DA 00-810

Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services

Roundtable in Tacoma, Washington and

Field Hearing in Anchorage, Alaska

Release Date: April 10, 2000

The Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services (Joint Conference) will hold a roundtable on April 14, 2000, from 10:45 am to 4:45 pm at the Tacoma Public Utilities Auditorium, 3628 South 35th Street, Tacoma, Washington. The Joint Conference will also hold a field hearing on April 17, 2000, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in the Assembly Chamber of the Z. J. Loussac Library, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage, Alaska. FCC Commissioner Susan Ness and the Chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, G. Nanette Thompson will host both the roundtable and the field hearing.

Part of the Joint Conference’s mission is to gather information on the deployment of advanced telecommunications services. At this field hearing and roundtable, the Joint Conference will focus on the impact of broadband deployment on economic development and deployment of broadband by satellite.

The agenda of the Roundtable in Tacoma, Washington on April 14, 2000 is as follows:

10:45 am Opening Remarks

FCC Commissioner Susan Ness

Chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, G. Nanette Thompson

Chairwoman of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, Marilyn Showalter.

11:00 am Community Broadband Deployment - Forks Project

Don Dennis, Government Affairs Manager, Century Telephone

John Jones, Superintendent of Quilayute Valley School District

Roger Harrison, Director of Information Services, Forks Community Hospital

Rod Fleck, Forks City Attorney/Planner

12:15 pm Lunch break

1:15 pm Broadband and Rural Economic Development - Satsop

David Danner, Governor Locke’s Executive Policy Advisor on Energy and Telecommunications

Bo Wandell, President, SafeHarbor.com

Tami Garrow, Director of Business Development, Grays Harbor Public Development Authority

2:45 pm Deployment Strategies in Eastern Washington

Robert C. Lahmann, Transmission Business Line Account Executive, Bonneville Power Administration

John Andrist, CEO, North Cascades Broadcasting, Inc, and CEO, NCIData.com, Inc.

Greg Marney, CEO, NoaNet.Net

4:15 pm Public Comment

4:45 pm Adjourn

The agenda of the Field Hearing in Anchorage, Alaska on April 17, 2000 is as follows:

9:00 am Opening Remarks

FCC Commissioner Susan Ness

Chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, G. Nanette Thompson

Introduction of Moderator, Alaska Lt. Governor Fran Ulmer

9:15 am Broadband Deployment via Satellite

James J. Furstenberg, AT&T, Satellite

Tom Brady, Microcom

Chuck Russell, Vice President, United

Steve Hall, ACS Satellite Engineer

Guy Christiansen, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Skybridge

10:15 am Telehealth Demonstration

Hazel Julius, Village Health Aide from Yukon Kuskokwim Health Consortium

10:30 am Telehealth Issues

Dr. Tom Nighswander, Executive Director, Alaska Telehealth Advisory Commission

Rebecca Grandusky, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Consortium

Bob Cita, Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network

Pat Stalney, Athabaskan Tribal Council

11:30 am Lunch Break

1:00 pm Distance Education

Steve Smith, Chief Technology Officer, University of Alaska

Dr. Andrew Hageman, President, Ilisagvic College

Martin Cary, Vice President of Broadband Services, GCI

Chick Beckley, Facilitator of Instructional Technology, Aleutians East Borough School District

Dave Fauske, President, Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative

Mark Springer, Coordinator, Distance Delivery Consortium

2:15 pm Economic Development

Joseph Davis, Calista/Watermark Consulting

Jack Rhyner, President, TelAlaska

Bob Poe, Commissioner of Administration

Marvin Yoder, City Manager, Galena

Tom Harris, President, Alaska Village Initiatives

3:15 pm Public Comment

4:00 pm Adjourn

Transcripts of this meeting, as well as updates on future field hearings, will be posted on the Joint Conference’s web site: www.fcc.gov/jointconference.

-- FCC --

FCC Contact: Emily Hoffnar (202) 418-0940 TTY: (202) 418-0484

Regulatory Commission of Alaska Contact: Phil Treuer (907) 276-6222

Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Contact: Tom Wilson (360) 664-1293