The telephone business is a unique kind of industry. How does managing a telephone company compare with other management responsibilities you have had?

In my opinion managing a telephone company is similar to managing any organization.  Clearly there are specific nuances in every individual industry or endeavor and the telecommunications industry is highly technical and highly regulated, but my management philosophies are the same no matter what job I have.  In the service my NCO’s taught me that if I take care of my men they will take care of me.  In any management responsibility my first obligation is to the success and fulfillment of my employees.  I view my responsibilities as to 1.) Hire good people with the right attitude and ability to fit into my organization.  2.) Give them the resources to be successful 3.) Ensure I protect them from superfluous job distractions so they can focus on their jobs.  4.) Challenge them so that they are always fulfilled.  And 5.) Build good teams.  Everyone wants to be successful and being part of a good team creates greater accountability to the organization and I believe creates more ownership which results in better performance. 

2.       How did Direct Communications initially become interesting in buying EM Telecom from the city?

Direct Communications learned about Eagle Mountain Telecom in 2000 at an industry event.  We developed a relationship with EMT offering assistance when we could.  We were always interested in acquiring EMT, as we could see the enormous growth potential, but it was not until November, 2001 that Eagle Mountain decided it wanted to see the utility.

3.       What were some of the major challenges you faced acquiring Eagle Mountain Telecom?

The major challenges  were twofold:    1.) Establishing a rate base.  In this industry companies are regulated based upon their assets.  The different accounting procedures of a municipality from a telephone company created some major difficulties in establishing what the assets were and whether or not Direct could recover on those assets.  2.) The regulatory challenge of taking a non-regulated telephone company operating without a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity within Qwest’s certificated area and turning it into a regulated incumbent local exchange carrier with its own certificated area.  It required state and federal regulatory approval from the Utah PSC and the FCC as well as Qwest had to be willing to change their service territory to accommodate Direct’s new property in Eagle Mountain.  I am pretty proud that we were able to accomplish that feat.  Leonard recognized it was a problem and always said: “problems need solutions, and if we stay the course we are the most likely solution.”

4.       How does the telephone service residents are receiving currently in EM compare to other Utah cities?

Presently it is still a couple of dollars higher than the statewide average within the state of Utah.  The Utah PSC ruled that the customers in Eagle Mountain would pay the same rates they were paying the city when we acquired the system.  When we have acquired sufficient history and data to establish a proper rate we will file a rate case with the Utah PSC and we hope as a consequence of that the rates will then drop to the statewide average.  The network itself still has occasional issues, but we are working very hard to fix those and we are confident that customers will start seeing improved service by late this summer.

5.       What achievement are you most proud of since taking over the telephone service in February?

>>  In our first two months we have added 111 telephone customers and close to 100 DSL subscribers.  That is the largest growth in a two month period seen on that system.  I think that speaks to the job we are doing down there as well as to our reputation of being a competent telecommunications company.

6.       What are some of your plans for the future for telecommunications in Eagle Mountain?

Our plans are to continue to offer the great service we are offering and to improve some things.  The network needs some upgrades so that we can accommodate  an always-on internet service that we believe will enjoy overwhelming penetration.  Additionally, we would like to offer a cable TV service within the next few years if the demand is there.  Finally, I believe we can offer some VOIP long distance products that will increase our competitiveness in that arena and be very beneficial to our customers.
 
7.       How many people does Direct Communications employ in your office in EM?

There are 2 full time employees in Rockland in myself and our accountant, Jeremy Claunch.  Additionally, we have 4 part time employees in Rockland as some employees work for many of our rural telecom companies throughout our service areas in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah.  In Eagle Mountain we employ 14 employees, most of whom were formerly employees of the city, but 3 more that we have added to the workforce since taking over operations.

8.       What kind of communications set-up do you have in your own home?

Oddly enough I am not a tech-head.  While I work in the industry, my home is pretty basic.  I have basic phone service, with many value added features, and DSL.  I did just buy a Blackberry however, so perhaps I will catch the bug someday…LOL

9.       What should young people today do to prepare themselves for jobs in the communications industry of the future?

The telecommunications industry is so diverse that there are many courses of study that could lead to a profession in telecom.  Telecom involves professionals from legal, economics, accounting, business, engineering and human resources.  I think the key is to prepare for a future in telecom as you would a future in just about anything else.  It is an exciting industry, but I believe much of what one learns in this industry is so industry specific that there is not really an adequate way to prepare specifically for it.  Mostly just on the job training, I suppose.

10.   What do you think the future is going to hold for Eagle Mountain City generally?

  I think Eagle Mountain is going to grow immensely.  It is an exciting and progressive community.  It is attractive because of that and the family values upon which it was established and continues to espouse.  I think its future is very bright and with 49 square miles of incorporated land, I can only forsee it continuing to be one of the fastest growing communities in Utah.  It is our goal to keep up with that growth and to continue to provide all the telecommunications needs to the folks who choose to live there.