It's all about how you measure progress. Here's some great news and what it means for Merced County and maybe many of you as residents in rural parts of Merced County.
For years the Merced County Economic Development Corp. (MCEDCO) has been pushing for better service in rural areas. We want to see better roads, schools, medical assistance, infrastructure for jobs and other infrastructure.
Last week, we received some great news about AT&T when that company announced it would be buying or merging with T-Mobile USA, which serves a lot of rural areas in California.
Since the news broke, much has been made about why AT&T is merging with T-Mobile; but not enough has been said about what it means for residents of Merced County.
As the president and chief executive officer of MCEDCO, I know this potential merger is great for our community. Many of the folks who live and work in Merced County do so in more rural areas.
As a result, they may have limited access to technology. But we want that to change. We want more access. We want better access and improved services so that we can better use greater access for medical clinics, for fire protection, for distance learning with our schools and colleges.
I didn't know what 4G was or LTE, but I knew we wanted it.
Let me explain what it is that is improved and how it may benefit you.
The proposed merger means faster service. The deal allows AT&T to extend its 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) service. LTE is the latest and greatest service in the wireless industry. And now we get it too. That's a win for us.
Because AT&T is expanding with the use of T-Mobile USA infrastructure, we should see improvements even more quickly. We like infrastructure. More infrastructure equals greater access.
The proposed merger also means better educational opportunities for children in Merced County.
Students will more quickly be able to use the 4G network to conduct research more efficiently and effectively online than without the merger. And teachers will soon be able to access the network to put together lesson plans or conduct training sessions with other teachers.
Thanks to this proposed merger, education in Merced County will soon be transformed. This is positive progress.
The merger also means better public safety. Any time anyone has an emergency and calls 911, he shouldn't have to worry about losing a cell phone signal. Yet that happens.
Now, with the proposed merger, many people calling for help during an emergency won't have to worry as much about the call dropping.
Isn't that what communication is all about? Don't we want to use technology to improve our community and our lives?
That's been the case for years in big cities. Now it's time for technology to pay off for people in rural areas like Merced County.
In Merced County, we want positive progress. We believe that the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA is going to improve our community, empower our people and transform our future.
David Spaur is president and CEO of the Merced County Economic Development Corp.
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