Rural Connect

NRTC offers Rural Connect as a place for its members and others interested to follow all topics related to communications technology and how it affects rural electric cooperatives and telecommunications providers. NRTC uses this blog to announce and discuss its products and services. NRTC posts all Rural Connect content on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, where you can use the blog to discuss technology, regulatory, legislative and business issues.

Dec 14, 2018

ReConnect Program to Apply $600 Million Toward Rural Broadband

by Randy Sukow

The U.S. Department of Agriculture this morning announced that it is opening a series of filing windows for its new Rural e-Connect (ReConnect) pilot program. The program commits $600 million toward connecting unserved rural areas with broadband at speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps up...

Dec 14, 2018

Telispire Augments Rural Wireless Coverage With Wi-Fi Calling Feature

by Randy Sukow

NRTC’s mobile phone service subsidiary, Telispire, recently added a useful new feature for its rural resellers. Wi-Fi calling allows mobile phone users to tap into a strong Wi-Fi signal to make and receive calls, even in remote areas where cellular signals are weak. Customers of Telispire rese...

Dec 12, 2018

Vote Is Unanimous to Reinvigorate USF, Raise Speed to 25 Mbps

by Randy Sukow

Rural telcos’ transition from landline phone-based services to the digital world featuring primarily internet services has been a tough one. Adjusting to the technology has been the easy part. Financing and dealing with dramatic regulatory change have been the challenges. Today the FCC by a 4-...

Dec 11, 2018

Commission Seeks to Revise Framework for Wireless Disaster Recovery

by Randy Sukow

The FCC is asking for comments not only from wireless carries, but from electric power companies as well, as it considers revising its Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework. The framework is a set of voluntary “best practices” adopted two years ago. Most major wireless carriers have ...

Dec 6, 2018

Microsoft Says It’s Not Just Broadband Availability … Who’s Using It?

by Randy Sukow

Microsoft Corp., which has spent the last 17 months expanding rural broadband coverage by establishing fixed wireless partnerships with providers nationwide, complained earlier this week that there is no accurate measure of broadband usage in rural America today. Estimates based on FCC data suggest ...

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