Telecommunications Public Policy Strategy
Nationwide strategy helps telecom firm survive
and thrive amid strong competition, weak economy

The situation

A Fortune 100 global telecommunications company, seeking to expand nationally through various acquisitions, needed to establish a consistent, effective presence with the public as well as government leaders at the state and federal levels.At each level, the client's competitors spent hundreds of millions of dollars to thwart the company's progress toward its long-term business goals.

Public Strategies' solution

Public Strategies forged a long-term strategic partnership with the client to develop and implement an overarching public-affairs strategy across the company.

• Public Strategies deployed its own employees "on the ground", placing them within the client's offices in each of the 13 states where the telecom company operated, as well as in Washington, D.C., to provide expertise around the clock.The team coordinated all legislative and regulatory public-affairs and media communications, and worked with the company's state presidents, government affairs, regulatory, legal and external affairs teams to synchronize all aspects of the client's public messaging and strategy.

• Public Strategies created third-party support coalitions in all 13 states, as well as a national umbrella organization, to educate and mobilize constituencies on relevant state and federal telecom issues, giving the client a strong public voice.Third-party validation is vital for the company, as almost every corporate effort is countered by competitors, within both the marketplace and the public-policy arena.

Client benefits

During the past eight years, Public Strategies and the global telecommunications leader have worked together to realize significant success on many fronts.

• The client's primary goal — being let into the long-distance market in each of its states — has been achieved in 8 states to date, with applications pending in the remaining jurisdictions.This has meant literally billions in annual revenue and was accomplished by developing deep grassroots support and has compellingly shown local telephone markets are open to competition.

• The client's secondary priority — attaining state and federal regulatory relief to compete freely within the broadband marketplace — is also making clear progress.

• At the state level, our third-party support coalitions have continually helped our client add over 1 million members, protect hard-won legislative and regulatory progress, achieve permanent regulatory parity with other telecom service providers, gain merger approval, acquisitions and corporate alliances, and create and sustain a positive public-policy environment.