Law Seminars International Presents

A Comprehensive Conference on

Municipal Broadband

Challenges, Opportunities and Effective Solutions

March 25 & 26, 2004
Orlando Marriott Downtown in Orlando, FL
Order      Download PDF Brochure

Who Should Order Homestudy

Attorneys, government officials, industry representatives and land use professionals

Why Order

"Many local communities have recognized that broadband communications systems may prove critical to economic development and to delivery of important governmental and educational services. The broadband challenge currently is to make affordable high-capacity connections available as rapidly as possible throughout America. Today, many communities are considering whether that can or should be done without relying on the private sector to carry the ball on its own. Local officials who want to position their communities for future economic growth must find the best way to extend high-speed connectivity to residences, small businesses, community organizations, and the smaller offices of larger organizations. Which of the many options is best for your community? This comprehensive conference offers an opportunity to explore that question with a group of national experts and community leaders who have been on the cutting edge of municipal broadband project development. We hope you will join us for a most informative examination of this vital topic for local governments." ~ Program Co-Chairs:James Baller, Esq., Nicholas P. Milller, Esq. and Gary I. Resnick, Esq.

What You Will Learn

The Business and Political Environment, The Legal and Regulatory Landscape, State Policymaker’s View, Technological Choices, Public Involvement Models, The Planning Process, System Design and other Factors, Financing Options, Political Conflicts and Competitive Issues between Incumbents and New Entrants

Agenda

Thursday, March 25, 2004
8:30 am Introduction and Overview
  Gary I. Resnick, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza & Guedes PA / Miami, FL
8:45 am The Business and Political Environment
  James Baller, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 The Baller Herbst Law Group / Washington, DC
9:30 am The Legal and Regulatory Landscape
  Nicholas P. Miller, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Miller & Van Eaton, P.L.L.C. / Washington, DC
10:15 am Break
10:30 am State Policymaker’s View of Municipal Broadband
  How does it fit into the State’s telecommunications policy goals? How does it affect the rela-tionship between the state regulatory commission and local governments?
  Braulio L. Baez, Esq.
 Florida Public Service Commission / Tallahassee, FL
11:00 am Florida’s Pioneering Municipal Broadband Experiences
  Edward Regan, Assistant General Manager Strategic Utility Planning
 Gainsville Regional Utilities / Gainsville, FL
  Jason R. Teal, Esq., Assistan General Counsel
 Consolidated City of Jacksonville / Jacksonville, FL
12:00 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm Technological Choices: Will BPL and Wi-Max Render Wireline Solutions Obsolete?
  Technological capabilities; overview of current rules; emerging policy issues
  Edmond J. Thomas, Chief of the Office of Engineering & Technology
 Federal Communications Commission / Washington, DC
  Wireline - Copper, HFC & FTTX: deployment problems and trends
  James Farmer, Chief Technical Officer
 Wave7 Optics, Inc / Alpharetta, GA
  Wireless (Wi-Fi and Wi-Max) & Powerline Broadband (BPL) Alternatives – capabilities and potential limitations; concerns about RF interfer-ence
  Brett Kilbourne, Esq., Director of Regulatory Services and Associate Counsel
 United PowerLine Council / Washington, DC
  Wireless( Wi-Fi and Wi-Max) & Powerline Broadband (BPL) Alternatives - capabilities and potential limitations; concerns about RF interference
  John Overley, Vice President Sales and Marketing
 Tri-State Broadband, Inc. / Lawrenceville, GA
3:15 pm Break
3:30 pm "Wireless Broadband Policies and Perspectives"
  The regulatory landscape for this facilities-based platform and the Commission's initiatives in this area.
  Lauren M. Van Wazer, Esq., Special Counsel and Associate Chief
 FCC - Office of Engineering and Technology / Washington, DC
4:15 pm Public Involvement Models
  Wholesale services and regional development
  David Muschamp, President & CEO
 Georgia Public Web / Atlanta, GA
  Full Service
  Raymond K. Buzzard, Manager of Technology
 Dalton Utilities / Dalton, GA
5:15 pm Sponsored Reception for Faculty and Participants

Friday, March 26, 2004
8:30 am The Planning Process: System Design
  Evaluating your Technological Options and Es-tablishing Performance Specifications
  Andrew Afflerbach, Ph.D., Vice President & Principal Engineer
 Columbia Telecommunications Corporation / Columbia, MD
  Neil Shaw, Principal and Co-Founder
 Uptown Services LLC / Greenwood Village, CO
  John L. Toccalino, P.E.
 Black & Veatch / Overland Park, KS
10:15 am Break
10:30 am The Planning Process: Other Factors
  Municipal Broadband and Economic Development
  Darrene Hackler, Ph.D.
 George Mason University / Fairfax, VA
  Addressing Emergency Response and Homeland Security Issues
  Joel Mulder, Director
 Adesta LLC / St. Charles, IL
  Evaluating the prospects for effectively dealing with competitive responses (and perhaps even anti-competitive practices) from existing service providers
  Gary I. Resnick, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza & Guedes PA / Miami, FL
12:00 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm Financing Options
  Traditional and non-traditional methods of financing municipal broadband projects
  J. Allen Davis, President
 United Telesystems, Inc. / Savannah, GA
  Federal loan and grant opportunities (including funds for Homeland Security upgrades)
  Christopher A. McLean, Esq., Vice President
 National Strategies, Inc. / Washington, DC
  What’s unique about financing a municipal broadband system? How to you show that you meet the criteria for revenue-based bonds? What do you need to do before approaching financing sources?
  Edsell M. (Chip) Eady, Jr., Esq.
 Nixon Peabody LLP / San Francisco, CA
2:45 pm Break
3:00 pm Entering into the Frey: Political Conflicts and Competitive Issues between Incum-bents and New Entrants
  Incumbent Perspective
  Jeffrey Jacobs, Esq., Senior Counsel - Law & Government Affairs
 Comcast Cable Communications, Inc. / Philadelphia, PA
  Burt A. Braverman, Esq.
 Cole, Raywid & Braverman LLP / Washington, DC
  Municipal Perspective
  James Baller, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 The Baller Herbst Law Group / Washington, DC
  Nicholas P. Miller, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Miller & Van Eaton / Washington, DC
  Gary I. Resnick, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza & Guedes PA / Miami, FL
5:00 pm Adjourn

Cancellation

There is a $25 cancellation fee for Course Materials orders and $50 for Homestudy orders

Continuing Education Credits

Law Seminars International self-certifies CLE credits for Washington, California, and Alaska. For other locations, we automatically seek CLE credit approval for the state in which a seminar is held. On request, we will apply for credits from other bar associations or the accrediting bodies for other professions. The current credits status for this program is FL CLE 16 (#2409 4) | CA MCLE 13.5 | GA CLE 13.3 | LA CLE 13.25 (#5475040325) | NC CLE 13.25 | NY CLE 15.5 (0 ethics, nontransitional) | OH CLE 12.75 (#000141529) | SC CLE 13.25 ( #240722 | WA CLE 13.25 (#116593) | WV CLE 15.9

Cost

Our complete Homestudy Course, consisting of a VHS or DVD recording and the written course materials, is available for $905. The course materials alone are available for $100. We will ship your homestudy order via UPS ground within two weeks after the seminar or the date we receive payment (which ever is later).
Order Homestudy

Faculty Bios

James Baller, Program Co-Chair, is founder of the Baller Herbst Law Group that specializes in representing local governments and public power utilities in telecommunications, cable television, high-speed data communications, Internet access, wireless telecommunications, right-of-way management, pole and conduit attachments, and barriers to public-sector entry into telecommunications

Nicholas P. Miller, Program Co-Chair, of Miller & Van Eaton, PLLC served as the U.S. Senate Communications Counsel and as a special consultant to the White House on telephone deregulation. He advises local governments and international multilateral agencies on cable television and telecommunications issues.

Gary I. Resnick, Program Co-Chair, is Of Counsel to Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza & Guedes, PA and chairs the firm’s Communications Practice. He primarily represents local governments and private entities in communications and governmental law. Previously, he was the Director of Law and Public Policy for Continental Cablevision and then MediaOne.

Andrew Afflerbach is the Vice President and Principal Engineer for Columbia Telecommunications Corporation. He specializes in system-level planning, design, and implementation of wide-area and local-area telecommunications networks. Among his expertise is the area of emerging technologies and state-of-the-art technological applications.

Braulio L. Báez, Commissioner, Florida Public Service Commission, serves on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Committees on Electricity and International Relations, is Past-President of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and was appointed to the North American Electric Reliability Council.

Burt A. Braverman, Cole Raywid & Braverman LLP, specializes in telecommunications and information law and is the firm’s lead litigator. A member of the International Lawyers Group, he consults with attorneys in a number of countries on telecommunications, antitrust, information law and commercial matters.

Raymond K. Buzzard is the Manager of Technology at Dalton Utilities, where he oversees the design and operation of all the utility’s Information Management, Retail, and Operational Control Systems. Additionally, he is the Project Manager for new initiatives in Voice, Video, and High Speed Internet.

J. Allen Davis, President of United Telecom International heads up the leading management and consulting firm in the U.S. specializing in systems management, business and strategic planning, feasibility studies, and network development support .services; including competitive analysis for municipal broadband endeavors. J. Allen Davis - President. Since 1980, Mr. Davis has provided consulting and support services in the development, construction, operation, financing, disposition and/or acquisition of broadband systems throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Mr. Davis has also held broadband system ownership interests in Georgia, Alabama and Virginia. In his role as President of UTI, from 1990 to date, Mr. Davis has provided support services associated with the development of numerous competitive and noncompetitive broadband systems on behalf of private and municipal clients. Along with numerous municipal entities and electric companies, Mr. Davis has previously provided consulting services to several independent telephone companies and such companies as Knology Holdings, LLC, BellSouth, and Montgomery Cablevision and Entertainment, Inc. In addition, Mr. Davis participated in the development of video services projects and strategies with Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, Cincinnati Bell Telephone, GTE and NYNEX. Mr. Davis has also worked with numerous companies and government agencies involved in the process of developing new video services markets. From 1980 to 1990, Mr. Davis provided consulting support services to broadband and telecommunications providers throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In the early 1980’s, Mr. Davis also developed and implemented a successful test marketing effort for BellSouth associated with the introduction and promotion of custom calling services.

Chip Eady is a partner with Nixon Peabody LLP in San Francisco. He practices primarily as bond counsel, project finance counsel, and disclosure counsel in municipal and corporate securities offerings. He has participated in virtually every type of municipal financing and a wide variety of project financing in the United States and elsewhere.

James Farmer is the Chief Technical Officer for Wave7 Optics, Inc. and holds 80 patents in the fields of set top converters, scrambling systems, and video server systems. Mr. Farmer also co-authored the book Modern Cable Television: Video, Voice and Data Communications and is the President of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society.

Darrene Hackler is an Assistant Professor of Government and Politics in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University. Her teaching and research interests include information technology policy and management in government and non-profits and information technology and economic development in regional economies.

Brett Kilbourne is currently Director, Regulatory Services and Associate Counsel at United Telecom Council (“UTC”) and the United PowerLine Council (“UPLC”), where he provides legal guidance to utilities on telecommunications issues.

Christopher A. McLean is a Vice President of National Strategies, Inc. He formerly served as the Administrator of Rural Utilities Service, a rural development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. During his tenure, he championed broadband deployment, new and renewable energy technologies and universal service.

Joel Mulder is the Director of Business Development for Adesta LLC, a multidiscipline integrator for commercial, industrial and governmental entities. He has experience in the telecommunications marketplace with sales and sales management responsibilities at Motorola, NEC and Nortel.

David Muschamp is President and CEO of Georgia Public Web, Inc., a not-for-profit, technology solutions company offering high-speed Internet, point-to-point connectivity, network monitoring services, website creation tools, and technical consulting services to communities throughout Georgia.

John E. Overley, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Tri-State Broadband, Inc., has held senior level positions in sales, marketing, and sales management in both public and private companies. Prior to Tri-State, Mr. Overlay led his own broadband wireless ISP consulting business.

Ed Regan is the Assistant General Manager for Strategic Utility Planning for Gainsville Regional Utilities (GRU). He plans, directs, coordinates and administers all activities and personnel of the City’s Utility Strategic Planning, Power Marketing and GRUCom departments.

Neil Shaw is Principal and Co-founder of Uptown Services LLC, a telecom consultancy which provides leading edge telecommunications consulting and implementation support services to municipally owned utilities considering entering the broadband services sector.

Jason R. Teal joined the City of Jacksonville General Counsel's Office in October 2000. He specializes in Environmental Litigation and Land Use matters, handling various enforcement matters for the City's Environmental and Resource Management Department and drafting legislation regarding Developments of Regional Impact, rezonings, waivers and appeals in his role as counsel to the Land Use and Zoning Committee of the Jacksonville City Council. Mr. Teal has been extensively involved in the issues surrounding the November 2000 presidential election, as counsel for the Duval County Supervisor of Elections and serving as legal staff to the Duval County Election Improvement Task Force. He also served as legal staff to the City Council President's Historic Preservation and Downtown Revitalization Task Force. Mr. Teal currently serves as legal staff to the Mayor's and City Council President's Telecommunications Infrastructure Task Force.

Edmond J. Thomas is the Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission. Formerly, he served as the Chief Executive Office of a subsidiary of Philips Electronics and has also served in several senior positions in Bell Atlantic/NYNEX and AT&T.

John L. Toccalino is the Director for Integrated Network projects within Black & Veatch’s telecommunications business. His focus is developing communications networks in the municipal and utility market.

Lauren M. Van Wazer is currently Special Counsel and Associate Chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology. She focuses on spectrum policy issues, most recently on the Commission’s initiatives in the area of wireless broadband policy. Before joining the Office of Engineering and Technology, she held positions as Interim Legal Advisor for Wireless and International issues for Commissioner Michael J. Copps and as Senior Staff Attorney in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.