WASHINGTON, May 6, 2014 – Efforts to construct Gigabit Networks will be featured prominently at the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition meeting this week in Washington, the fourth annual event for this community of broadband users. The even will run from Wednesday, May 7 through Friday, May 9.

Registration and the agenda for the event demonstrate a strong interest in the federal eRate fund to connect schools and libraries to high-speed broadband, the Federal Communications Commission’s Health Care Connect fund created in 2012, and ConnectED, the ultra-high speed initiative unveiled by the White House in June 2013.

John Windhausen, executive director of the SHLB Coalition, said that this year’s conference will demonstrate how community broadband groups are going “beyond BTOP,” the acronym from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, and which concluded last year. BTOP was funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed just as President Obama was beginning his first term in office.

Among the more than 260 people registered to attend include officials from the California Telehealth Network, Connect Arkansas, C Spire, the Fiber Utilities Group, Gigabit Libraries Network, Google, ICF International, Internet2, the Kansas Fiber Network, Mobile Pulse, MOREnet, Time Warner Cable Business Class, and the Zayo Group.

The scheduled program is displayed below:

SHLB Coalition 2014 Annual Conference“The Premier Conference on Anchor Institution Broadband Policy.”May 7-9, 2014 Agenda  Click on the Titles of the Sessions for Descriptions and Bios of the Speakers Speakers listed below are confirmed  (M) = Moderator
Wed. May 7th
	Workshop #1 FCC’s Healthcare Connect Fund Consortia 2:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.   Featuring: Matthew Quinn, FCC Christi Barnhart, FCC	Workshop #2Building a Gigabit Nation1:00 – 5:30   Featuring: Craig Settles	Workshop #3Regulatory ComplianceNoon – 2 p.m. Featuring: Jim Baller, Baller Herbst Law Firm   NTIA: Sustainability of PCC/SBA projects 2:30 – 6 p.m. Featuring: Gwenn Weaver, NTIA
6:00-7:30 p.m.	Opening Night ReceptionMarriott Marquis Hotel Mezzanine Foyer
Thurs. May 8th
8:30-8:45 a.m.	Plenary #1:Opening CommentsJohn Windhausen, SHLB Executive Director Don Means, SHLB Chairman
8:45-9:30 a.m.	Plenary #2:Louis Fox, CEO of CENIC
9:30-10:00 a.m.	BREAK
10:00-11:00 a.m.	E-Rate #1:The $2 Billion Question: Funding for E-rateJon Bernstein, Bernstein Strategy Group (M)Jon Wilkins,FCC Bob Bocher, ALA Jeff Campbell, Cisco	Wireless Broadband #1:White Spaces and CAIsMichael Calabrese, New America Foundation (M) Michael Daum, MicrosoftDon Means, Gigabit Libraries NetworkToby Bradley, Pascagoula MS School District	Health/E-rate: Building a Broadband Network (Part 1)Denise Atkinson-Shorey, e-Luminosity (M) Duke Horan, Henkels & McCoy Randy Lowe, Davis Wright  Tremaine, LLP John Honker, Magellan Advisors Scot Eberle, Fiber Utilities Group
11:00-11:15 a.m.	BREAK
11:15-12:15 p.m.	E-Rate #2:E-rate Capital InvestmentJen Leasure, The Quilt (M) Emily Almond, Georgia Public Library ServiceAlan Katz, SunesysJamie Huber, COPESD	Rural Broadband #1:Sustainable LocalismSean McLaughlin, Access Humboldt (M) Frank Odasz, Lone Eagle Consulting Pam Lloyd, GCI Edyael Casaperalta, Rural Broadband Policy Group	Health/E-rate:Building a Broadband Network (Part 2)Denise Atkinson-Shorey, e-Luminosity (M) Duke Horan, Henkels & McCoy (M)   Randy Lowe, Davis Wright  Tremaine, LLP   John Honker, Magellan Advisors   Scot Eberle, Fiber Utilities Group
12:30-1:00 p.m. 1:00-2:00 p.m.	LunchPlenary #3:  ConnectED Tom Power, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy Richard Culatta, U.S. Dept. of Education
2:15-3:15 p.m.	Broadband Planning #1:Wireless Broadband Innovators: Anchors & Home Bob Collie, ENA (M)James Ratleff, Applied Research Designs  Dr. Rouzbeh Yassini, UNH Broadband Center for Excellence	ConnectED #1Private Sector Commitments to ConnectED Karen Perry, Clarion Collaborative (M) Charles McKee, Sprint Andrew Ko, Microsoft Reg Leichty, Counsel to CoSN	Digital Inclusion #1:CAIs and the Digital Divide (Part 1) Laura Breeden, NTIA (M) Jon Gant, Center for Digital Inclusion Karen Mossberger, Arizona State University Helen Milner, Tinder Foundation
3:15-3:30 p.m.	BREAK
3:30-4:30 p.m.	Broadband Planning #2:Community Broadband Planning Phil Lindley, ConnectME Authority (M) Joshua Broder, Tilson Chris Tamarin, Oregon BB Outreach Tim Scott, Axia	Broadband Mapping: The Key to New Knowledge Creation for CAIs Marijke Visser, ALA (M)Ken Wall, Geodata Services Stacey Aldrich, PA State Library Jarrid Keller, CA State Library	Digital Inclusion #2:CAIs and the Digital Divide (Part 2) Francine Alkisswani, NTIA (M) Samantha Becker, U. of Washington Rodney Hopson, George Mason University
5:00-5:30 p.m.   5:30-5:45 p.m.	Plenary #4Network Nebraska- Education; Success through Collaboration Tom Rolfes, Education I.T. Manager, State of NebraskaZach Leverenz, CEO, EveryoneOn
6:00-7:30 p.m.	Reception
Friday. May 9th
8:30-9:30 a.m.	Plenary #5Dr. Dallas Dance, Superintendent of Schools, Baltimore County Public Schools
9:45-10:45 a.m.	E-Rate #3:E-rate Benchmarks and Data  Larra Clark, ALA (M) Mark Walker, FCC John Harrington, Funds for Learning Jake Cowan, ULC	Wireless Broadband #2:It Takes a Mobile Village to raise a Mobile Child:Developing Mobile Learning across the Community Sarah Morris, New America Foundation (M) Kevin Capp, Mobile Pulse Sheryl Abshire, Calcasieu Parish Schools Lindsey Harmon, Connect Nevada	Digital Inclusion #3:Kansas City, Google, Digital DivideAngela Siefer, Center for Digital Inclusion (M) Erica Swanson, Google Fiber Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner, KC Public Library Crosby Kemper, KC Public Library Michael Liimatta, Connecting for Good
10:45-11:15 a.m.	BREAK
11:15-12:15 p.m.	Gigabit Cities #1:Beyond BTOP: Partnerships for Gigabit Brian Proffit, Zayo Bandwidth (M) Jim Stewart, Utah Education Network Laura Spining Dodson,NTIA Mark Johnson, MCNC	Rural Broadband #2:Rural Broadband Experiments and the CAF Heather Gold, Fiber to the Home Council (M) Jonathan Chambers, FCC John Gillispie, MOREnet Alyssa Clemsen, Utilities Telecommunications Council	Digital Inclusion #4: Sustaining Digital Inclusion Kami Griffiths, CTN (M) Allison Walsh, Broadband Rhode Island Dionne Baux, Smart Communities Chicago Stu Johnson, ConnectOhio
12:30-1:00 p.m. 1:00-2:00 p.m.	LunchPlenary #6 Tony Wilhelm, Chief of Staff, NTIA Blair Levin, Executive Director, Gig.U

December 11, 2013 – The next week includes a variety of broadband-related events, both in Washington and elsewhere in the country.

On Wednesday, December 12, at 2 p.m. ET, Public Knowledge and the Center for Media Justice host an event on “What’s the Hang Up: A Webinar to Understand the Phone Network Transition and Defend Your Communication Rights.” Register at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=s2k99xroc380

Also on Wednesday, December 12, at 12:15 p.m. ET, the New America Foundation highlights “In Poverty, Under Surveillance.” Register at http://www.newamerica.net/events/2013/in_poverty_under_surveillance

Also on Wednesday, December 12, in Cumming, Georgia, in the northern part of the state, Digital Georgia hosts a day-long broadband summit. Information about the event is available at http://www.cviog.uga.edu/gta.

Also on Wednesday, December 12, the Federal Communications Commission will host its December open meeting.

On Monday, December 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.,  TechFreedom hosts an event on “FTC: Technology & Reform Project Launches.” Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-ftc-technology-reform-conference-tickets-9656000357.

Also on Monday, December 16, the New America Foundation’s Techno-Activism Third Monday event is on “The Role of Circumvention Tools in Internet Filtering Countries.” Register at http://www.newamerica.net/events/2013/techno_activism_third_mondays_2

On Tuesday, December 17, at 11 a.m. ET, The Broadband Breakfast Club hosts a free webinar on “Evaluating the Broadband Stimulus Program: Were Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Funds Well-Spent?” Register at http://gowoa.me/i/cFp

On Thursday, December 19, at Noon ET, Tech Freedom hosts another event on “A New Kingsbury Commitment: Universal Service through Competition?” with FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai.

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-new-kingsbury-commitment-universal-service-through-competition-tickets-9729123069

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2013 – The Broadband Breakfast Club announced that it will host a free, online webinar on Tuesday, December 17, 2013, at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT, on “Evaluating the Broadband Stimulus Program: Were Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Funds Well-Spent?”

Authors Gregory Rosston and Scott Wallsten, in a publication for the Technology Policy Institute, have called the broadband stimulus program “A Rural Boondoggle and Missed Opportunity.”

In the paper, the authors conclude that the “NTIA adopted a system that led to awards differing by more than a factor of 100 in terms of expected cost-effectiveness. Had it adopted a more reasonable framework, many more households could have been connected for the same money, or the same number of connections could have been realized for a fraction of the cost.”

In a critique of the study by the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition, Executive Director John Windhausen characterized the report as a misunderstanding of BTOP’s purposes. “The program also provided valuable support for public computer centers and promoted broadband adoption in urban, suburban and rural areas. Unlike an ongoing subsidy, BTOP provided a one-time investment in long-lasting broadband infrastructure that previously suffered from an inadequate level of broadband capacity.”

In a session moderated by Drew Clark, Chairman and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com, Rosston, Wallsten and Windhausen will debate the Technology Policy Study in the webinar on December 17. Register today!