cfx_september-2024 - 16

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
With CarE
Armstrong Delivers Thoughtful Community Collaborations
By Amy Maclean
When it comes to public partnerships, there's
no shortage of opportunities.
" I think for most providers the biggest problem
they have is that there is more opportunity
than they have the ability to actually do and
do well. Most operators want to do it and do it
well and do it over a long period of time, " says
Keith Hall, Armstrong's VP, Regulatory Policy
and Interconnection.
Armstrong has stood out among its peers, in
part for its methodical approach to evaluating
public-private partnerships. " What we decided
to do was basically take a look at this as with
any other investment, and so we have a whole
team of people that work on it together, " says
Hall. That includes President Jeff Ross as well
as himself and Regulatory Policy Director Jeremy
Jurick along with colleagues from data science,
finance, construction, engineering, field
operations and the general managers who
work in communities the operator is considering
expanding in. A steering committee meets
every week for at least two hours.
So far, Armstrong has nearly 5,000 unserved
homes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia that
are in various stages of design and construction
through five public-private arrangements
signed in the past year. That's a lot for an ISP
of Armstrong's size. Getting to yes often means
taking a non-traditional approach.
Take Pennsylvania, where Armstrong was
awarded $12.5 million in funding. The state required
providers to come in with plans to serve
every unserved location within a locality, but
locality was an undefined term. Armstrong's
public-private steering committee came up
with the idea of serving two school districts-
Moniteau and Slippery Rock-with every unserved
location in each district to have broadKeith
Hall, Armstrong's VP of Regulatory, interviewing Kelly Workman, West Virginia's
Director of Broadband, at the Armstrong Leadership Conference in 2023.
band when the project is complete.
" When you think about it, that's sort of
where all this really got its jet fuel to be into
the public domain, " Hall says, referring to the
need for students to have online access at
home. " We gave it a name called the ABC program-Accessible
Broadband for Children... We
treated it as a as a top 10 company initiative. "
In West Virginia, Armstrong has been
awarded four P3 projects in Cabell, Lincoln,
Putnam and Wayne counties. The company is
receiving more than $16 million in funding and
will provide a $2.1 million match. " The company
has been thoughtful in explaining its heritage,
built on a commitment to local communities,
and also explaining a solid vision for working
with West Virginia in the future, " West Virginia
Armstrong serves customers in six
states and is the 11th largest MSO in
the country. It's the largest broadband
provider headquartered in Appalachia.
The operator has brought broadband
to nearly 30,000 previously unserved
homes through P3 programs.
16
September 2024
Broadband Director Kelly Workman tells CFX.
Workman describes how the company
invited her to its 2023 annual meeting to discuss
the state's approach to federally funded
broadband projects. " Keith asked questions
and then invited questions from the audience.
The interview actually seemed more like a discussion
among friends, " she says. " Through
this discussion, it was very evident that a
commitment to community, partnership and
quality is woven into all aspects of the company,
from the local and regional offices to the
highest-ranking officials at Armstrong. "
Hall is quick to note that for Armstrong,
public-private partnership doesn't just mean
going in and asking for money for deployment.
" It's also about investing in the community
without any expectation of return whatsoever,
other than as a way for us to say thank you for
being good partners, " he says.
A perfect example of that is Armstrong's
Great Lawn Project, which will create a town
center and green space in Cranberry Township,
Pennsylvania. " The internet is a gathering
place virtually, but that doesn't mean we
don't need to support other gathering spaces
and other communities, " says Hall.
CablefaxTopOps.com
http://www.CablefaxTopOps.com
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