Public-private partnerships can help rural communities thrive in...
Public-private partnerships can help rural communities thrive in the face of USF reforms that limit federal funds to rural areas, said telecom analyst Craig Settles. The most successful rural broadband initiatives build community support for collaboration among public and private…
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entities, he told ZCorum, a Georgia company that provides network monitoring and diagnostics. In the face of a “worst case” scenario of USF money just disappearing -- or, more likely, new rules that make it difficult for small telcos to qualify for funds -- rural telcos can survive by forming partnerships with local governments, he said in the interview on ZCorum’s web site (http://bit.ly/1dYmV4R). Local governments can “aggregate the demand,” and can “identify and bring to the table customers for the private sector company.” Local governments themselves can be “a primary customer base,” he said.