HBC honored, participates in events of distinction

Publication Date: August 24, 2009

Labeled one of the nation’s best telecommunications companies by both the venerable Benton Foundation and Broadband Properties magazine, Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Inc. (HBC) on Aug. 12 capped a summer of distinction by providing advice to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the construction of a national broadband policy.
HBC was among a handful of companies – and the smallest selected – to provide advice to the Commission as it began research into the elements that should be included in the national policy the FCC is charged with developing before the end of 2009.
HBC President and CEO Gary Evans was among nine company executives to discuss how best to accommodate the broadband needs of “un-served and underserved” areas of the nation, generally in rural America, during a discussion at commission headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was one of a series of such discussion that kicked off the research phase of the program.
FCC official Ian Dillner, organizer of the rural America panel, noted after the session that “your participation led to a lively discussion.”
Dillner also noted that video archives and transcripts of the workshop are being created. The transcript for the Deployment: Un-served/Underserved workshop, he said, is now available on the workshop webpage: http://www.broadband.gov/ws_deployment_unserved.html.
“It certainly was an honor to be selected to participate,” said Evans. “I think that’s indicative of the esteem in which HBC is held by companies and organizations across the nation. It is becoming pretty commonplace for HBC staffers to be asked to comment on issues of national importance because of the work our company has done in rural America.”
Evans pointed out that HBC is the smallest of the nation’s “overbuilders,” or companies that provide competition to entrenched incumbents (such as Qwest and Charter, in the case of Winona). In addition, HBC is the only such company that is profitable.
“We get many requests from researchers to study what we do,” said Evans, “because people cannot believe that we are profitable, given our rural focus, and the fact that we expend many more dollars-per-customer on customer service than our competitors and the fact that we are only such company that invests in local programming.”
“We believe those things are the reasons for our success,” said Evans. “We point out always that we aren’t perfect, but that we work hard to be a little bit better each day. That message was heard by the FCC officials, and I expect the policy to include stringent customer service standards. That will be very good for consumers and we will be proud to have had a role in making it happen.”
Earlier, HBC was singled out by the Benton Foundation, which works to ensure that media and telecommunications serve the public interest and enhance our democracy, to present its story at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C. The activity was labeled “Best in Breed Companies Discuss Broadband Deployment.” It was designed to provide advice to the government on how best to use federal stimulus funds earmarked for broadband development.
“With the potential to jumpstart the massive investment needed to build America's information infrastructure for the next century, the $7.2 billion for broadband contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act merits great attention,” said Charles Benton, foundation president. “That is why the Benton Foundation on May 7 held the session that highlighted innovative deployment and sustainable use projects already at work to bridge the broadband divides between rich and poor, urban and rural. The event featured presentations from experts in the field of broadband and included question and answer sessions.”
Evans participated in the session, again talking about things that should not be forgotten as the stimulus dollars are awarded, beginning this fall. Just as he did in his session at the FCC, he insisted that the appetite for service in rural America is voracious, that it is fertile territory for applications development and that its economy is dependent upon high-speed connectivity.
Audio and visual reports on the presentation can be found at: http://www.benton.org.
In addition, HBC in July was named to its Top 100 list by the prestigious Broadband Properties magazine.
The Top 100 list, according to the magazine, “is an elite group of companies that have been researched by our editors, investors and writers. They've looked into what your company has done over the year and they feel that your company is worth writing about.” The magazine plans to share the HBC story with its readers.”

It has been an unbelievable summer,” said Evans. “Obviously all of us at HBC are very proud of the things we have accomplished. And we recognize that without our customers, none of the attention would have occurred.”