matt denman of commit occasions daily. before we get into some of the issues, tell us about consolidated communications. >> thank you for having me. consolidated communications is a broadband provider that services mostly rural areas. we are passionate about bringing broadband services to our customers. our tour tours extend from the northern areas of the midwest down to east central texas. and from the outskirts of sacramento up into the northern areas of northern new england. >> what is the service you provide? >> we provide broadband services to consumers, commercial customers. even backhaul or connections to wireless towers. we service everyone in the community and leverage those common assets. help rural communities connect two with the internet. we are really passionate about living, working, playing in those communities. >> who are your competitors? >> they are typically cable tv companies. we often serve places they do not go. you will see wireless service providers. which is a technology we employ to extend our fiber footprints. that is primarily the competition we see. >> does somebody that have your service write out a check? or send money to consolidated every month? >> they do. we are not on the radar. as much as an at&t or verizon or xfinity or comcast. in the communities we serve, we are. we are involved, we do not by big brand advertising. we are very involved in the communities we serve. involved with the hospitals, on some of the boards. involved with some of the government institutions. we are focused on closing this digital divide. >> how many customers and how many employees? >> we have 1.2 million customers and access to over 2 million addresses. we are constantly expanding our network. 3600 employees. across 23 states. >> revenues? in excess of $1.3 billion annually. >> to help us explore some of the issues you deal with, is matt, from communications daily. >> i am glad you broached the term digital divide. that issue across the u.s., americans who do not have access to high-speed broadband. fiber is often looked at as the solution. for a lot of those communities. a company,oint as what is it going to take to get fiber across america to those harder to reach places, your peers? what is the barrier? >> fiber is the backbone of communications. we are intent on expending that network. for any reason we can find. we use the both deployment of additional cell towers. and thinking 5g will drive it. serving the end-user can be a mix of technologies. we also employ wireless frequencies to get to the last mile. it is a mix of technologies that solve the connection challenge. we also think it makes sense, you look at this opportunity for the new frontier of america, to raise the economic development prospects to these world communities. like, you had electrification act, you had the telecom act of 1934. this is one of those inflection points, where the right public private partnerships can advance deployment across the u.s.. we have been investing in those. >> when you talk about public private partnership i'm assuming you're talking about connect america, now the fcc has proposed the world digital opportunity fund, at 24 billy dollars. are those good routes for getting you and your peer companies to be more involved, and to be expanding our footprints? is that what is required to reach those hard-to-reach areas of arkansas, alaska, native territories that are not getting the high-speed access that you and i enjoy and more wired areas? >> we really do believe that the connect america fund and the rural digital opportunity fund that has been announced in april are key components that help that process. we also see public-private partnerships to state and city level. an exampled recently in chesterfield, new hampshire where we are partnering with the city to connect when he 500 passings to broadband internet with speeds in excess of 25 megabytes per second. it is a great opportunity on multiple levels that we continue to pursue. the connect america fund helped jumpstart that. rdof, the rural digital opportunity fund, as the auction process gets defined, where working to make sure it enables an accurate deployment of broadband services to those underserved today. is a federal investment in broadband paired what about consolidation -- consolidated commit occasions. i also make and that private investment in broadband? increased addresses across our footprint. with new technology we are constantly investing in, and our peer companies are common within our industry associations, we are extending our fiber networks and using wireless for the last mile. where it is not cost-effective to build the fiber. all the signals, whether wireless or wireline need to get back to a fiber core network, in order to connect to the internet world. >> according to your company you have 37,000 miles of fiber-optic cable. where exactly is that cable? >> it is everywhere. it is in the ground, in the air, in the communities in which we serve. i mentioned those 23 states. it is typically outside of the urban markets. that we arest towns in the downtown area are places like portland, maine. or roseville, california. and in pennsylvania. those are places where we have fiber networks in every street. extensions of those facilities in every neighborhood. on the polls and connecting direct to the customers. what is the process and how thick is the fiber? what is the process of actually getting it laid? >> it takes a lot of project management to get the tools and people aligned. it is like any other infrastructure project. we are focused on putting that infrastructure in place. so it can be sustainable and easy to repair and survivable for years to,. it is construction, plowing, connections, technicians splicing equipment. , all those things have to be aligned. and we have been good at things through history. >> how thick is that fiber? >> fiber can be anywhere from two to three inches thick, so it is over 1000 fiber count. 144 fibersmall as that might be an inch thick. >> a lot of the debate about where to put federal and state money has revolved around not having good maps to know where there are services being provided. or not. the sec has updated the process. mapping will be done in the united states peered as you look at that from a view, isted point of the new mapping regime, with the shape files approach, is that going to be effective? does the u.s. finally -- are they on the path to having effective broadband maps? >> i am glad you mentioned that. we believe the mapping is critical to the success. for the next auction or allocation of federal funds. in the past, we have used a number of addresses for a census block area. that is how specific these allocations of a funds have but we find that the census block accounts are inaccurate. technology based on today gets used as big address location, longitude and latitude on those unserved locations. we think getting that process done, the shape files created, is critical to the success of the rural digital opportunity fund so we do not use the inaccurate estimates of the past that were good for getting us started but not good for ensuring that actual addresses get served in the final analysis. rdof money should not be released to comedies like consolidated until we have the mapping regime in place, one has to follow the other to be effective? >> we believe that to be the case. we can work together as an industry with a neutral party, third party, which has been tested already for number of states, and get that process going very quickly. so the funds can still be begin theand we can process of actually building out to those unserved locations. >> what sort of regulations does a company like consolidated face? >> it is a bit of a carryover from history. the regulatory environment was built around the 1934 act. we have had pieces of legislation that involved a competitive environment those regulations are stale. while they have been decreasing, overtime, there are some that are out of date related to responsibility for providing telephone service. we think that to be updated. if there is going to be an auction for the support, begin and these role areas, which was initially based on the 1934 act, and begin transitioning to internet, based on the connect american act, we believe that the last provider or carrier of last resort, should go away. for the transition to whoever wins us funds. we just want an even playing field. >> you say and even playing field. are the larger companies, do they have an unfair advantage? in your view? is not a sincerely based on size. it is based on the origin of the business. cable tv providers were not regulated the way the historical at&t's, verizon's were regulated. because of the 1934 act two --anced tele-, server says wecommunication services. think you can do an opportunity fund and start to subdue a carrier of last resort obligation by how the process implemented an advance broadband connections in rural america. that is what we are supporting. >> you do a variety of services across your broadband network, including voice. there is the issue of robo calls. i am curious from your standpoint, the fcc has made a lot of efforts in terms of regulatory reforms. to try to tackle at least illegal robo calls. there is technology, an authentication process coming online. what is it going to take to make a dent in the volume of robo calls? that you and i and others get on a regular basis, what is going to have to happen for us to get fewer of those? >> we are actively involved. what we are passionate about is protecting customers. their data and information and also protecting them from harassing legal robo calls. we are actively involved with i guess you would call it the attorney generals from across the u.s. there are 51 ag's that have signed with us and associations a set of principles. , i think we announced them in the third week of august. we are using that to guide technology suppliers. to implement shake and stir. to ensure we can deflect or turn back and identify the causes of these as well as preventing them. we are making great progress. we will see those solutions be implemented. >> from a telecommute occasions 5g,dpoint, you compete with at least in urban and more developed areas that is going to be competition to your wireline service. are you concerned about 5g? you provide backhaul for it. what you're going to be competing for customers. how challenging is 5g going to be? >> in the markets we serve, they are more role and less densely populated. we don't see it as a threat, we see it as an opportunity. we see ourselves as a solutions provider for the wireless companies. and in places where it is not cost-effective to deploy that technology, because of the number of cell sites that have to be deployed, we are going to work hard to be as turnkey for them as possible. in the end, it advances broadband, and the plumbing of our fiber networks. we pass more cities and towns in our markets we serve, while at the same time using 5g frequencies to bring end-users broadband that they could not , otherwise have. we see it as a partnering opportunity. >> how much have you spent so far on the development of 5g? >> that is information i will probably not answer. it is a natural evolution. when we look at the densification that has to happen in our markets we are uptick -- we are looking at an uptick in the number of towers deployed. we have an excellent history watching out for our customers. we do a very good job at project management, prioritizing traffic. when they buy bandwidth from us. so voice and face time and those is prioritized higher. we are in a good position. as they densify, even some of the rural markets, we will deploy more fiber and be in a position to work with them where we do not see it cost-effective. to run cost -- to run fiber to every customer. >> there are times where you work with at&t, verizon, etc. >> we are working hard to create more of those opportunities. absolutely. the competitive landscape, you referenced earlier cable isps being a chief competitor. a number of the biggest players, comcast and charter, offer now mobile service. is that something that is a goal and aim? of interest to consolidated or to your peers? is it something everybody will be doing this at some point? is that not part of the future plans for consolidated? >> we see the device -- we want to make technology as simple to use for customers as possible. that includes making any carrier right now, network or devices they offer user-friendly. for our customers. whether in the home or in their business over wi-fi. in terms of watching content or they may want to digest. not only just voice traffic. at this point, we want to enable the mobile services. we don't see that as a high-margin business. or necessity. for our end-users. but watch that carefully. we watch that carefully. and when and if it makes sense to take on a specific partner, and we thinksers, that is a critical advantage, then we would do it. at this stage, we are playing the watch and see game. >> why are you in d.c.? >> i am here to represent the subscribers and communities and the customers we serve. my priority is to advance broadband employment. as a representative of the companies we align ourselves with, i feel this is a great opportunity to make sure if we are going to spend government money across the country in a federal program, we get it right. so the mapping, and making sure the unserved addresses are what we are finding is important to me. a transition from, this is the first time we will have offered funding from a federal perspective in areas where we had the caff program already. it is a step up for those markets. we want to make sure that money is appropriately used. before it is granted, not only to get it accurate, but we have a transition plan. that includes getting rid of some of the regulation for those areas. if we don't end up the successful bidder. we went to make sure any program enables 5g. because as i mentioned earlier, while some view it in urban areas as a threat, we view it as an opportunity. that is my purpose. >> you are meeting with members of congress. and the fcc? >> correct. >> and what is your message to the energy and commerce committee, particularly? what would you like to see legislatively? >> it is this. help support the fcc in this noble effort. let's take what this chairman so graciously did and launch the rural digital opportunity fund. give him the tools to ensure the money gets where it will have benefits. and that the transition plan supports a natural transition that does not take funding away. or services away from those customers that of already begun experiencing the benefits of broadband. >> when you think of territories in your own market, where ardof money, other types of state or federal support might be needed, is it strictly just lack of population density? what makes it tough for you to go, we should serve this community but we cannot? because market forces are x? what are the barriers of extending fiber to this or that community? >> it is typically density. in some cases it is density plus the challenges of the terrain. the cost of investment. in the past, it has been the cost and availability of technology. both have kind of come together, have really to come together. gone to come together. the availability of solid wireless alternatives, with bigger bandwidth. also, the natural extension of fiber networks has enabled those wireless opportunities to be shorter hops, shorter distances. a lot of things coming together that now position us well to jumpstart it. with funds with investment at the federal, state, city and town level hoping to close that -- that help to close that business case gap in making it cost-effective. >> you are very broadband centric as a company. very wireline centric. are there spectrum needs for consolidated? do you see bidding and acquisition as part of your future? >> we are watching the cbrs auctions and may participate in that. and cbe. we think that is a viable, at least for private networks across different office parks. we are looking at that. we are somewhat technology agnostic. we want to make sure we can connect the maximum number of customers possible. fiber, we think, is the requisite network foundation. then we look for connecting that last half a mile, whatever it may be. for connecting as many customers as possible. we are connecting the technologies that make sense. >> i might be a little naïve about this, but i am use to comprehensive coverage. are there areas where signals are not available? >> there are. and you would be surprised. if you drove up through the white mountains in vermont, northern maine. there are areas where there is not continuous coverage along the interstate. anne's we are working to solve that with various carriers. they are constantly investing. but yes there are areas that do not have coverage. , >> do you have huawei equipment? that you utilize in your business. >> we do not. i won't speak to the policy issues around that. i can speak to how seriously we but take cybersecurity. and the security of our customers data. we have our own cybersecurity organization. work closely with other companies through our national associations, and federal agencies. and we thwart attacks daily. in this environment, it is a common factor when you operate communications infrastructure. we chose, before it was even a policy issue at a national level to not implement huawei equipment. >> so did the discussions and arguments we had here in washington about privacy and security and trade, do they trickle down? ? to texas and illinois? >> they probably do but in different ways. i do not spend a lot of time on trade. yet we did probably spend more time as a nation in net neutrality than it deserved. i always viewed that as a solution and search of a problem. i view that the federal trade commission had the tools to address bad actors. on privacy, somewhat related to net neutrality, i think the solution we do need is a national framework versus individual states solving this problem on a piecemeal basis. i think protection of customer data is very important. it should apply equally to all companies. we are supportive of that. from a legislative perspective it probably makes sense to see , national frameworks so companies like ours can focus on deploying technology to end users versus different roles in different states. indifferent rules different states. >> we are heading into election season. congress is unlikely to undertake telecom activity. are there particular bills you support that you think have a fighting chance of getting passed in this legislative session? >> i can't speak to all the divisive issues. i am sure we have opinions on those. what i think is a neutral issue is advancing the economic about men of rural america. rod bend is one of those items. i think there is broad bipartisan support for some specific fixes. like the mapping effort we talked about bipartisan support and would be a good signal for both sides of the aisle that we are advancing the position of competitiveness of america. congress couldat come together around that and i think the fcc also has some tools that they have already begun that can help implement that even without the legislation. companies, ae ofmon beef, a plethora state and local regulations actually dealing with attachments. the physical issues of getting the wires on a pole are legion. has that -- what is the state of that today? how difficult or how easy is it getting to roll out physically? guest: we have always been effective at doing that and that is the benefit of companies like -- some some of theirp of our peer companies. we are good at the steps you take. even the ones that feel complicated. i would say we have made progress. the fcc ordered gruesomely quality and controls around what attachment rates should be and so we are seeing the benefits of that. that has allowed us to make some progress in that space. even with any complications, we are well-positioned to address those. host: we are going to have to leave it there. president andhe ceo of consolidated communications and serving as the chair of the u.s. telecom board. matt is a reporter with communications daily. thank you both. guest: thank you. ♪ for 40 years, c-span has been providing america unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, supreme court, and public policy events, so you can make up your own mind. in 1979, c-span is brought to you by your local cable or satellite provider. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. host: we go to david next in oklahoma on the democrats line. caller: thank you very much for taking my call. i think to pick a winner in this whole process, c-span. it is the one network that president trump did not criticize. that the one network listens to the speaker who is just before me and then to myself. i am in a state as i democrat where all 77 counties in 2016 voted for trump. i think there has been enough evidence in what i have seen which is unfiltered on c-span and without commentary from millionaire anchors. there needs to be a trial in the senate, less the process work its way out. if trump is not guilty, let the process work its way out. announcer: live coverage of the impeachment inquiry on c-span. next, political reporters and former presidential campaign advisers preview the february primary.mpshire they also compare the upcoming primaries to those in previous presidential races. the university of southern california's center for the political future posted this event in los angeles -- hosted this event in los angeles. event will bes broadcast on c-span and facebook live and i'm delighted to have this conversation. she has previously covered other elections. james is covering 2020 for the boston globe and is also a political analyst for new hampshire's

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