Accountability for Call Failures is a Step in the Right Direction for the Integrity of U.S. Telecommunications Networks in Rural America

The NTCA is the Rural Broadband Association. They are an association that represents more than 800 independent, community-based telecommunications companies. These companies are leading innovation in rural and small town America. The NTCA is a crusader for its members. It fights in the legislative and regulatory domain. It also provides training, development and a large range of employee benefit programs.

NTCA’s members are leading the IP evolution for rural consumers, delivering technologies that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. Their goal is to make rural America an area for innovation in economic development and commerce, education, healthcare, government services, security and smart energy use.

NTCA has a lot of dealings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They fight to get the best in communication options in the rural areas of the U.S. They have a lot of petitions with the FCC and get a lot of good rulings that help these areas stay connected.

On March 12, 2013, the NTCA released a statement from Shirley Bloomfield. She is the CEO for NTCA. This statement was in response to the FCC’s announcement that Level 3 Communications, LLC, will make a voluntary $975,000 contribution to the U.S. Treasury as part of a consent decree that addresses Level 3’s efforts to route and complete calls to rural communities.

Level 3 Communications is a multinational telecommunications and Internet service provider. Their headquarters are in Broomfield, Colorado. The company provides core transport, IP, voice, video and content delivery for most of the medium to large Internet carriers in North America, Latin America, Europe and selected cities in Asia.

The statement made by Shirley Bloomfield says, “Today’s action by the FCC is an important step on behalf of countless rural Americans and loved ones of rural Americans who have suffered the frustration or fear of a call not completing because of circumstances beyond their control. I applaud the FCC for taking definitive action to demand accountability in the routing and completion of calls to rural communities and to promote the integrity and reliability of the nation’s telecommunications networks. I hope today’s announcement is the first of many to come as the FCC seeks to send a message regarding the fundamental duties expected of telecommunications providers. With the commission’s continued vigilance and intervention, there will hopefully come a time when these kinds of actions are no longer needed. But we are certainly not there yet.”