Broadband.

Some of you are already neck deep into this technology business, bringing the fastest speeds to the most remote areas of your service territories. Still more electric cooperatives will never get into the business because their territories have coverage from other businesses.

Regardless of which situation you’re in, we all must agree that broadband technology is a necessity moving forward.

It’s not about Netflix, video games or social media. Today and into the future, reliable broadband is a necessity for working from home, banking, health care, education and other daily life activities.

NRECA was formed in 1942 to help fledgling electric cooperatives navigate federal bureaucracy and politics at all levels of government. NRECA Broadband was formed a few short years ago for the very same purposes. Electric cooperatives who were entering a new world and business model needed a national organization to help them compete with large companies and long entrenched cable businesses. Electric cooperatives who were already in the internet business needed help navigating the changing regulatory challenges (and still do).

The experts on the NRECA Broadband team provide crucial support for both these groups, helping cooperatives navigate compliance issues and avoid substantial costs associated with hiring new specialized staff, potential regulatory fines and legal fees. NRECA Broadband and the staff behind the name are the steady hands at the wheel as those cooperatives forge ahead for the good of their consumer-members and sail into uncharted waters.

NRECA Broadband has been involved in critical policy battles for its 100-plus participants. It has helped streamline the NEPA review process for cooperatives, expanded the definition of internet service provider to cover diverse partnerships and established prior incurred costs as reimbursable under the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund. The NRECA Broadband team is also working to expand the BEAD program, address digital discrimination issues and enhance the Affordable Connectivity Program.

These efforts aim to create a more favorable regulatory environment for cooperative broadband providers, but none of that matters if we don’t have all of our broadband co-ops pushing against the wheel with NRECA Broadband.

The success of these initiatives depends significantly on the collective strength of NRECA’s participant base. The more cooperatives that participate, the stronger our influence in the halls of Congress and federal agencies when it comes to broadband issues.

As we did in 1942, we need to unite together to be stronger, better and more cost effective in all areas. Our numbers have always been our strength. Our broadband numbers could certainly be big enough to make even more of a difference.

If you’re a participant in NRECA Broadband, I thank you.

If you’re not, I ask you to be open minded to exploring the possibility and protecting your investment. Join others who have their shoulder at the wheel in a united effort.

Forming a national association in 1942 didn’t happen overnight. Bringing together every electric cooperative in the broadband business will take some time as well. However, as federal funds go out and private competitors walk the halls of Congress, the clock is ticking. I don’t think we have the luxury of time like we did in the 1940s. The world is moving at a faster pace today. We can keep up by joining together and moving forward as a unified force seeking to install and maintain an essential cost-effective service in every remote corner of our country.

We’ve done it before. Let’s do it again.