Many of you, no doubt, have received calls from people in the education and health care fields asking about these discounts. You may be called upon to lend your expertise. For that very reason, NTCA in July mailed to its member managers a handbook to help you facilitate this process. We are adding supplements as changes and new information occur. The bottom line is that elementary and secondary schools, libraries, and health care facilities will have the ability to purchase more telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections.
Timing is everything.
You must be proactive. Yes, all telecom carriers are required, upon request, to provide services to these designated entities. Yes, you may already have a strong relationship with these institutions through the Internet, distance learning, or telemedicine. Still, to assume that you will be automatically the one to provide the discounted services is risky business. In some situations, you could even be competing against non-telecom carriers to provide Internet access and internal connections.