Funding Broadband for Utilities

January 28, 2021

AGENDA

Tuesday, January 28, 2021 : Central Time

8:45 – 9:00 a.m. :: Log In and Welcome

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. :: Course Timing

9:00 - 9:45 a.m. :: Keynote Address: National Broadband Infrastructure Funding Initiatives

• Status and update on the ReConnect Loan and Grant Program
  • 100% loan VS combo VS 100% grant proceedings
  • How much funding is still available
  • How the funds result in expanded broadband access & services

Laurel Leverrier, Deputy Assistant Administrator, RUS Telecommunications Programs, USDA Rural Development

9:45 - 10:30 a.m. :: Leveraging USDA and FCC Funding Opportunities

• Community-Up Discussion: Broadband Action Team (BAT) Model
• Identifying Need: Mapping To The Premise
• Funding Application Support: Rapid Feasibility Studies and Grant Writing

Russ Elliott, Director, Washington State Broadband Office

10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. :: Community engagement? WHAT?

• Why listen to your potential customers?
• What is digital inclusion and why should I care?

Peggy Schaffer, Director, ConnectME Authority

11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. :: State Funding Initiatives for Broadband Development

• Demonstration of funding last-mile broadband fiber access
  • Funding for-profit internet service providers (ISP)
  • Funding non-profit cooperative utilities

Stephen Gould, Grants Specialist, Colorado DORA – The Broadband Fund

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. :: Lunch Break

1:00 - 1:45 p.m. :: Structuring Rural Broadband

• Wholesale VS retail strategies for expanding broadband service
• Latest concepts for open broadband delivery
• Understanding the nuances for each asset owner
• Impacts of local government on broadband investment
• How to save on infrastructure development
• Fiber VS wireless services
• Budgeting for unforeseen obstacles
• Dig Once Initiative

Dwayne Bradley, Project Manager, Fiber Networks, Integration & Automation, Burns & McDonnell

1:45 - 2:30 p.m. :: Case Study: Leveraging the IOU Landscape to Fund Broadband Expansion

• Impacts of legislation on IOU fiber and smart grid initiatives
• Overview of Dominion pilot project
  • How to fund broadband backbone infrastructure
  • Partnering with ISPs to serve underserved communities
  • Dual use fiber: enhancing your smart grid while leasing mid-mile fiber
  • Offsetting development costs with lease revenue
  • Rate-based strategies for customer affordability

Ed Diggs, Rural Broadband Program Manager, Dominion Energy Virginia

2:30 - 3:15 p.m. :: Case Study: Expanding High-Speed Options & Services for Your Community

• Expanding options for affordability
• Providing high-speed services for telehealth & virtual schooling
• Innovative financing:
  • Acquiring USDA funds
  • Interagency funding partnerships

John Taylor, Board of Directors, Traverse City Light and Power

3:15 - 4:00 p.m. :: Case Study: Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) for Municipal & Cooperative Broadband Development

• Overview of Public-Private-Partnership models
• Example of Lyndon Township, a rural municipality that funded construction of a fiber network with a property tax, and partnered with an electric coop to operate it
• Legal considerations for Public-Private-Partnerships
• A specific model for post-RDOF Public-Private-Partnerships

Ben Fineman, President, Michigan Broadband Cooperative

INSTRUCTORS

Dwayne Bradley, Project Manager, Fiber Networks, Integration & Automation, Burns & McDonnell

Ed Diggs, Rural Broadband Program Manager, Dominion Energy Virginia (IOU rep.)

Russ Elliott, Director, Washington State Broadband Office

Ben Fineman, President, Michigan Broadband Cooperative (Coop rep.)

Stephen Gould, Grants Specialist, Colorado DORA – The Broadband Fund

Laurel Leverrier, Deputy Assistant Administrator, RUS Telecommunications Programs, USDA Rural Development (Federal rep.)

Peggy Schaffer, Director, ConnectME Authority

John Taylor, Chairman of the Board, Traverse City Light and Power

ONLINE DELIVERY

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.

Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.

You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.

If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.

The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.