SERVICES
Our firm is well-positioned to support organizations’ investments in infrastructure and capabilities. Our clients count on us to address and resolve issues with regulatory agencies so they are not drawn away from their core functions in serving customers and growing their businesses. Our most important commodities are individualized service, client trust, and credibility with the stakeholders. We provide a better value than other less agile firms. We believe that our high standards of service and integrity strengthen our regulatory advocacy on behalf of our clients. Read more about Principal Pete Wagner.
MARKET ENTRY
While clients understand the technical and business challenges involved with their current and prospective markets, regulatory issues and requirements can be enigmatic to those without such specialized knowledge and experience. We add value by addressing these issues by identifying and completing the necessary applications, permits, franchise authorizations, and other filings for the client’s market within the appropriate jurisdiction(s). The client can then move forward with its core business unencumbered.
We assist in completing the application process for state and federal telecommunications carrier certification for clients starting telecommunications (telephone, IPTV, internet) service. Typical clients include Electric Cooperatives and Municipalities. We apply our unique Optimal Approach to apply the best type and combination of resources to bear.
MARKET GROWTH AND COMPLIANCE
Once the client has entered a market and has obtained its jurisdictional service authorization and
status, new responsibilities and obligations are imposed. These can vary greatly based on the type of
service provided and the jurisdiction where the client is operating. Typically, authorization and
certification to provide service come with a range of “new” reporting requirements. These can include:
• U.S. Compulsory Copyright Filings
• U.S. Public Information File Creation and Maintenance
• U.S. Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Reporting
• State Annual Reports
• State Service Area Modification Notices
• State Competition Data Requests
• State Service Quality Reports
• Local Reporting and Filing Requirements
• Audits at Every Level and Jurisdiction
GRANT AND PROGRAMMATIC SUPPORT
Often our client’s business goals and objectives are consistent with specific state and national policy goals. When client infrastructure investment plans are coincident with such policies there can be opportunities for grants and other programmatic support. This support can be one-time or ongoing for initial launch and grant compliance. The most typical grants and programs in recent years via state and federal programs are grants for construction and deployment of high-speed communications networks. Examples of these programs include FCC-USAC Schools and Libraries, Rural Health Care, and the Remote Areas Fund, or Connect America Fund, along with a number of state grants.
We identify, pursue, and secure outside support for the benefit of clients such as school districts, library systems, cooperatives, municipalities, and health care systems.
ADVOCACY
We understand that clients want input into regulatory and public policy processes that impact them. We work with clients to prepare input comments and expert witness testimony on administrative rule makings and matters before agencies and other public bodies. These can include state utility commissions, state legislatures, local governments, and Federal Agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
We advocate for clients’ interests during rule makings, agency reviews, and other proceedings at the local, state and federal levels.
OPTIMAL APPROACH
Our clients benefit from our approach as it is applied to all of our services. The lynchpin of our approach is flexibility, allowing an individualized approach to getting the job done. We work with the client’s in-house technical and legal staff, bring together an off-site team, or a combination of both. Optimizing our approach to serving each client helps ensure that we act consistently with each client’s goals while minimizing cost.
MANAGEMENT CONSULTING AND SUPPORT
Clients benefit from our business experience applied through our sequential seven-step method. We have found that the seven-step method works best with client input and approval.
1) Establish realistic and clearly defined goals and objectives: This is the foundation of our process.
We work with the client to develop a clear mutual understanding of the endgame of our engagement. We work
closely with our client to establish reasonable, actionable, and realistic goals and objectives that provide
optimal benefit.
2) Develop a plan of work: Our work plans are driven by realistic clearly stated goals and objectives
have clearly a defined scope, incorporate client input, and bring adequate resources to bear at all stages.
3) Incorporate client input: This step is where our client provides a detailed factual perspective.
We understand that our client’s time is a precious and perishable commodity. We focus our response to each
request for client information and data input in support of established clearly defined goals and objectives.
We establish a context for each project based upon the client’s current data and processes to work within the
client’s existing organization. We approach this step prepared to conduct the necessary off-site analyses and
on-site fieldwork to fully understand the perspective of the client.
4) State Findings in a clear and direct manner: Our findings are evidence-based and are specific to our
client’s unique circumstances. Further, we state our findings in an objective and factual manner.
5) Evaluate Solutions: Our experience shows that clearly stated findings supported by analyses often
yield more than a single solution. By evaluating a number of solutions, we can accomplish more than simply
stating a way to solve a problem; we can provide the optimal solution along with practicable alternatives.
6) Recommend the Best Solution: We evaluate any number of viable solutions yielded from the previous
steps and present the optimal solution. Our recommendation will account for differences in professional
interpretation of data, resulting in a clear understanding of an agreed upon solution, while identifying
alternatives. This results in an agreed-upon recommendation rather than a take-it-or-leave-it end product.
7) Implementation: We understand that providing actionable recommendations may not always go far
enough to address our clients’ requirements. Therefore, we offer support to help ensure that the solutions
are put in place. Our Implementation support service provides a means for our client to know whether they
are receiving the benefit from earlier recommendations and improvement efforts.
First and foremost, we understand that every activity must support the success of the client. Our client-based solutions minimize risk while maximizing benefit. We understand what is required to provide value-added objective support.
REGULATORY REPORTING AND COMPLIANCE
Clients of Wagner Consulting LLC benefit through an approach which allows maximum client flexibility, protects proprietary client information, and streamlines reporting and filing activities. We have found clients are best served through our three-point optimal approach which:
1) Allows Maximum Flexibility: Our firm has a successful track record of both working closely with the client’s in-house staff or assembling a professional team tailored to each client’s specific functions and project requirements. Our approach not only provides the client with operational flexibility, but keeps costs down as the client only pays for the resources it requires.
2) Protects Sensitive Information: When a client fulfills its regulatory mandates, it routinely provides wide-ranging information to various jurisdictions. We understand that in the effort to meet its obligations, confidential, sensitive, and proprietary data may become intermingled with information provided in public venues. We carefully review jurisdictional filing requirements and client material to ensure that only information required to meet the filing requirements is provided and, in instances where providing such information is ordered, it is identified and treated accordingly.
3) Streamlines Reporting: Reporting requirements at both the state and federal levels require reports, registrations, and certifications at varying stages of our clients’ projects. We work closely with our clients to evaluate construction, testing, and turn-up dates making only the required filings within the reporting period. In practically all cases we recognize that these requirements include state and federally mandated deadlines. This planned and coordinated approach minimizes activities such as changed filings and added reporting. Our clients have reports and filings minimized because we find answers to questions early in the compliance process to best support client operational plans and schedules.
Ultimately, our clients achieve compliance at low overhead through our three-point approach. Like our Management Consulting and Support practice we strive to balance the client’s risk tolerance against up-front and long-run cost control.
