Agenda Set for CBAN Community Broadband Summit

Providers, community representatives, broadband advocates, and solutions providers will gather in Des Moines on March 12th for the 2nd Annual Community Broadband Summit, presented by the Community Broadband Action Network (CBAN).

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Registration is free to CBAN members (and CBAN membership is also free for providers, communities, and advocates). CLICK HERE to reserve tickets for the Summit. If you'd like to join CBAN, CLICK HERE.

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Program and Agenda
 
9:00am – 9:30am
Registration and Networking

9:30am – 10:15am
Welcome
 
Developing a Community Broadband Strategy
(Moderator: Jon Anne Willow, CBAN. Panelists: Ken Demlow, HR Green; Todd Kielkopf, Kielkopf Advisory Services; Curtis Dean, SmartSource Consulting)
 
Your community is suffering from inadequate broadband services. Maybe the internet’s too slow; maybe the service is unreliable due to aging infrastructure or neglect. Maybe citizens are fed up with long wait times for repairs and poor customer service. You want something better. You need a strategy for how to get there. During this panel discussion, we will talk about steps your community can take to develop a broadband strategy from people who’ve helped communities in those efforts.
 

10:15am – 11:00am
Break
Networking and Vendor Tables
 

11:00am – 11:45am
Partnering for Progress
(Moderator: Curtis Dean.  Panelists: David Fyffe, ImOn Communications; Brad Moline, Allo Communications)
 
During this panel discussion, we’ll talk about some of the potential partnerships that communities may be able to leverage to improve broadband services.
 

11:45am – 1:00pm
Lunch & Speaker
Rural Economic Development and Broadband
(Bill Menner, The Bill Menner Group)
 
Economic development leaders in rural areas are faced with many challenges in maintaining economic vitality and growth. For many small towns, inadequate broadband is identified as a key barrier.  Bill Menner, former Iowa Rural Development Director for the USDA, will discuss the vital link between broadband and the economy in rural America.
 
Networking and Vendor Tables
 

1:00pm-1:45pm
Sustaining Momentum for Community Broadband
(Kurt Karr, iVinton and Monkeythis)
 
The election to form a communications utility can be challenging, but looking back, it seems like running a sprint at a track meet -the goal is defined and the way is clear. The year, or two, or three it takes to get the utility designed, funded and built is like running a marathon through a jungle full of wild animals. During this session I will share some of the successes, and a few of the mistakes we've made along our marathon journey.
 

1:45pm-2:00pm
Break
 

2:00pm-3:00pm
Roundtable discussions
 
Attendees will break into groups and make the rounds to different topic tables to discuss various aspects of better broadband.
 

1. Financing for Community Broadband (Michael Maloney, DA Davidson)
2. Marketing for Success (Jon Anne Willow, CBAN)
3. CBAN Member Information (Curtis Dean, CBAN)
4. Partnerships (Todd Kielkopf, CBAN)

 

3:00pm – 5:00pm
Closing remarks
Networking and Vendor Tables