Rural Telecommunications articles from May 2003

Rural Telecommunications archives from May 2003

Trying times. (From the Editor).
May 1, 2003... The rural telecom industry is facing mounting challenges, from questions about the continued viability of the Universal Service Fund, to shrinking revenues from access charges, to a drumbeat of changes in legislations and regulations that keep...

All in a day's work. (Short Takes).
May 1, 2003... Enlisting employees to improve their work process will heighten the quality of the goods and services being offered, and, ultimately, the level of customer satisfaction. To achieve this, companies should turn to the Japanese strategy called...

Hitting the jackpot. (Short Takes).
May 1, 2003... Online gaming looks to be the newest revenue-sparking frontier, with hundreds of millions--and eventually billions--of dollars up for grabs, according to a new study by In-Stat/MDR. Looking at it conservatively, even a moderate number of...

Networking for success. (Short Takes).
May 1, 2003... Shaking hands and taking back to the office a fistful of business cards won't cinch the networking experience, and it won't likely turn contacts into customers. Karen Susman, a speaker, author and presentation skills coach, equates...

Workplace violence red flags. (Short Takes).
May 1, 2003... Numerous studies of workplace violence have provided enough information to build a psychological profile of someone who may be likely to commit an act of violence. Robert Siciliano, a speaker, personal security consultant and president of three...

Creative makeovers: reinventing the telephone booth. (Perspective).
May 1, 2003... European and Asian wireless penetration levels for years have been well ahead of those in the United States. Mobile wireless technology has won over customers worldwide by providing a new level of communications freedom and convenience that is...

What can the FCC do to help rural telcos run a successful business in today's environment? (First Person).
May 1, 2003... "The topic foremost on our minds is universal service and what could potentially happen to it," said John Magyar, general manager of Triangle Telephone Cooperative Association (Havre, Mont.) and Rick Stevens. Magyar will be retiring in...

Jonathan Adelstein: A rural voice at the FCC.(Interview)
May 1, 2003... Step into FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein's office, and it becomes clear that he is a friend of rural America. The first thing to catch the eye is a 4-by-5 painting of his home state of South Dakota-a pretty good indicator that he is proud...

Full speed ahead: broadband gains momentum in rural America.
May 1, 2003... Who has a greater likelihood of having high-speed Internet access--a suburbanite or a farmer? Think twice before answering because this is a trick question. When policy wonks and pundits talk about the digital divide, many people assume that...

Star quality: one rural telco's broadband story.
May 1, 2003... Despite the high-tech meltdown, the lure of the Internet continues to grow. That attraction is now intertwined with the promise of faster and faster connections afforded by high-speed broadband access. In an important sense, technology has...

A broad vision: small-town company dispenses big-time communications.
May 1, 2003... Back in the early 1990s, Montana's small towns were facing a crisis not unfamiliar to many small towns in rural America--a declining population due to the out-migration of its citizens. Many factors attributed to this situation: drought, a poor...

Future bound: satisfying tomorrow's customers, today.
May 1, 2003... Sometimes operating a successful company is as much about seeing into the future, as it is about putting in hard work. The independent telephone industry is no different. With access rates falling and the use of wireless telephones rising, a...

Trade show know-how: turning prospects into sales. (Business Matters).
May 1, 2003... Small, rural telcos may never participate in a national trade show, but many companies and cooperatives display their services and products at regional and local business shows, county fairs and other public events. As with any investment,...

Safety: it's no accident. (Risk Manager).
May 1, 2003... Throughout history, there have been many codes that regulate business and commerce. Whether you trace the roots of insurance and the principles of risk management back to King Hammurabi's Code of Law in 1780 BC, or to the small London coffee...

2003 NTCA TeleChoice Awards. (Winners Circle).
May 1, 2003... Presented in these pages are the winning entries in the fifth annual NTCA TeleChoice Awards. The TeleChoice Award winners were honored during the PRNet conference April 27-29 in New Orleans. As in past years, the competition was intense as...

The 'buzz' about universal service. (Executive Viewpoint).
May 1, 2003... Universal service seems to be the buzz phrase among policy-makers on Capitol Hill and regulators at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). At our 2003 Legislative & Policy Conference in March, every panelist and congressional speaker on...