Law Seminars International Presents

A Comprehensive Conference on

Municipal Broadband

Challenges, Opportunities and Effective Solutions

July 11 & 12, 2005
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN
Order      Download PDF Brochure

Who Should Order Homestudy

Attorney's, government officials, industry representatives and land use professionals

Why Order

"Municipal provisioning of broadband and advanced communications services is growing. Many local communities have taken up the broadband challenge to make affordable high-capacity connections available as rapidly as possible throughout their communities. This growth has stimulated a backlash from incumbent cable television and telephone companies, seeking to prevent or limit the scope of municipal involvement in the communications field. This seminar is for local officials and others interested in municipal communications services. Our faculty of experts will examine past and current experiences of local governments, and the economic, technical and legal questions which must be addressed. In addition, the seminar will examine the shifting policy perspectives as more and larger public entities enter the activity. Finally, the seminar will examine the policy arguments for and against, and review the latest developments in state and federal legislatures. Which technology, service-mix and ownership structure 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. Miller, Esq., Mark W. Smith, Esq.

What You Will Learn

* The Business and Political Environment * The Legal and Regulatory Landscape * Municipal Broadband in the Southeast * Predicting Community Bandwidth Needs - Today & Tomorrow * Finding the Fit Between Community Needs and the Technological Options * Leveraging Community Connectivity * The Planning Process: Needs, Existing Infrastructure Capabilities, and System Design * Financing Issues * Entering Into the Fray: Who Really is in the Best Position to Do What?

Agenda

Monday, July 11, 2005
8:30 am Introduction and Overview
  Mark W. Smith, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Miller & Martin PLLC / Chattanooga, TN
8:45 am Keynote Address: A Post Card from the Republic of Technology
  William J. Ray, P.E., Chief Executive Officer
 The Glasgow Electric Plant Board / Glasgow, KY
9:30 am The Business and Political Environment
  Why municipal broadband is so attractive today and what proponents and opponents are doing about it.
  James Baller, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 The Baller Herbst Law Group / Washington, DC
10:15 am Break
10:30 am The Legal and Regulatory Landscape
  Nicholas P. Miller, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Miller & Van Eaton, PLLC / Washington, DC
11:15 am Municipal Broadband in the Southeast
  Political and legal developments
  Mark W. Smith, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Miller & Martin PLLC / Chattanooga, TN
  Jackson's Fiber to the Home System
  Kim K. Kersey, Senior Vice President - Telecommunications Division
 Jackson Energy Authority / Jackson, TN
  Wi-Fi mesh network deployments
  Ron Sege, President & Chief Executive Officer
 Tropos Networks / Sunnyvale, CA
12:15 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:30 pm Predicting Community Bandwidth Needs - Today and Tomorrow
  Forecasts of skyrocketing bandwidth needs
  Lawrence K. Vanston, Ph.D., President
 Technology Futures, Inc. / Austin, TX
  Understanding consumers - latest research
  Allison Cerra, Director Consumer Marketing
 Alcatel USA / Plano, TX
  The vast potential of Telework
  John M. H. Edwards, Chairman of the Board
 Telework Coalition / Washington, DC
  The vast potential of Telehealth
  Berdell Knowles
 JEA / Jacksonville, FL
3:30 pm Break
3:45 pm Finding a Fit Between Community Needs and the Technological Options
  Wireline: Copper, Coax, Fiber
  James H. Salter, P.E., Chied Executive Officer
 Atlantic Engineering Group / Braselton, GA
  Wireless: WiFi, WiMax and G3 cellular
  Tony Perez, Director
 Cable Communications / Seattle, WA
  Broadband over power lines and other broadband technology options from the Muni perspective
  Alan R. Shark, D.P.A., CAE, Executive Director, Managing Director
 Public Technology Institute & The Power Line Communications Association / Washington, DC
5:15 pm Wrap-up Focusing on the Questions of Greatest Concern to the Audience
  Mark W. Smith, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Miller & Martin PLLC / Chattanooga, TN
  Members of the Faculty
5:30 pm Reception for Faculty and Attendees Sponsored by Miller Van Eaton, PLLC, Miller & Martin PLLC

Tuesday, July 12, 2005
8:30 am Leveraging Community Connectivity
  The benefits and challenges of interconnecting multiple localities
  Joel Mulder, Director - Business Development
 Adesta LLC / St. Charles, IL
  Paul Morris, Esq., Executive Director
 Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency(UTOPIA} / West Valley City, UT
10:00 am Break
10:15 am The Planning Process: Needs, Existing Infrastructure Capabilities, and System Design
  Developing an effective feasibility study
  Michael S. Fox, Principal
 CCG Consulting, Inc. / Riverdale, MD
  Evaluating your options: Practical approaches for designing study and planning processes
  John L. Toccalino, P.E., Director of Integrated Networks
 Black & Veatch / Overland Park, KS
11:45 am Lunch (on your own)
1:00 pm Financing Issues
  Tradtional and non-traditional methods of financing municipal broadband projects
  Scott L. Crowley, Chief Financial Officer
 U. S. Metronets, L.C. / Provo, UT
  Key Bond and tax considerations
  David G. Moffett, Vice President - Public Utilities Practice
 Merrill Lynch & Co. / Atlanta, GA
  Federal loan and grant opportunities (including funds for Homeland Security upgrades)
  Christopher A. McLean, Principal Partner
 e-Copernicus / Washington, DC
2:30 pm Break
2:45 pm Entering Into the Fray: Who Really Is In the Best Position To Do What?
  Terry J. Huval, Director of Utilities
 Lafayette Utilities System / Lafayette, LA
  John Smith, Director of Telecommunications Services
 Chelan County PUD District #1 / Wenatchee, WA
3:45 pm Program Wrap-up
  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
  Mark W. Smith, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Miller & Martin PLLC / Chattanooga, TN
4:00 pm Adjourn

Cancellation

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

Continuing Education Credits

Law Seminars International automatically obtains CLE credit approval for the state in which a seminar is held. On request, we will apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits. Current credits status: TN CLE 12.75 | FL CLE pending | LA CLE 12.75 | NC CLE 12.75

Cost

Our complete Homestudy Course, consisting of a VHS or DVD recording and the written course materials, is available for $1005. The written 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 (whichever is later).
Order Homestudy

Faculty Bios

James Baller, Program Co-Chair, is Founder of the Baller Herbst Law Group specializing 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 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 TV and telecom issues.

Mark W. Smith, Program Co-Chair, a Partner at Miller & Martin PLLC, has broad litigation, civil and industry experience, representing telecom clients in both regulatory and transactional matters.

William J. "Billy" Ray, Keynote Address, serves as Chief Executive Officer for the Glasgow, KY, Electric Plant Board. He is closely involved in areas of the municipally owned utility. His program has earned the Energy Innovator Award from the American Public Power Association.

Allison Cerra is Director of Consumer Marketing for Alcatel North America. Previously, with GTE/Verizon, she was Director of Consumer Marketing for their DSL product and Director of Customer Service, ISP Unit.

Scott L. Crowley currently serves as CFO, U. S. Metronets, L.C., a municipal broadband integration firm he co-founded that utilizes long-term public/private partnerships with best-in-class telecommunications companies and municipalities to implement and operate municipal broadband networks on a "turn-key" basis.

John M. H. Edwards is Board Chairman and Founder of the Telework Coalition. He co-authored an expert software suite for the capture and analysis of network and telework parameters for management decision-making. He is a past two-term president of the Mid-Atlantic Telecommuting Advisory Council.

Terry J. Huval is Director of Lafayette Utilities System, a municipally owned utility providing electric, water and wastewater service to 55,000 residents, and is currently developing a fiber-to-home initiative for residents of Lafayette, Louisiana.

Kim K. Kersey is Senior Vice President of Telecommunications for Jackson Energy Authority, responsible for the planning and implementation of one of the nation's largest fiber-to-the-home projects.

Christopher A. McLean is a Principal Partner in e-Copernicus and Counsel to the ComCARE Alliance. He is an advocate for rural consumers, testifying on their behalf before congressional committees, state regulators, and the FCC.

David G. Moffett, Vice President - Public Utilities Practice, Merrill Lynch & Co., has partnered in the structuring of numerous issues for public, private, and municipal entities covering all aspects of the utility sector including telecommunications, electric, gas, water, and wastewater.

Paul Morris serves as Executive Director to UTOPIA a governmental entity created by 17 Utah cities to study and build a wholesale fiber optic network to all homes and businesses within the member cities. Since 1983 he has served as the City Attorney for West Valley City, Utah. He currently serves as the Chair of the Utah League of Cities and Towns Telecommunications Task Force.

Joel Mulder is Director of Business Development for Adesta LLC, a multidiscipline integrator for commercial, industrial and governmental entities. His experience is in telecoommunications sales and sales management.

Tony Perez, Director, Seattle Office of Cable Communications, is responsible for all regulatory matters relating to cable operators in Seattle, WA, frequently reporting to city government, the media, and the public about cable, telecom, and new technologies.

James H. Salter is Founder and CEO of Atlantic Engineering Group, a design and build firm specializing in municipal utility telecommunications projects. He is former Chairman of the FTTH Council and the Board of Directors.

Ron Sege is President and CEO of Tropos Networks. He has over 20 years experience in managing high-growth, disruptive businesses in the networking industry. He is an expert on wireless mesh networks for the metro, which enable public safety agencies, municipalities and service providers to quickly and easily deliver city-wide fixed and mobile broadband connectivity in any locale.

Alan R. Shark, Executive Director - Public Technology Institute, Managing Director - The Powerline Communications Association, is an expert in issues affecting the specialized mobile wireless community and power line communication policies, applications and technology.

John Smith is Director of Telecommunications Services at the Chelan County PUD, District #1 and has worked in a lead role within the PUD's fiber-to-the-home program for the past four years.

John L. Toccalino is Director for Integrated Network projects within Black & Veatch's telecom business, working with municipalities to develop Jacksonville Florida's Telecommunications Master Plan and North Kansas City's Broadband Feasibility Study.

Lawrence K. Vanston is an internationally recognized authority on the use of forecasting in the telecommunications industry and President of Technology Futures, Inc. He frequently testifies before state and federal regulatory commissions on the impacts of new technologies and markets in the public telephone network.