March 22, 2011 – Elizabeth Provance, Vice President and Lisa Winberry, General Manager from BPS Telephone Company met with the office of Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson in Washington D. C. this week to discuss the significant role small communication providers like BPS play in delivering consumers affordable broadband services.

Winberry spoke about the importance of broadband for rural business development and growth and also the ways that broadband brings education, public safety, telemedicine and other opportunities to rural consumers.   The group provided an overview of its service area in Congresswoman Emerson’s district in Missouri and highlighted types of service it provides to businesses and consumers in the communities of Bernie, Parma and Steele, as well as pointing to the number of jobs BPS provides in its local communities and other services that contribute to the area’s economic development.

BPS urged their congressional delegates to support policies that recognize the costs associated with building and maintaining broadband infrastructure in rural and remote areas and that acknowledge the need for adequate cost recovery for telephone companies like BPS that have committed to connecting those high-cost areas to the broadband world.

 Provance and Winberry were in Washington to participate in the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association’s Legislative & Policy Conference March 21-23.   During the annual event over 500 rural telecom representatives from throughout the country gathered in the nation’s capitol for educational briefings about emerging rules and regulations and other industry issues.  They also took part in visits to policy-makers on Capitol Hill and the FCC.