FOR RELEASE
East Lansing, MI
September 9, 2025
Shirley Bloomfield speaks at ComPulse
ComPulse attendees enjoyed NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association’s CEO Shirley Bloomfield’s key note speech, “What’s Next?”. The Members of the Broadband Association of Michigan (BAM) gathered in East Lansing for their annual ComPulse Networking conference. Shirley shared her insight built on more than 35 years of rural telecommunications business and relationships with regulators and legislators in DC and BAM colleagues in all 50 states! Highlights of the speech focused on Universal Service Fund (USF), FCC actions and Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) and other federal grant funding.
USF has been the hottest issue for the industry in the last few years with the lawsuits ultimately being settled in favor of continuing the USF. Shirley noted that there are many imminent opportunities for the Congress to modernize the USF and encouraged continued discussion with the Workgroup in DC.
On the topic of the FCC, Shirley warned that the deregulation push at the FCC is promising, but “there are some other things that are getting caught up in this big net of deregulatory efforts that could also have a financial impact on everyone in this room.” Issues such as the Broadband Map, de-tariffing and special access are areas for the industry to monitor.
Lastly, BEAD is well on its way toward implementation with strong leadership at NTIA and USDA’s ReConnect continues in the Farm Bill. But the shift in focus from scalable infrastructure, which was highlighted during COVID, when the IIJA was passed, to getting broadband to Americans as quickly and as cheaply as possible has occurred in 2025. Shirley noted that “it is a really really different feel in Washington right now… I don’t know if it was DOGE … or Musk, but the interfacing I have been doing with Congress lately has been ‘just enough’ has been good enough for rural.” Monitoring and advocating for continued scalable broadband grant programs will take work by rural broadband providers.
Many conversations and discussions on technology and customer service continued after Ms. Bloomfield’s general session speech at ComPulse. Thank you, Shirley for your insight!
Media Contact: Joelle Demand, President, Joelle@mibroadband.org
Press Release (.pdf)