FTC honored for delivering broadband-enabled solutions

FTC is one of 13 rural communications firms in North America that was selected recently to receive a Smart Rural Community Showcase Award by NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association. The organization cited the company's advanced communications services and collaboration with numerous forward-thinking entities as keys to its success. The award specifically recognizes Sumter, but FTC Public Relations Director Chip Chase said that Clarendon, Williamsburg, Lee and Lower Florence Counties could follow within the year under the same grant. “While this award designates Sumter as the Smart Rural Community, the businesses in the other parts of our service territory – Williamsburg, Clarendon, Lee and Lower Florence counties – are also progressive companies with their eyes focused squarely on the future,” he said. “This was a learning process for everyone concerned and we look forward to the same designation for our other counties next year.”

During the NTCA’s fall conference, a crowd of more than 1,000 leaders of rural telecommunications providers, FTC and Sumter County were recognized for deploying advanced technologies and leveraging those technologies to enable innovation in the areas of economic development and commerce, enhanced health care, national security and governmental service. FTC’s efforts were judged against those of dozens of other communities nationwide by a panel of experts from the fields of telecommunications, software and technology services, education, health care and economic development.

In addition to FTC, 12 other providers and their communities in Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Kansas, Ontario, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin also were recognized. FTC is the only telecommunications company in South Carolina to receive the honor.

The NTCA Smart Rural Community initiative recognizes and celebrates the efforts of rural telecommunications providers and their communities to deliver technologies that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. The goal of the initiative is to foster the development of Smart Rural Communities throughout rural America by recognizing trailblazers and providing resources to assist broadband providers and connected industries.

“This is an exciting time for FTC and we are fortunate to have so many corporate partners standing on the cutting edge of technology, and in this case broadband technology,” Chase said. “When we composed the application for this award, there were so many great stories to tell and we chose just a small sample to illustrate how broadband is being creatively utilized. We accepted the award on behalf of our many business partners.”

A point made in the application was the availability of 1 Gigabit Internet service through FTC’s iber to the Home network, an offering made available in only select major cities across the country.

Chase said that part of the process was determining if FTC should submit the application on behalf of its entire 3,000 square mile, 5-county service area or single out certain communities. Because Sumter is the only metropolitan area FTC serves, it was singled out, and Chase said next year plans are to submit a similar application on behalf of the rest of the company’s service area, which includes Clarendon County.