It has occurred to me that the calendar places our Thanksgiving holiday at just the right point to allow us to pause a bit to reflect and focus upon the many blessings we enjoy. Thanksgiving also provides us time to assess our accomplishments, both personal ones and our HCTC business activities.
I know I’m thankful we live in a country where we can put so much energy into things like holidays, get-togethers with family and friends, business activities, and the general pursuit of happiness without being overwhelmed by unmet basic needs like much of our world. Our country may not be perfect, but I’d certainly rather be here than anywhere else.
When I think about where we are, I’m thankful for our communities and surrounding areas here in the Hill Country. I’ve lived in several other places and appreciate the scenic beauty of our area and the genuine, hard working and caring people who make up the backbone of the cooperative we serve.
Which leads me to how very thankful I am for the team we, and you, have at HCTC and the work they do every day to serve you the best way we can. This year, in particular, I am thankful for the progress our team has made to continue the upgrade of HCTC’s several thousand miles of network to bring you improved and robust broadband services while continuing our legacy of quality universal voice services.
It is satisfying to us that the modern broadband services we provide enable economic development, improved health care, security and education, as well as more leisure or convenience items such as video streaming, running a smart home or connecting with a loved one hundreds of miles away. Past generations could not have imagined the technology we have before us today.
But, we still suffer the need to better address the urban/rural digital broadband divide. While it’s true many communities in rural America suffer from slow broadband speeds as the result of neglect from big corporate internet providers or isolated terrain, the fiber optic connections we offer are world-class. More of these are nearer your home or immediately available than ever before. Looking forward to 2019, we plan to more than double our fiber-to-the- home availability.
Broadband has become essential for modern life. At HCTC, we believe people should not have to sacrifice a connected world to live in a rural area like ours.
And so, I am thankful to have the clarity of our mission and your board’s enablement of resources to move ahead — to connect you with the best technology available today and for the future.
Alan Link, CEO