NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association--has named Mike Romano as CEO, replacing Shirley Bloomfield, who is retiring from the industry advocacy organization.
Bloomfield, who announced her retirement last fall, stayed on to ensure a smooth transition while the organization searched for a replacement. She had served as CEO since 2010.
Romano will officially take on his new position on March 15.
Romano currently serves as executive vice president of NTCA, where he oversees public policy, government affairs, and business development initiatives, the educational and community-focused mission of the Foundation for Rural Service, and several areas of association operations, including member engagement and information technology.
He brings plenty of regulatory and legal experience to the CEO role.
Before joining NTCA in 2010, Romano was of counsel at Bingham McCutchen, LLP (now Morgan Lewis), served as vice president and general counsel at GTT Communications, and held various positions at America Online and Level 3 Communications.
“Having worked for the past fifteen years for smaller broadband providers who are working to connect rural America, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the difference these operators make in driving innovation and lifting consumers and communities,” said Romano.
Romano’s team has numerous initiatives that directly affect NTCA’s rural constituency, including guidance on navigating the FCC’s recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to accelerate the transition from legacy TDM-based networks to all-IP, as well as other issues.
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About the Author
Sean BuckleySean Buckley
Sean is the Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave. He establishes and executes Lightwave's editorial strategy across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products. Before coming to Lightwave in July 2023, he served as editor of Broadband Communities. Earlier, he served as senior editor of FierceTelecom and the editor of the former Telecommunications Magazine. He got his start in the optical industry in 1998 when he became the editor of enterprise and optical networks at Information Gatekeepers. He has a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and lives in Dracut, Mass, with his wife, two sons, and his cat, Dove.
