviews since assuming her new position as CEO of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association earlier this month. Bloomfield spent 21 years with the NTCA between 1986 and 2001, rising to vice president of government affairs and association services. She has rejoined the organization after stints as senior vice president of federal relations for Qwest and vice president of federal relations for Verizon.

Bloomfield said her return to the NTCA has “reopened her eyes” to the importance of Universal Service funding for small telcos. Unlike with Verizon, which has many revenue streams, she said Universal Service and access charges are a “lifeblood” to NTCA members.

Bloomfield addressed a gamut of issues that are top of mind for small telcos:

On the 4 Mb/s target for the proposed broadband fund and a potential urban/rural gap:

“A national goal of 100 megabits per second is a great goal. We spend about 100 billion dollars a year on the federal highway system. If you look at the high-cost portion of Universal Service, which is about four billion dollars, even if you simply doubled it with the goal of making 100 megabits per second a nationwide goal, that’s a drop in the bucket in comparison. Networks are evolutionary. You have to continue to increase capacity.”

On the proposal to eliminate rate of return regulation:

“Our members have very unique costs. If you go to a price cap model, you’re assuming that what [applies to] a cooperative in Alaska will be the same for a cooperative in Virginia. Some areas have less density and some have hundreds of miles for backhaul. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work for rural telcos. To move [away from] a system where you already have a great track record and a sector of the industry that’s really committed to investing and to move to a system where the incentive is questionable is contrary to what this administration would like to achieve.

“The state of Illinois public utilities commission put rules in place that said, ‘If you want to go to price cap you can.’ To allow [carriers] to make that decision based on their own circumstances would be more judicious than a flash cut.”

Access charge reform:

“This has to be done as part of a complete picture. How do you do it so there are replacement mechanisms? I hope we will have everyone sitting around the table and participating in those discussions. It needs to be done holistically.”

Tactics she would use to influence policymakers:

“They all need to come out to rural America. I say that only partially jokingly. You really do get a Washington bubble. People in Washington look at things very academically.”

New revenue opportunities for small telcos:

“A segment of our membership provides wireless service. Some do it under their own spectrum, some through a license agreement and some as an MVNO. [There may be] opportunities in home security and different and innovative meter reading. I find the smart grid really intriguing. It’s all about using the broadband network to be more energy efficient. We also have some folks that are getting into data storage.”

Her biggest goals for the NTCA:

“I continue to be amazed at how hard [members] work and what they do for their community. At the end of the day I want to be sure they have the ability to continue to do what they do. They feel a very strong obligation to the survival of rural America. We have a vested interest in assuring technologies are brought to rural America.

“If 10 years from now I’m able to look and say ‘Our members continue to do great things in terms of economic stimulus and development in these communities,’ I would tell you my main goal has been achieved.”