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Broadband Breakfast on July 27, 2022 – Bringing Broadband to Rural America: A Case Study in Morgan, Utah

Following up on UTOPIA Fiber’s buildout to Morgan City, we’ll look at benefits of broadband for this rural community

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8 months ago

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See “Morgan City Fiber Swap Model Catching On,” Broadband Breakfast, July 28, 2022.

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.

Wednesday, July 27, 2022, 12 Noon ET – Bringing Broadband to Rural America: A Case Study in Morgan, Utah

Bringing broadband to a rural community like Morgan City, Utah, is never an easy task. But in 2019, Morgan, a community on the least-populated side of the Wasatch Mountains without even a stoplight, found itself on the wrong side of the digital divide. Into the mix stepped UTOPIA Fiber, an open access network in Utah primarily serving the more populous communities on the west side of the Wasatch front. Following up on a Broadband Communities 2019 article telling the story of UTOPIA Fiber’s buildout to Morgan City, this Broadband Breakfast Live session will examine the impact of bringing broadband to this rural community. Join us at 12 Noon ET.

Panelists:

  • Steve Gale, Mayor, Morgan City, Utah
  • Lynne Yocom, Fiber Optics Manager, Utah Department of Transportation
  • Roger Timmerman, Executive Director, UTOPIA Fiber
  • Warren Woodward, Director of Broadband Service, XMission Internet
  • Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Panelist resources:

  • From UTOPIA Fiber: A Model Open Access Network, Broadband Communities, November-December 2019
    • The rural community of Morgan, Utah, is where UTOPIA Fiber’s vision for gradual community-by-community network expansion is most fully realized.A rural community without even a stoplight, Morgan is on the least-populated side of the Wasatch Mountains. It was left in the lurch when Comcast left town and stopped providing service. (CenturyLink’s DSL was unreliable.) But with a municipal power system, Morgan felt comfortable managing lines and poles. The community began exploring options to bring a new broadband provider to town.“The more we researched it, the more comfortable we felt about it,” says Ty Bailey, Morgan city manager. “More than economic development, this is just basic service” that the city needs to offer if no one else will. UTOPIA Fiber’s willingness to bring the open-access model to Morgan became “a really good solution for us.”
    • As with any fiber-to-the-home network, UTOPIA Fiber’s costs are a mixture of one-time infrastructure costs and ongoing costs for backhaul transport, network operation and internet services. People associated with the UTOPIA Fiber network speak of the 30 percent penetration rate as an important threshold for profitability, even in rural communities such as Morgan….
    • “We are thrilled to bring UTOPIA Fiber to our growing community,” said Morgan City’s mayor. “Our residents and businesses have been in dire need of better, faster and more reliable options for internet, and UTOPIA Fiber will be providing the best possible solution for our city.”

Steve Gale began his position as Mayor of Morgan City in January 2022. He attended high school in Morgan and married his high school sweetheart.  He is thrilled that his family has also made their homes in Morgan and are close by. He is very patriotic and loves the “Red, White and Blue.”

As the fiber optics manager for the Utah Department of Transportation, Lynne Yocom manages the he communications to traffic devices such as traffic signals, cameras, variable message signs and anything else that needs connectivity to the system. The system is a closed network of just under a thousand miles of fiber optic cable. She work with telecommunication companies to expand the UDOT network through fiber-optic trades.

Roger Timmerman has been serving as UTOPIA Fiber’s Executive Director since 2016 and has been a technology management professional in telecommunications and information technology for over 15 years. Roger has been designing and building networks throughout his career in various roles including Vice President of Engineering for Vivint Wireless, CTO for UTOPIA Fiber, Network Engineer for iProvo, and Network Product Manager for Brigham Young University. Roger earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Information Technology from Brigham Young University.

Warren Woodward is the Director of Broadband Service at XMission LC, the first Salt Lake City based Internet Service Provider and established in 1993. XMission is recognized as being the largest service provider on the UTOPIA Fiber network, a continually expanding municipal fiber project that spans 19 cities in Utah across the western United States.

Drew Clark is the Editor and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com and a nationally-respected telecommunications attorney. Drew brings experts and practitioners together to advance the benefits provided by broadband. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, he served as head of a State Broadband Initiative, the Partnership for a Connected Illinois. He is also the President of the Rural Telecommunications Congress.

WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.

SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. 

See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.

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Broadband Breakfast is a decade-old news organization based in Washington that is building a community of interest around broadband policy and internet technology, with a particular focus on better broadband infrastructure, the politics of privacy and the regulation of social media. Learn more about Broadband Breakfast.

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Broadband Breakfast on April 5, 2023 – State Digital Equity Plans

Hear state broadband leaders talk about how they are approaching the digital equity planning process.

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1 week ago

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March 13, 2023

By

Graphic from Adobe Stock used with permission

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023, 12 Noon ET – State Digital Equity Plans

The Digital Equity Act, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, provides $2.75 billion for three grant programs aiming to promote digital equity. The $60 million State Planning Program, $1.44 billion State Capacity Program and $1.25 Competitive Program will fund a variety of digital equity projects across the country, from planning to implementation. In this session of Broadband Breakfast Live Online, state broadband leaders will talk about how their states are approaching the digital equity planning process and what they hope to accomplish with the federal funding.

WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.

SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.

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Broadband Breakfast on March 29, 2023 – Cost-Sharing and Other Compliance Requirements for Broadband Deployment

How should state broadband offices approach cost-sharing and other BEAD compliance requirements?

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1 week ago

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March 13, 2023

By

Graphic from Adobe Stock used with permission

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 12 Noon ET – Cost-Sharing and Other Compliance Requirements for Broadband Deployment

One key factor in the $42.5 Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program is the matching requirement: Subgrantees must find matching funds of at least 25 percent of the total project cost. Matching funds can be provided by local governments, utility companies, nonprofit organizations and other entities. In addition, states are required to incentivize higher matches whenever possible. How should state broadband offices approach cost-sharing and other compliance requirements as they prepare for broadband deployment?

WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.

SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.

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Broadband Breakfast on March 22, 2023 – Robocalls, STIR/SHAKEN and the Future of Voice Telephony

Has the FCC succeeded in making the STIR/SHAKEN framework work?

Published

1 week ago

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March 13, 2023

By

See Experts Debate Whether Originating or Terminating Providers Hold Robocall Responsibility, Broadband Breakfast, March 22, 2023

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023, 12 Noon ET – Robocalls, STIR/SHAKEN and the Future of Voice Telephony

The Federal Communications Commission calls the fight against illegal robocall traffic its “top consumer protection priority.” The agency’s March 16 meeting heard discussion of several proposed rules to strengthen STIR/SHAKEN, from requiring intermediate providers to authenticate certain calls to adopting more robust enforcement tools. Required by the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act of 2019, has the FCC succeeded in making the STIR/SHAKEN framework work? Or is voice telephony still at the mercy of robocallers?

  • Margot Saunders, Senior Attorney, National Consumer Law Center
  • Jeff Pulver, Founder, Vonage
  • Glenn Richards, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
  • Jonathan Marashlian, Managing Partner, The CommLaw Group
  • Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Panelist resources

Margot Saunders is currently a senior staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) after serving as managing attorney of NCLC’s Washington, D.C. office from 1991 to 2005. Margot has testified before Congress more than two dozen times regarding a wide range of consumer law issues, including predatory mortgage lending, high cost small loans, payments law, electronic commerce, protecting benefits in bank accounts, privacy issues, and robocalls. She was the lead advocate on the passage of the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, the development of the Treasury Rule protecting exempt benefits, and many other initiatives.

Jeff Pulver is a tech industry icon, a pioneer in the field of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and a leading advocate for internet freedom. In the late 1990s, Pulver saw the potential for VoIP to revolutionize the way we communicate and founded the company Vonage, one of the first VoIP service providers. As VoIP began to gain traction, Pulver faced resistance from traditional telephone companies and regulators. In 2003, he took on the establishment and petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In 2004 the FCC issued the “Pulver Order”  which ensured that VoIP services would not be subject to traditional telephone regulation. This decision paved the way for the widespread adoption of VoIP and transformed the way we communicate.

Glenn Richards is Pillsbury’s Communications Practice Group Leader. Based in Washington, DC, he is a recognized authority on IP communications regulations and telecommunications policies and issues. Glenn represents VoIP and cloud communications service providers; satellite, wireless, long-distance and competitive local exchange carriers; broadcasters; equipment manufacturers; trade associations and others in transactional matters and before the FCC and state public utilities commissions. A partner in the firm’s Global Sourcing practice, Glenn also negotiates global telecommunications service contracts for large corporations.

Jonathan Marashlian is experienced in nearly all aspects of federal and state communications law and regulation. He has represented clients of all shapes and sizes and from all corners of the Communications/VoIP, Broadband, IoT and Information Technology industries for over 25 years. As Managing Partner of The CommLaw Group, Mr. Marashlian is responsible for coordinating and managing attorneys and professional staff and guiding the firm’s clients through the maze of federal, state and international regulatory, communications tax, and other compliance requirements.

Drew Clark (moderator) is CEO of Breakfast Media LLC. He has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing campaign for broadband data. As Editor and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media company advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.

Graphic from Adobe Stock used with permission

WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.

SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.

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