United States Telecom Association
The logo of the United States Telecom Association
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| Abbreviation | USTelecom |
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| Formation | May 1, 1897 |
| Type | Trade Association |
| Headquarters | 607 14th Street, NW, Suite 400 Washington, D.C., United States |
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Membership
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Communications carriers and small cooperatives |
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Chairman of the Board
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Jeffery Gardner, CEO of Windstream Communications |
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Chairman of the Leadership Committee
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Robert A. Hunt, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Business Operations of GVTC Communications |
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President and CEO
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Walter McCormick |
| Website | www |
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Formerly called
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United States Telephone Association |
The United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) is an organization that represents telecommunications-related businesses based in the United States. As a trade association, they represent the converged interests of the country's telecommunications industry. Member companies represent a diverse set of communications-related businesses, including those that provide wireless, Internet, cable television, long distance, local exchange, and voice services. Members include large publicly traded communications carriers as well as small telephone cooperatives that serve only a few hundred customers in urban and rural areas.
The United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) was founded in Chicago, Illinois, on May 17, 1897, when a group of Independent telephone company executives convened at the Palmer House to create an organization called the Independent Telephone Association. According to some industry historians, thousands of independent telephone companies sprouted in the telephone industry at the turn of the century largely due to the expiration of the first Alexander Graham Bell telephone patents on January 30, 1894. These companies banded together to promote growth of their industry and develop alliances on issues that crossed state lines. Renamed as the United States Independent Telephone Association in 1915, the organization focused on educational programs for its members, standardization efforts and representing its members on relevant policy issues addressed by the federal government. For instance, as the telephone industry grew, Congress enacted new laws, including the Communications Act of 1934 that established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which among a variety of initiatives, set a universal service goal of connecting all Americans via affordable, accessible telecommunications services. To meet the requirements of the new statutes, telephone companies worked through the association to educate members, develop common policy positions and interface with policymakers in Congress and at the FCC. USTelecom also advocates on behalf of the telecommunications industry to Courts, the White House, and the media.
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Wikipedia