Blog

This New Gizmo Will Catch Your Eye

Daily, new devices roll out of the “gizmosphere,” hyped with promises big and small.  More often than not, they elicit a “seen-that-done-that,” or “Are they crazy,” reaction. That’s how I felt about Google Glass, the spectacles that promise a usable and wearable network connection.  I ho-hummed the latest Google thing until I watched the Google [...]

Recognizing the Generous Hearts of NISC’s Employees

One of my favorite things about working at NISC is the selfless generosity of our employees.  It reminds me of this reflection on an attitude of gratitude: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can [...]

One Plus One Equals Three

This past week, the members of the two national associations representing independent telecom systems wisely voted to unify their organizations and efforts. The member votes, cast in early February at the combined annual meetings of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) and the Organization for the Protection and Advancement of Small Telephone Companies (OPASTCO), signals [...]

NISC Ahead of the Curve: Innovations for Tomorrow, Today

The Rural Telecom Industry Meeting and Expo is just a week away. NISC will have a very strong presence at the conference, and our entire focus will be on you. Our goal is to bring you innovations that will increase efficiencies, empower your customers and distance your telecom from the competition. Please plan to join [...]

Doing More With Less: An Industry Theme That NISC Supports

As we move into 2013, there seems to be a greater emphasis on costs. Whether it is operational cost or capital expenditures, magazines, websites, blogs and seminars are focused on the expense side of the operation. If you take a look at issues of NTCA’s Rural Telecom magazine and NRECA’s RE Magazine from this past [...]

The Dog Days of Summer

You may have often heard the term the “Dog Days of Summer,” which are typically used in reference to July and August.  According to Wikipedia, this comes from the belief that the Dog Star was close to the sun in proximity at this point in the year.   This summer, much of the country has felt [...]

Smarter Customer Service Leads to Greater Efficiency

In today’s competitive market, the use of smart devices and web portals – which engage your customers by allowing them to maintain and enhance services – are imperative in the hopes to retain your current customers, attract new customers and in some cases differentiate you from the competition. The traditional approach for providing service is [...]

Staying In Touch, It Means So Much

In early July, NISC hosted a “Tablet Cafe” at the annual Forum held by the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Cooperative (CFC). CFC hosted a great event and we were pleased to support CFC by providing attendees wireless Internet service. We’re glad we did. Granted, our goal was to show-off our new NISC utility “apps” [...]

FCC Third Order on Reconsideration Affecting Reporting Requirements

On May 14, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted and released a Third Order on Reconsideration FCC 12-52 which affects reporting requirements defined in section 54.313 of the FCC Universal Service Fund (USF)/ Intercarrier Compensation (ICC) Reform Order FCC 11-161. The Third Order on Reconsideration FCC 12-52 was filed in the Federal Register on [...]

FCC FNPRM Universal Service Contribution Methodology

There have been concerns in the industry regarding the increase of the Universal Service contribution factor over the past number of years.  As of second quarter 2012 this factor is 17.4%.  This is one of the reasons for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)  Universal Service Fund (USF)/ Intercarrier Compensation (ICC) Reform Order FCC 11-161. In [...]