S E P T E M B E R – O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 SPECIAL TELECOM The Magazine BUSINESS of Rural Telco PULLOUT Management TECH SAFETY SURPRISES Lessons From the Trenches 22 How to Address Difficult Employee Issues 26 Managing the Mindset of Generation Z 30 Ensure Employee Handbooks Aren’t Legal Liabilities RTSept-Oct.2015.FINAL_cc.indd 1 8/17/15 2:26 PM There’s Strength in Numbers Huawei: The Only Vendor With Complete End-To-End Solutions & Services There is only one vendor in the information, communications and technology business that can offer complete end-to-end solutions and associated services to meet the needs of today’s transformative service providers, and that company is Huawei. PRODUCT AND SOLUTIONS • Need to extend the life and capacity of your cable plant? Huawei has a small form factor, DOCSIS 3.0 distributed CMTS that enables 100+ Mb/s over your existing cable plant. • If you need to upgrade your wireless services to offer LTE, LTE-A, Carrier Aggregation and more, Huawei offers a full portfolio of macro, micro, pico and in-building solutions. • Need Wi-Fi? Huawei provides carrier/enterprise-grade solutions including 802.11ac. • Need microwave? Huawei offers high-capacity IP microwave in many licensed NRTC bands, as well as small profile, high-bandwidth 60 GHz and 80 GHz products. • Need antennas? Huawei has over 100 antennas in its portfolio. No one knows that betterAD than a rural telco. • Need Carrier IP products? Huawei offers routers and switches supporting many different configurations to meet network-specific requirements. As the competitive and regulatoryPAGE challenges intensify, 2 you look for partnerships and alliances that will strengthen your business. • Need high-capacity, cost-effective access products? Huawei delivers a large portfolio of gigabit FTTx solutions, GPON and distributed converged cable access And, we share your philosophy. That’s what led us to acquire NeoNova and Telispire, platforms. launch TelcoVideo and partner with Viasat on satellite broadband. We believe • Need to add core network solutions to your network? Huawei has IMS, that by working with quality partners, we can innovate, expand and enhance the EPC, SBC, gateways, signaling solutions and more! l What about data center servers, storage and switching solutions? Huawei has them. products, services and solutions we offer our members. • Campus and small business solutions? Huawei has multiple solutions with We’re already seeing that pay dividends. We’d love to talk to you about it and see varying speeds, flexibility and cloud-ready designs. how our solutions can work for you. • Power? Huawei offers the highest efficiency of any product on the market, i.e., 98% with a full complement of solutions. SERVICES In addition to all these high-quality, highly reliable, high-bandwidth and cloud- CONTACT: ready solutions, Huawei offers a comprehensive portfolio of professional ser- Bill Gerski vices including delivery manage-ment, network integration and commissioning, 702-493-6142 assurance and managed services and learning services tailor-made to satisfy operators’ budgets and needs. [email protected] 5700 Tennyson Parkway, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative So when you look to update, upgrade, design, deploy and/or transform your Suite 500, Plano, TX web: www.nrtc.coop entire network and/or any sub-segment therein, come to the one company that 75024-7157 blog: www.ruralconnect.coop can meet, supply and exceed all of your needs. Come to Huawei! Huawei Technologies USA RTSept-Oct.2015.FINAL_cc.indd 2 8/17/15 2:14 PM There’s Strength in Numbers Huawei: The Only Vendor With Complete End-To-End Solutions & Services There is only one vendor in the information, communications and technology business that can offer complete end-to-end solutions and associated services to meet the needs of today’s transformative service providers, and that company is Huawei. PRODUCT AND SOLUTIONS • Need to extend the life and capacity of your cable plant? Huawei has a small form factor, DOCSIS 3.0 distributed CMTS that enables 100+ Mb/s over your existing cable plant. • If you need to upgrade your wireless services to offer LTE, LTE-A, Carrier Aggregation and more, Huawei offers a full portfolio of macro, micro, pico and in-building solutions. • Need Wi-Fi? Huawei provides carrier/enterprise-grade solutions including 802.11ac. • Need microwave? Huawei offers high-capacity IP microwave in many licensed bands, as well as small profile, high-bandwidth HUAWEI60 GHz and 80 GHz products. • Need antennas? Huawei has over 100 antennas in its portfolio. No one knows that better than a rural telco. AD • Need Carrier IP products? Huawei offers routers and switches supporting many different configurations to meet network-specific requirements. As the competitive and regulatory challenges intensify, you look for partnerships PAGE 3 and alliances that will strengthen your business. • Need high-capacity, cost-effective access products? Huawei delivers a large portfolio of gigabit FTTx solutions, GPON and distributed converged cable access And, we share your philosophy. That’s what led us to acquire NeoNova and Telispire, platforms. launch TelcoVideo and partner with Viasat on satellite broadband. We believe • Need to add core network solutions to your network? Huawei has IMS, that by working with quality partners, we can innovate, expand and enhance the EPC, SBC, gateways, signaling solutions and more! l What about data center servers, storage and switching solutions? Huawei has them. products, services and solutions we offer our members. • Campus and small business solutions? Huawei has multiple solutions with We’re already seeing that pay dividends. We’d love to talk to you about it and see varying speeds, flexibility and cloud-ready designs. how our solutions can work for you. • Power? Huawei offers the highest efficiency of any product on the market, i.e., 98% with a full complement of solutions. SERVICES In addition to all these high-quality, highly reliable, high-bandwidth and cloud- CONTACT: ready solutions, Huawei offers a comprehensive portfolio of professional ser- Bill Gerski vices including delivery manage-ment, network integration and commissioning, 702-493-6142 assurance and managed services and learning services tailor-made to satisfy operators’ budgets and needs. [email protected] 5700 Tennyson Parkway, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative So when you look to update, upgrade, design, deploy and/or transform your Suite 500, Plano, TX web: www.nrtc.coop entire network and/or any sub-segment therein, come to the one company that 75024-7157 blog: www.ruralconnect.coop can meet, supply and exceed all of your needs. Come to Huawei! Huawei Technologies USA RTSept-Oct.2015.FINAL_cc.indd 3 8/17/15 2:14 PM In Every Issue 6 FROM THE TOP 8 SHORT TAKES 10 #RURALISSOCIAL 12 CONNECTIONS Planning for Future Success By Shirley Bloomfield 14 PERSPECTIVE How I Learned to Energize My Leadership Strengths By Margaret Seidler 45 ADVERTISERS INDEX 46 COMMUNITY HEARTBEAT Departments 16 36 BUSINESS MATTERS Misreading Customers Tech Safety Surprises: Means Missed Sales Lessons From By John Graham 41 EXCHANGE the Trenches Investing in the ‘Nex-Generation’ By Masha Zager By Rhonda Goddard Telco technicians who venture onto customer Enter the ‘Quiet Zone’ premises to install or service equipment never By Tennille Shields know what they will find, even at the homes of people they see regularly around town. What FCC Commissioner Pai do you do when safety is paramount but customer Visits Nebraska premises raise red flags? In Memorium: Scott Reiter ILLUSTRATION BY SAM FERRO SPECIAL P U L L O U T Publisher: NTCA’s Mission: NTCA–The Rural Broadband NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association Association, an association of small, rural, com- Chief Executive Officer: munity-based communications providers, is dedi- S E C T I O N Shirley Bloomfield, [email protected] cated to improving the quality of life in rural Director of Communications: communities through the advocacy of broadband Rural Telecom (ISSN: 0744-2548) Laura Withers, [email protected] and other advanced communications infrastruc- September•October 2015 Editor: ture and services. Bimonthly, Vol. 34, No. 5 Christian Hamaker, [email protected] NTCA represents nearly 900 small, rural, Subscriptions to Rural Telecom are $35 for NTCA– Senior Content Specialist: locally owned and operated telephone coopera- The Rural Broadband Association members; $135 Tennille Shields, [email protected] tives and commercial companies in the United for nonmembers. To order or for questions about a Advertising: States and abroad, as well as state and regional current subscription, email [email protected]. [email protected] telephone associations and companies that are Graphic Design by Ferro+Ferro Graphic Change of address should include recent mailing the suppliers of products and services to the Communication, Arlington, Va. label and new address with ZIP code. small and rural telephone industry. Our readers Printed by Colorcraft, Sterling, Va. are the managers, directors, attorneys and key 4121 Wilson Boulevard, Tenth Floor, Rural Telecom, established in 1981, is the employees of these telephone companies as well Arlington, VA 22203 bimonthly magazine published by NTCA–The as consultants, government officials and tele- Phone: 703-351-2000, Fax: 703-351-2001 Rural Broadband Association, a nonprofit, coop- communications experts. Email address: [email protected] erative corporation formed in 1954 under the Website address: www.ntca.org laws of the District of Columbia. RTSept-Oct.2015.FINAL_cc.indd 4 8/17/15 2:14 PM MORE ONLINE NOW AT ruraltelecom.org Features Member News: Send your rural-telco releases to [email protected]. COUNSELING 22 How to Address Difficult Employee Issues By Jonathan W. Yarbrough Employees are more well-versed in their rights, and that can mean headaches for employers. Employees who are armed with a little knowledge from the Internet can be difficult. Here’s what you need to know to counter faulty assertions about marijuana use, vaping, work-from-home requests and other sticky issues.