A new century for USTA: Centennial convention applauds past, prepares for future

Amid the daily shake-ups and put-downs in the telecom industry, the United States Telephone Association will pause just long enough to relish its members' historic accomplishments.

The USTA convention will descend on the Chicago Hilton and Towers Oct. 26-29, four blocks north of the Palmer House Hilton where the 1200-member association was born. The convention theme, "Creating Tomorrow's History," reflects an agenda chock-full of advice on how to weather today's tough regulatory and competitive battles. But it also allots time for the carriers to recognize the contributions they have made to education, universal service and their communities' economic well-being.

"This group of companies is still brought together by a long history of community commitment, and making sure that everyone who wanted a phone got one," said Elizabeth Brooks, USTA's vice president of communications. "While many supporters have made that happen, our companies have been on the front line. That's a tie that continues to bind."

But nostalgia will give way to reality when workshops convene on topics ranging from "The Virtual Marketplace-Commerce Over the Internet" to "Attack of the Killer Competitors: Friend or Foe?"

Other timely topics include the growth of wireless networks, strategies for dealing with municipalities' franchise fees, local ordinances and rights-of-way access, and how carriers can take advantage of the restructured universal service fund that targets schools and libraries for Internet access.

One panel discussion about convergence is slated to include John Sidgmore, president and chief executive officer of UUNet Technologies, whose parent, WorldCom, is making an unsolicited bid to acquire MCI.

The convention also will see USTA Chairman Lee Schmidt, vice president of industry affairs at GTE Telephone Operations, end his one-year tenure. His successor is Frank Hilsabeck, chairman and CEO of Aliant Communications, Lincoln, Neb.