Mike Romano: Embracing change is going to be, we’re going to have to do things differently than we did before. We’re going to have to, both NTCA and its members. And then pushing for innovation, we’re going to have to go into that mindset of embracing change, but then execute on it, so pushing innovation. What are ways we can do things differently?
How are we willing to figure out novel approaches to doing things in the advocacy front, for example, or in the business front for our members? Then helping members help themselves. This is almost the most important part of this puzzle for me. Ultimately, they’re going to succeed on their own merits in their marketplaces based upon challenges they face, and they’re all different.
Jeff Johnston: That was Mike Romano, the newly appointed CEO of NTCA, about some of the strategic priorities he has for the organization and its members. Hi, I’m Jeff Johnston. Welcome to the All Day Digital podcast, where we talk to industry executives and thought leaders to get their perspective on a wide range of factors shaping the digital infrastructure market. This podcast is brought to you by CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange group.
I am really excited for Mike, the team at NTCA, and all NTCA members. I think the board made the right call when they appointed Mike to succeed Shirley Bloomfield, who, by the way, did an incredible job leading the organization for over 15 years.
Given the importance of this role for rural America and rural broadband operators, I invited Mike onto the podcast to talk about his vision, goals and priorities for NTCA, and I wanted to understand what he is excited about and what keeps him up at night. In typical Mike fashion, he did not disappoint. Without any further ado, pitter-patter, let’s see what Mike has to say.
Mike Romano, great to see you again. Thank you so much for agreeing to come on to the podcast. Hey, again, congratulations on your new role. I’m really excited for you. I think the NTCA board made the right decision, I truly believe that, in bringing you on to lead the organization, so congratulations. I’m very excited for you and NTCA.
Romano: Well, thank you, Jeff. It’s great to be here. Really appreciate the invitation and appreciate as well your kind words and wishes as we go into this. I’m excited about the board having selected me. It was actually helpful for me to go through what was a rather lengthy and robust search process in order to figure this out. It actually was helpful to me in terms of learning a lot about where the board’s priorities were and talking to a lot of members going through it. Incredibly helpful and incredibly excited to be here, and got a great handoff from Shirley Bloomfield, who’s allowed me to hit the ground running.
Johnston: Yes. Well, you got big shoes to fill.
Romano: Yes, absolutely, but the great part is we worked together for so long. Really, the ability to pick up where she’s left off and think about what I want to do next and where the industry is, and we’ve talked about it a lot. The industry’s evolving quickly, so it’s an exciting time to come into this. I’m sure we’ll talk about where the industry is and what it’s going to need to do next, and so I’m super excited about the fact that I get to sit in this chair now and help this industry move forward.
Johnston: I think you made a good point. I think that just the continuity of you stepping in to lead the organization, given your relationship with Shirley and everything you’ve seen and your knowledge of the industry and what lies ahead, I think, just makes a lot of sense -- beyond the fact that you’re, of course, very capable of doing it as well. Again, thanks for coming on. Getting us started here, maybe give us a perspective around what is your vision for NTCA over the next three to five years? More specifically, do you have any kind of goals or main priorities as you shape your view of the organization?
Romano: Yes, let me actually start with the second half of that question, which is the goals and priorities. I’m coming in. We’re almost literally smack dab in the middle of a three-year strategic plan the NTCA board articulated after a lot of workshopping with the membership over time. There are three goals in that that we’re going to continue to carry forward. We’re actually going to be spending time at our summer business conference, summer board meeting, talking about where we are on that plan, starting to think about how we get ahead of the need to set the next plan starting in 2028, basically, and things we might even want to consider about the aspects of the plan we have right now. That plan, really, I think, at its heart, contains three goals or three priorities.
The first is for NTCA to occupy a position of leadership in the rural broadband space. I think that’s something that we’ve done quite well over time, maintaining a unified voice. One of the things I think we’ve done very well, and I’ve obviously played a big part in this in the past, is in our advocacy and our surround sound, making sure that there’s not just a direct lobbying or regulatory filings, but the broader strokes of communication strategy and the PR and the surround sound, building strong relations with third-party groups, building strong relationships with rural-oriented folks like CoBank, for example, mission-driven organizations as well. And then just raising awareness of the importance of rural broadband and the important role that community-based providers play in that.
Then, the second goal is focusing on the future of Universal Service. Obviously, that’s been highlighted as the North Star of the association. It’s something that all of our members have at least some shared interest in. That’s something that we’re very focused on as well. Obviously, again, something I’ve really been a big part of in the past, thinking through, what are the scenarios that could play out in the future for Universal Service? It’s a constant top-of-mind issue for us. We have a lot of, I think, creative ideas and thoughtful ideas about how to go about reforming Universal Service, updating it for a 21st-century program.
Then, the last strategic goal that the NTCA board articulated in the plan is evolving our membership. That comes in two flavors. The first is evolving, where the Rural Broadband Association, so who are all the rural broadband providers out there, both those who historically have been in the space. Then how can we interact with those who are looking to come to the table, be in sympathy and accord with those who’ve been in our membership historically, really focused on serving those communities and those consumers, first and foremost, and then helping our membership evolve. We have Smart Rural Community. We have CyberShare. We have an MVNO partnership that we’ve got in place. How do we help those members get themselves ready to position better in the marketplace to compete and thrive going forward. That’s the strategic goal piece of it.
Stepping back to my vision, what I articulated to the NTCA board during the search process, and I communicated to our membership at our time, where I wasn’t yet the CEO, but it was an opportunity to interface with the membership, articulated a three-part narrative, which is embracing change, pushing innovation, and helping members help themselves. On each of those, I think that dovetails with the strategic plan but also looks to carry forward.
That’s one of the things I think with this handoff from Shirley to me. It’s an opportunity where I can build upon what she’s done. We’re going to have to evolve further and change things further. That’s really what I’m trying to drive our team to do in service of our members and help our members think through differently. Embracing change is going to be, we’re going to have to do things differently than we did before. We’re going to have to, both NTCA and its members.
Then, pushing for innovation is, we’re going to have to go into that mindset of embracing change, but then execute on it, so pushing innovation. What are ways we can do things differently? How are we willing to figure out novel approaches to doing things in the advocacy front, for example, or in the business front for our members? Then helping members help themselves. This is almost the most important part of this puzzle for me, is I want to make sure our members, ultimately, they’re going to succeed on their own merits in their marketplaces based upon challenges they face. And they’re all different.
What we can do is give our members tools, resources, and things like that, that they can choose from a menu to position themselves for success. Some may need more focus on CyberShare. Some may need more focus on Universal Service. Some may need more focus on Smart Rural Community. What’s the menu of things we can do to put our members in the best position as possible to compete in a rapidly evolving environment?
Johnston: I love that, Mike. A very comprehensive priority set by the board, which I love. But more specifically, your talk of embracing change, I think, is spot-on. The way technology is moving, whether it’s satellite internet or fixed wireless or bundling, and you mentioned the MVNO offering, things are moving a lot faster now than they ever have. I don’t think it’s going to slow down. What impact is AI going to have on all this? Who really knows? Nonetheless, what we do know is technology is changing quickly. The disruptive nature of the technology is something that I think we all need to be aware of, so I applaud you for that. I think that makes a lot of sense.
Romano: Thanks. Yes, and you’re right. I think about embracing change. You’re right. Change comes in multiple flavors itself. There’s certainly the regulatory change that, historically, a lot of people thought about, regulatory uncertainty, which is a huge issue. It’s something that we continue. That’s in our sweet spot in many ways as a trade association, advocacy association. We’ve got a top-notch policy team here. But there’s also technological change. There’s competitive pressures as well that are big drivers and perhaps more immediate drivers in some ways. Look, to your point about AI, some of this is technological change that you anticipate coming but may or may not manifest in the way you think it exactly will.
Johnston: Yes, absolutely. One other thing. Sometimes what looks as a competitive threat, what looks like a disruptive force, can also be an opportunity for companies. I think embracing change, keeping an open mind, I think, is so important.
Romano: I’ll just say, too, that, for example, even just thinking about technologies, our members are primarily fiber-focused, understandably so because they’re most interested in getting the best possible connectivity to their communities. At the same time, they’re not dug in on just that. To the extent that there are some places that they’re not able to use fiber for some reason or another to deploy fiber, they are exploring other technology.
We’re in conversations, trying to explore conversations with any number of different types of technologies to help round out that suite of offerings they have and to help them problem solve for any possible circumstances they have. There’s going to be different tools in the toolkit. Again, want to achieve the best possible outcome for as many customers as possible, but that means you have to have an openness to thinking through other ways of doing things, too.
Johnston: Well said. Mike, challenges and opportunities facing the rural broadband market. We’ve touched on them a little bit, but just to put them a finer point on that, how do you think about those challenges and opportunities from a market perspective? Then what role do you see NTCA continuing to play, obviously, but are there new opportunities for NTCA to support your members as you look out over the market?
Romano: Yes. I think setting the stage or the baseline for where the market is, one of the things that I’m excited about stepping in this role is the fantastic job our members have done to date connecting rural America, right? You look at our broadband survey. It’s a little over 90% now, fiber-to-the-prem. You look at the speeds they offer. About the same. Well, even higher in terms of 100 megs at least, if not gig, becoming an increasing part of their service offering packages.
Subscription rates. This is the proof in the pudding. It’s actually customers making effective use of those amazing networks. The subscription rates for over 100-meg service have really shot up in recent years, which is fantastic, which means customers are realizing the value of what these members deliver. I think that all translates to our members having an incredible running head start at delivering on that promise of Universal Service both now and way into the future, which is fantastic. From a competitive perspective, it gives them a real foothold on those markets.
That being said, there are going to be parts of their markets where you do see encroachment of competition. The more densely populated portions of their markets, you’re going to see other potentially terrestrial providers come in. Some of the more sparsely populated portions of the areas, you may see some more uptake of satellite. Although, again, the adoption rates there, even when it’s available, tend to be relatively lower. The good part, I think, about the competitive footprint we face is it’s in pockets, not widespread in quite the same way.
Again, in theory, satellite service can offer service anywhere, but they still can’t offer it everywhere, if you will, to every location at the same time. The fact is that our members deliver an incredibly compelling product that has been proven over time already. It’s not to say they don’t face a lot of pressures, and they’re going to have to continue to be creative, embracing change, and pushing themselves to make sure they’re innovating, but they’re in a really good spot starting off, facing a new wave of competitive pressures.
Johnston: Yes, that’s great to hear. Hey, I want to just jump back real quick. You talked about USF early on and some of the focus and priorities. How would you handicap USF reform? We’ve talked about it for quite a while, and I don’t know that a whole lot’s been done on the reform front. How do you think about the prospects of really, truly having a sustainable architecture in place to support the program for many more years to come?
Romano: There’s a USF working group, and then the Senate and the House, bipartisan, bicameral working group that’s been looking at these issues for several years now. They continue to look at them. We know they continue to have active discussions amongst themselves on them. I know folks are eager to see their work product. We’re all hopeful that they’ll be able to put something forward.
At the same time, the FCC has several programs that are actually coming up on their terms in the next year or in the next three years. There’s going to need to be some updating to them, extension of them, reconciliation of them, one way or another in coming years. I think the good thing that we’ve seen in the last several months, particularly the last six months, and I think the drumbeat started at our Telecom Executive Policy Summit last fall.
There was some discussion, I think, earlier in the year, last year, of, “Well, do we really need these programs anymore? You got B, and everything’s going to solve for itself there, and we’ll be all connected, and everything will be done.” That ignored the fact that a lot of these networks were built without grants in rural areas previously. There were loans that needed to be repaid in connection with those, or private capital. It needed to be recovered, and then, obviously, the need to offer services on an ongoing basis at affordable rates and operate in very rural areas.
The pendulum swung back a bit now to a realization that Universal Service is a program about ensuring not the construction of networks, but about the ongoing availability and affordability of services. It’s Universal Service, right? I think that you’ve seen a growing awareness that that’s what it’s about. I’m hopeful that we’ll see in the debates that follow that realization hold, and we’ll see a discussion about how to maintain, sustain Universal Service going forward.
The how is going to be a really interesting question. There’s going to be change. We’re going to have to embrace change and think about how we do things differently again. I do feel cautiously optimistic that we’re starting from a good mindset in that discussion. We’re going to be defining the details, which is a really important conversation to come, over the course of the next year or so.
Johnston: I was just thinking as you were talking. Bold and underline the word “service” in USF, right? That’s really important. I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but is there growing bipartisan support here to fix this, or how would you characterize it? You always hear about Congress, and they can never agree on anything, but it feels like maybe there might be some here.
Romano: I think there remains bipartisan support for the mission of Universal Service. I think there remains a bipartisan consensus that there’s a need for a program to help with that. Again, the how is probably where you start to see. It’s not even partisan, but just different people have different ideas about how to make sure that Universal Service support is distributed in an effective way. Then on the other side of the equation, the contribution side, I think that’s something that still continues to be a debate.
Again, perhaps not partisan, but differing views on how do you make sure you’re funding Universal Service? Are you assessing big tech? Are you assessing broadband revenues? Are you assessing connections? Are you using appropriations? I think those debates continue to circle. Those are harder problems to solve for. I do think, even as compared to last year, there is a tailwind in terms of the support for having a Universal Service program that fulfills that mission of Universal Service, and that recognition that the current programs, even if they need to be updated, have provided a good vehicle for fulfilling that mission.
Johnston: Got it. Well, hey, thanks for sharing that, Mike. I think that’s super helpful for folks that are listening to really understand where things stand. I know a lot of people focus on that, but it’s great the way you articulated it. As you sit in your new role, Mike, as the CEO of NTCA, what gets you most excited?
Romano: Someone asked me that the other day. I said there’s this line from the movie “Almost Famous.” It’s, “To begin with, everything.” There’s so much here in terms of opportunity. I joked in my old job at NTCA that even the headaches were good headaches. There were challenges. There were problems to solve for. You were trying to solve them for a cause that’s fantastic. I’ve stayed at NTCA, this’ll be 16 years this year, five times as long as I’ve been in any other job. It really is a byproduct of several things.
It’s cause, connection, and challenge. The cause is great. The challenges are interesting. There are things that keep you concerned sometimes, but there are interesting challenges. The connection to this membership is top-notch. It really can’t be beat. All of that together really excites me. We’re going to have folks here in DC at the end of April for our legislative conference, all that Universal Service stuff we talked about earlier.
It’s going to be front and center there because, even as I said, we have tailwinds earlier, we’re not out of the woods. Not being out of the woods doesn’t excite me, but the fact that we’re going to have close to 500 people here, mobilized, ready to have conversations about what does matter, that’s exciting, and really looking forward to that. Just continuing to carry that torch with this membership. On a mission that’s of such importance to our country, that’s exciting.
Johnston: That’s great. Well, okay, so the opposite to that, of course, classic question, what keeps you up at night?
Romano: The good part is nothing keeps me up at night, but what does my mind race about during the day? Where my mind goes, and always trying to stay ahead of, come back to what we talked about earlier, is the evolution of this marketplace in ways that we want to anticipate and get ahead of, but can’t know for sure. How do you stay on top of all those different potential diverging threads?
On the competitive side, one of the things that I think about is, how can our members continue to innovate? How can they use their fiber networks in new ways? What are the ways that they can make sure that those remain sustainable and viable despite the deeply rural markets they serve? On the competitive side, what competitive pressures do they face? How many of those are real versus how many of them are perception?
“Oh, that sounds like a cool new thing, and that’s going to be the gamechanger in this.” Well, in some places, it may be. Some places, it may not be. How do you get to the heart and the reality of what a competitive pressure is versus hype? That’s something I want to make sure we’re not dismissing something as hype that’s a true competitive pressure, but also that the converse-- We don’t give too much credence to something that’s only hype rather than true competitive pressure.
Then, just the regulatory uncertainty. Always something we’re working through, whether it’s on the funding side or on other policies, too. We’ve got huge amounts of construction still to do in a lot of areas, especially in areas where our members are expanding into, and the regulatory uncertainty associated with red tape on permitting. Some of the other stuff that we see as supply chain considerations and things like that.
How do we make sure that our members and other providers who are not our members, candidly, who are going to be delivering on that mission of Universal Service ultimately, are capable of doing that without having to get through red tape or facing an inability to find contractors or supplies to deliver on that? FCC Chairman Carr has a Build America agenda, and I think that it’s been great at looking at some of these issues and shining a spotlight on them. Those are the kinds of things we want to continue to work through.
Johnston: That’s great. Well, hey, look, I’m glad you’re not staying up in the middle of the night staring at the ceiling because that’s no fun and makes it that much harder to be productive during the day. That’s good to hear.
Romano: I’ve got to stay sharp during the day, but that’s why I always think of it as what makes my mind race during the day.
Johnston: Yes, that’s good.
Romano: In the evenings, too, so yes.
Johnston: Well, hey, Mike, this has been great. Thank you again for your time. I truly am excited for you. I’m excited for NTCA. I think they’re very lucky. I truly mean this. I think they’re very lucky to have you leading the charge for the organization. I’m looking forward to continue to work with you here at CoBank and do great things.
Romano: Well, thank you. I’m grateful for this opportunity, really excited to keep moving forward with it. Jeff, thanks to you and to CoBank for your support of the industry and of NTCA, too.
Johnston: A special thanks goes out to Mike for being on the podcast today. Embracing change. That is a big takeaway for me after talking to Mike. Technologies are evolving faster than ever, competition is intensifying, and the regulatory environment has a great deal of uncertainty. I think being able to navigate all of this requires an open mind and a willingness to do things differently.
Hey, thanks for joining me today. A special thanks goes out to my CoBank associates, Christina Pope and Tyler Herron, because without them, there wouldn’t be an All Day Digital podcast. Watch out for our next episode.
