NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield Remarks at Media Institute

Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, discussed the importance of rural broadband to small-town America and issues of concern to community-based broadband operators, including the Universal Service Fund and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD), at a Communications Forum luncheon at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2024. "I have to highlight what I think has been the most successful rural broadband initiative that has ever existed that flies a little bit under the radar. And that has been the federal High-Cost universal service program," said Bloomfield. "Universal service is the reason the small rural providers, like the ones who belong to our association, have made the kind of progress where over 80 percent of their customers have access to speeds that are comparable to what we are seeking in these new grant programs."