October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and NRTC is once again participating as a Champion for this program. In addition to sharing tips on social media, NRTC is spreading awareness by speaking on the topic at events and hosting a webinar. Learn more:

Enhance your cybersecurity with cyber supply chain risk management (C-SCRM) practices. NRTC can help you apply key practices from NIST, providing the guidance you need to identify, assess and mitigate cybersecurity risks throughout your supply chain. #SupplyChainSecurity

📢 Don't miss this dive into the evolution of BEAD funding! Join us for a webinar hosted by NRTC’s Teresa Ferguson with federal and state policy experts from NRECA and NTCA. Learn how rural ISPs are positioned for participation in this historic program!

If you haven't already done so, please register to join us today, Feb. 1, at 1 p.m. Eastern, for a special webinar about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Register here:

NRTC is proud to be working with @EricssonNA to develop private LTE systems to fit the smart grid needs of our electric co-op mbrs. We recently conducted a trial deployment at West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative. We look forward to expanding these capabilities to other mbrs.

The difference between minor disruption from a cyberattack and significant disruption could depend on how your business reacts to the incident. The next installment in our series of Cybersecurity Awareness Month articles from SilverSky’s Tom Neclerio:

NRTC invites members to a webinar “Pivot joins NRTC - What Does it Mean for You,” on Oct. 31 at 2 p.m., ET. After NRTC’s recent acquisition of The Pivot Group, meet Pivot CEO Dave Nieuwstraten and President Jeremy Graves, who will answer member questions:

Along with the Title II vote planned for later this week, the FCC expects to vote on a plan to allow support from the universal service E-Rate program to pay for Wi-Fi hotspots on school buses. Learn more:

In the digital age, all businesses can expect an attack at some point and proactive detection will reduce the damage. Take a look at the latest installment of our series of Cybersecurity Awareness Month articles from SilverSky’s Tom Neclerio:

Yesterday, NRTC's Byron Tuley (left), regional sales director, accepted the 2023 Calix Partner Training Achievement Award during #ConneXions23 in Las Vegas. The award reflects the training completed by our network engineering teams to earn a variety of certifications last year.

Clearly understandable rules to inform consumers about the cybersecurity protections in IoT devices are a beneficial objective. But some in the high-tech industry say the FCC’s proposed voluntary cybersecurity labeling rules are too complex:

In the second of our October cybersecurity series, @SilverSky's Tom Neclerio lists the risks and summarizes the steps businesses can take to reduce risks. “Cybersecurity is an ongoing effort … It’s imperative to be proactive,” Neclerio says.

Tim Bryan was a recent guest on a podcast produced by @liveoakfiber. He described an evolving competitive environment where providers in urban areas are pushing fiber deeper into their networks, while many rural areas still have no access. Watch it here:

The Pivot Group, LLC this week became part of NRTC. NRTC members building broadband businesses will now have access to the nearly 20 years of marketing and consulting services that Pivot has provided to rural telecommunications organizations.

“Looking at [electricity] storage today …. It has arrived. For years we’ve been talking about storage and early adopters, but now the opportunity is available for co-ops,” says Milton Geiger, VP, Smart Grid Solutions, in the latest NRTC TechTalk video:

Current supply chain issues have improved compared to two years ago, says David Primmer, VP of Vendor and Supply Chain Management in NRTC TechTalk video, “Supply Chain: Advice for the Road Ahead.”

The Biden Administration announced the next stage in the BEAD program. NTIA has allocated the program’s $42 billion into dollar amounts to states and territories to distribute to broadband projects.

Broadband funding is the top of the news with the announcement of state allocations for the $42 billion BEAD program. In a TechTalk video, Teresa Ferguson advises that members don't have to worry that the grant money for broadband projects is drying up.

In the latest installment of NRTC’s Tech Talk series, Alana Pilkington, VP, Broadband Solutions, presents “Satellite Internet: Part of a Broadband Strategy.”

We urge members to complete our 2023 Member Survey. The survey is an important tool we use to measure how well we are serving our members and to make decisions for future planning. Please contact us if you didn't receive a link to the survey.