Armstrong Delivers Thoughtful Community Collaborations
By Amy Maclean
When it comes to public partnerships, there’s no shortage of opportunities.
“I think for most providers the biggest problem they have is that there is more opportunity than they have the ability to actually do and do well. Most operators want to do it and do it well and do it over a long period of time,” says Keith Hall, Armstrong’s VP, Regulatory Policy and Interconnection.
Armstrong has stood out among its peers, in part for its methodical approach to evaluating public-private partnerships. “What we decided to do was basically take a look at this as with any other investment, and so we have a whole team of people that work on it together,” says Hall. That includes President Jeff Ross as well as himself and Regulatory Policy Director Jeremy Jurick along with colleagues from data science, finance, construction, engineering, field operations and the general managers who work in communities the operator is considering expanding in. A steering committee meets every week for at least two hours.
So far, Armstrong has nearly 5,000 unserved homes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia that are in various stages of design and construction through five public-private arrangements signed in the past year. That’s a lot for an ISP of Armstrong’s size. Getting to yes often means taking a non-traditional approach.
Take Pennsylvania, where Armstrong was awarded $12.5 million in funding. The state required providers to come in with plans to serve every unserved location within a locality, but locality was an undefined term. Armstrong’s public-private steering committee came up with the idea of serving two school districts— Moniteau and Slippery Rock—with every unserved location in each district to have broadband when the project is complete.
“When you think about it, that’s sort of where all this really got its jet fuel to be into the public domain,” Hall says, referring to the need for students to have online access at home. “We gave it a name called the ABC program—Accessible Broadband for Children… We treated it as a as a top 10 company initiative.”
In West Virginia, Armstrong has been awarded four P3 projects in Cabell, Lincoln, Putnam and Wayne counties. The company is receiving more than $16 million in funding and will provide a $2.1 million match. “The company has been thoughtful in explaining its heritage, built on a commitment to local communities, and also explaining a solid vision for working with West Virginia in the future,” West Virginia Broadband Director Kelly Workman tells CFX.
Workman describes how the company invited her to its 2023 annual meeting to discuss the state’s approach to federally funded broadband projects. “Keith asked questions and then invited questions from the audience. The interview actually seemed more like a discussion among friends,” she says. “Through this discussion, it was very evident that a commitment to community, partnership and quality is woven into all aspects of the company, from the local and regional offices to the highest-ranking officials at Armstrong.”
Hall is quick to note that for Armstrong, public-private partnership doesn’t just mean going in and asking for money for deployment. “It’s also about investing in the community without any expectation of return whatsoever, other than as a way for us to say thank you for being good partners,” he says.
A perfect example of that is Armstrong’s Great Lawn Project, which will create a town center and green space in Cranberry Town ship, Pennsylvania. “The internet is a gathering place virtually, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to support other gathering spaces and other communities,” says Hall.