NE Nebraska Telephone Company holds annual meeting

JACKSON — Sept. 19, 188 members of the Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company cooperative, representing all districts, attended the 67th Annual Meeting of Members and Directors at NNTC’s facilities in Jackson. Nearly 300 people were present, making it one of the largest annual meetings for the company to date.

During the meeting, the membership re-elected Tracy Ludwig, Stuart (District #6), Greg Hoffman, Clearwater (Director at Large), and LeRoy Dvorak, Prague (Director at Large).

NNTC General Manager Pat McElroy addressed the crowd, sharing both good news and bad news.

“I need to inform you about what’s happening in our courts that threatens the way we operate,” he explained. “This summer, the 5th Circuit Court ruled that the way we, NNTC, and 900 other providers of our size receive federal support from Universal Service Funds is unconstitutional.”

“If I were to look into my crystal ball, I fully expect this issue will be resolved in our favor, either through the courts or legislatively,” McElroy said. “The alternative would be catastrophic for rural America.”

He also reported that NNTC is in a strong financial position, with the lowest operational costs for a company of its size in the state.

McElroy reminded members of last year’s report, which included grant-funded expansions. He provided updates on the $1.2 million expansion south of Hubbard, where 59 percent of the homes are now being served by NNTC. The Antelope County project, located south of Orchard, at a cost of $1.3 million, is complete and installations for new customers are underway. In Butler County, construction on a $2.5 million fiber build is nearly complete. Additionally, NNTC was awarded $3.8 million to expand fiber broadband in rural Polk County. McElroy also discussed plans to expand east of Jackson toward South Sioux City to Highway 77 and to Village of Homer.

To watch the meeting in its entirety, please visit NNTC’s YouTube channel.