In this guest author post from former RUS Administrator and Vice Chair of Broadband Communities Magazine Hilda Legg, Hilda invites readers to join her at the Rural Telecommunications Congress this week at the Broadband Communities Summit in Dallas, TX.

Tom Cohen provides this week's update on ICC and USF reform, explaining some of the plan's detail that are now available including new Bill & Keep rules as well as CAF funds for rate-of-return and price-cap carriers.

Guest author Tom Cohen of Kelley Drye & Warren provides us with an update on yesterday's USF & ICC reform announcements and lets us know what can we expect to see in the coming days and weeks.

An FCC notice of inquiry filed on August 5 seeks to address six different questions related to measuring broadband and its deployment. Solutions director Juan Vela believes that if this inquiry is to have any real market impact, it will require hard data and a critical look at broadband around the world to be credible. What benchmark is he advocating?

Guest author and industry analyst Craig Settles examines public-private partnerships that can take many forms and potential partners that can come from unexpected places. Thinking outside the PPP box could set your community on a path to great broadband success because there likely exists in your community businesses that share a common vision for  fiber.



The U.S. Ignite program could lead not only to innovation but to disruptive applications that change the face of future broadband usage. What do those disruptive services look like and what are the three key factors that you should be paying attention to to monetize them?

What could Gigabit Speed Ethernet mean to the future of broadband-connected rural communities? A new program, U.S. Ignite, that's been created by White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is developing partnerships between universities and communication service providers like you to explore the possibilities.