MTA Annual Meeting Rural Telecommunications' A National Asset'

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MTA Annual Meeting Rural
Telecommunications. A National Asset.
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WSU CBDD Goal

• Enable Creative Application of Modern Information
  Technology to
• Create Jobs
• Build Sustainable Communities
• Empower Productive Collaboration

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Presentation Overview

• Why Care About Erosion of Potential Comparable
  Communications Access Throughout America?
• A Quiet Revolution Digital Technologies
  Creating a New Urban-Rural Interdependence
• The New Economy and How Rural America Can Succeed
  by Creating a Team of Rivals

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Why Care About Potential Erosion of Comparable
Access?

• Proven success of comparable telecom capability
  as a cornerstone of the national economy for the
  past 100 years ?
• Explicitly required by Congress
  Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Americans desire to be connected wherever they
  are at 24/7

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Information Jobs Are 75 of Todays Economy

• Help desk customer service
• Language translation/interpretation services
• Medical transcription medical coding
• Web site development/maintenance
• Financial services
• Back office operations
• Writing/editing
• Research/evaluation
• Software development
• Insurance claims processing
• Project management

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How Jobs are Created

• Businesses establish a
• rural satellite office
• Businesses hire rural
• teleworkers
• Businesses relocate to a
• rural area
• Entrepreneurs start a rural business
• Rural businesses provide outsource services
• Rural businesses expand services

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Winning Community Strategies For The New Economy

• Accept nothing less than state-of-the art
  telecommunications infrastructure
• Develop, attract and retain the best educated
  workforce
• Cultivate people with creative ideas, wealth and
  networks
• Protect and enhance rural amenities

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WSU Rural e-Work Assistance

• Goals
• Support regional competitiveness and long-term
  rural economic development
• Build capacity of rural communities to create
  information-based jobs
• Educate employers and facilitate partnerships
  with communities

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Participating Communities
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Leffel, Otis Warwickwww.leffelotisworwick.com

• Accounting Financial Services
• Four full-time offices Davenport, Wilbur,
  Odessa Ritzville
• Five part-time offices Harrington, St. John,
  Sprague, Coulee City Fairfield
• Established in 1953
• 40 employees
• Major client base
• agriculture construction

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NCTeleservewww.ncteleserve.com

• Customer Technical Support
• Winthrop, WA
• Established in 2000
• 25 employees
• Customers include
• IBM
• Ambassador Group
• Centiricity
• Altrec
• HomeMovie.Com

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Earth Sky Studioswww.earthandskystudies.com

• Web Design/Development Marketing
• Twisp, WA
• 4 employees subcontractors state-wide
• Clients include business, government,
  nonprofits

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Language Line Serviceswww.languageline.com

• Language translation/interpretation
• Teleworker in Forks, WA
• Established in 1982
• Serves customers
• worldwide
• Highly qualified staff
• telework from all over
• the country

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HomeMovie.Comwww.homemovie.com

• Video Preservation to DVD
• Winthrop, WA
• Moved from Everett,
• WA in 2003
• 12 employees and
• growing
• Received Senator Murray Golden Tennis Shoe Award

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TextPRO Writing Serviceswww.textpro.biz

• Business Writing Services
• Sekiu, WA
• Clients include local newspapers to large East
  Coast companies
• Helped Develop Rural Case Studies

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Inspired Universitywww.inspiredu.com

• On-line Training
• Oroville, WA
• Established in 2003
• 7 employees
• Educators nation-
• wide teaching
• students nation-wide
• Introducing a new web-video product

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Bear Creek Lumberwww.bearcreeklumber.com

• Specialty Lumber
• Winthrop, WA
• Established in 1977
• 14 employees
• Family owned and operated
• Embraced ICT to expand customer base throughout
  the world

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Washington Dental Servicewww.deltadentalwa.com

• Dental Claims Processing
• Colville, WA
• Established in 2002
• 90 employees by
• end of 2005
• 1 million savings in
• 3 years of operation

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Montana Very Well Positioned

• A reported 80 percent of RLEC telephone
  customers with broadband access
• Extensive VisionNet IP Overlay
• Many rural MT communities are a magnet for VRP
  (Jackson, Havre, Whitefish, Big Sky, Wisdom.and
  more!)
• Pixar Entertainment in Kalispell
• Graphic Designer in Virginia City
• Many, Many small business entrepreneurs

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New Realities

• The Availability of Comparable Telecommunications
  In ALL Regions of the Nation Benefits BOTH Urban
  and Rural Populations
• Competitive business positioning
• Rural workforce are a national asset
• Second and third homes for the wealthy
• Connections while recreating
• Americans desire choice of where they live, work,
  learn and play

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Advancing Universal Service for Todays
Interconnected Nation

• Universal service vs. universal access
• Clearly articulate National interest in Universal
  Access to modern telecommunications what do we
  desire from our national network in the year
  2016?
• Empower the voice of consumers within regulatory
  and policy processes
• Strength through Team of Rivals making the
  business model work for rural investment

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Summary

• Up-to-date modern telecommunications available to
  ALL Americans in a critical National asset, not
  just a rural benefit.
• Todays information driven economy
• Creates new economic opportunities for our rural
  communities
• Is a basis for new unlikely allies who care about
  the future of rural communities and rural
  telecommunications
• No-one is more credible or better positioned to
  get the word out than rural telephone companies