CG&A managed a 14-state campaign for U.S. Cellular to help protect a federal fund that supports the construction of new wireless telecommunications infrastructure in rural America. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had proposed to place a cap on this fund, and we worked to prevent that from happening.
	When we were hired, conventional wisdom in Washington, DC held that we were walking into a “no-win” situation – that powerful forces had already decided the fate of the federal fund. However, CG&A worked with U.S. Cellular to create and brand the Connecting Rural America campaign, and we quickly built a grassroots coalition of elected officials, public safety groups and other national and local organizations concerned about rural citizens’ access to high-quality wireless telecommunications. As part of our strategy, we developed a strong media relations plan for the campaign that relied on the connections of several contract PR firms in targeted states, with CG&A as the central hub. Success hinged on the generation of materials that could be localized with information and quotes from coalition partners and pitched to media in individual markets. This plan resulted in more than 300 articles, editorials and broadcast segments in 22 states.
	The bottom line is that our combined efforts forestalled many times what was supposed to have been a “done deal.” We brought enough media and Congressional attention to the issue that the FCC could not implement the cap as planned.