Power & Tel is bringing it's Tech Summit to two locations in Iowa during the third week of April.

The first session of the summit will be in Cedar Falls on Tuesday, April 18th at the Hilton Garden Inn, 7313 Nordic Drive.  The event begins with breakfast at 7:30am, followed by several presentations throughout the day from ADTRAN, Amino & Innovative Systems, Comtrend, Commscope, Wireless Connections, Legrand, and EXFO. 

The central Iowa version of the Power & Tel Tech Summit will consist of two days of informational sessions and hands-on demonstrations on April 19th and 20th. The event will be at Stoney Creek Inn, 5291 Stoney Creek Ct. in Johnston.  The schedule begins at 7:30am each day with sessions from the same solutions providers as Cedar Falls.

CLICK HERE to download a flyer for the Cedar Falls summit on April 18th
CLICK HERE to download a flyer for the Johnston summit on April 19th & 20th.

To RSVP for either (or both) summits, email Mike Brems, Mike.Brems@ptsupply.com.

The National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) has announced an agreement with the Society for Cable Telecom Engineers (SCTE) to provide member discounts on SCTE's vast library of online training courses.

The online SCTE courses are designed to enhance the skills of broadband technicians and other employees.  For a list of available courses, CLICK HERE.

In addition to NCTC discounts, the courses are less expensive if the person taking it is a member of the SCTE. As a shameless plug from yours truly, the secretary of the Iowa Heartland Chapter of the SCTE, I can vouch for the value that SCTE membership brings. Also, our Iowa chapter offers a number of trainings and events to provide broadband technicians with hands-on learning. CLICK HERE for a list of the 2017 trainings!

The Iowa Communications Alliance (ICA) is hosting its second annual CyberSecurity Summit on April 24 & 25 at the Holiday Inn Airport, 6111 Fleur Drive in Des Moines.

The event will offer discussions from cybersecurity experts and telecom industry associates to help providers protect their networks help protect communities from cyber attacks.

You don't have to be a member of ICA to attend. To register or for more information, CLICK HERE.

If you attended the 2017 IAMU Broadband Conference, we want to hear from you! We've posted a survey on the conference at the following link:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3451767/2017-IAMU-Broadband-Conference-Attendee-Survey

Let us know what you thought of this year's show, and let us know what you think of the idea of moving the conference to a fall date beginning in 2018.

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2017 IAMU Broadband Conference on April 22nd and 23rd! We had a lot of positive comments from both attendees and vendors and we hope you all found it a valuable use of time.

The FCC has announced that the universal service contribution factor for the second quarter of 2017 will be 17.4%.  That's an increase from the first quarter contribution factor of 16.7%.  CLICK HERE to read the FCC's order.

It's generally understood that pay TV is a financial dog for small broadband companies, but it's a dog you have to keep. Consumers expect their broadband provider to also offer some sort of pay TV offering, and not having it risks those consumers moving all of their services to someone else's network.

In the past couple of years, we've seen several companies offer a new alternative to operators: hosted video services. Under this model, a third party offers a pay TV service over an operator's network. It's not over-the-top so it meets the security requirements of programmers. It's also not particularly profitable for the operator, but it does relieve small systems from the burdens that come along with offering pay TV, including managing programming contracts.

Here in Iowa, Iowa Network Services (now Aureon) made a splash in 2015 when it announced a partnership with Skitter TV to offer its hosted video platform to operators in the state. An initial wave of great interest was tempered however by technical issues relating to the platform's roll-out. As a result, few of Iowa's small operators have actually launched the Skitter TV platform in place of their traditional pay TV offering.

Another company, CSI Digital, has also been making the rounds in Iowa with their hosted platform called yondoo. The primary challenge CSI Digital has faced is transport. While Aureon has the ability to transport Skitter TV content over their extensive network, CSI Digital is having to negotiate transport with other network providers.

Now, a new solution is emerging for municipal providers.  Level 3 has launched a hosted video solution and has signed its first municipal customer in Longmont, Colorado.  CLICK HERE to read a story about the launch in Telecompetitor.

Some operators have resisted hosted video because they fear the loss of local control and identity by having "someone else's" product on their network. The folks at CSI Digital have created a new option for those providers, Jericho, that they will be discussing at the IAMU Broadband Conference next week.  Their session, "What's New With Yondoo" will be held Thursday, March 23rd at 10:30am.

Yes, this is a sneaky way to remind you to register for the IAMU Broadband Conference if you haven't already.  See you next week!

The smile on the Adair water tower is just a bit wider today after voters approved a referendum Tuesday to create a municipal telecom utility in the western Iowa community.

In fact, every person who cast a vote on "Public Measure A" - all 86 of them - voted yes. While 100% approval is as good as you can get, it's not the first time that's happened. The telecom referenda in Bedford (2008) and Vedic City (2002) also had 100% approval. Neither of those two communities have actually built networks, a fact that shows a successful referendum is just one step in the process. In fact, 50 Iowa towns and cities have approved a municipal telecom utility but don't have networks. That number is likely to go down, however, as three of those communities - New Hampton, Maquoketa, and Charles City - are planning to conduct feasibility studies.

As for Adair, they have been in discussions with Casey Mutual Telephone, their neighbor to the east, about a public-private partnership to build and operate at fiber network in Adair. We'll update you on the progress in Adair.

Believe it or not, the 2017 IAMU Broadband Conference is just three weeks away! We're excited to have assembled a great program with informational and education sessions as well as plenty of time for networking with vendors and collegues.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017
9:00am     Generational Differences in the Workplace (Celina Peerman)
11:00am     Dealing with Toxic Individuals (Brenda Clark Hamilton, Fresh Coffee)

Thursday, March 23, 2017
7:00am      NCTC Breakfast (Frank Hughes, NCTC)
11:20am     Luncheon Keynote: Regulatory Update (Jim Baller, Baller Herbst Lide)
1:00pm      Local Programming Panel (Doug Hammer & Amy Barrett, Harlan Municipal Utilities;                       Karyn Leininger, Spencer Municipal Utilities)

Wednesday, March 22, 2017
10:00am   Advances In Transport Network Optics (Paul Schoenau, Ciena)
3:00pm    Preparing Your Network for Smart Grid (Ken Demlow, NewCom Technologies)
4:10pm      IPTV over DOCSIS (Heath Reutten, Technology Planners)

Thursday, March 23, 2017
8:30am     Node+0 (Mike Chabalsowski, Antronix)
9:30am     Next-Generation PON's (Eric Lampland, Lookout Point Communications)
10:30am    What's New with Yondoo (Jason Lefkowitz, CSI Digital)

Wednesday, March 22, 2017
10:00am   Home Networking Challenges(Bret McElwee, Calix)
3:00pm    LTE Interference - The New Challenge (Jim Gorecki, PCT International)
4:10pm      OTDR Theory and Practice (Ron Grigsby, RDG Telecom)

Thursday, March 23, 2017
8:30am     Fiber 101 (Steve Scudder, Fitel)
9:30am     Fiber 201 (Steve Scudder, Fitel)
10:30am    Proactive Network Maintenance (Tom Scanlin, VeEx)

Wednesday, March 22, 2017
10:00am   Effective Communications on the Job (Celina Peerman)
3:00pm    Excellence in Sales and Customer Service (Brenda Clark Hamilton, Fresh Coffee)
4:10pm     Breaking It Down (Carissa Swenson, Consortia Consulting)
Thursday, March 23, 2017
8:30am     Productivity Tips and Tricks (Doug Pals, RE: Sourceful Communications)
9:30am     Facebook Advertising (Cheryl O'Hearn, Spin Markket)
10:30am    Compliance and Safety Resources (Carissa Swenson, Consortia Consulting)

Topics of interest for communities who are considering a broadband project

Wednesday, March 22, 2017
10:00am   Developing a Winning Marketing Plan (Doug Pals, RE: Sourceful Communications)
3:00pm    Staffing for Success (Doug Pals, RE: Sourceful Communications)
4:10pm     Financing Options for Broadband Projects (Todd Kielkopf, Kielkopf Advisory Services)
Thursday, March 23, 2017
8:30am     Video Options for New Broadband Providers (Curtis Dean, IAMU/SmartSource)
9:30am     Partnering For Success (Todd Kielkopf, Kielkopf Advisory Services)
10:30am   Been There, Done That (DJ Weber, The Community Agency; Ken Jahncke, Osage                                  Municipal Utilities; Jeff Magsamen, Waverly Utilities)

The vendor show at the IAMU Broadband Conference is always a highlight, giving attendees an opportunity to learn about the products and services you need to operate your broadband utility. As of 3/3/17, here are the vendors who have signed up for exhibit tables (this list will grow!)

Adair, Iowa is the latest rural community that has decided to seek a local solution for its broadband deficits.

Voters in the western Iowa community of 781 will go to the polls on Tuesday, March 7th to consider a referendum to authorize a telecommunications utility.

Adair is not served by a cable company. The small private operator there folded several years ago. The only choice for internet or landline telephone service is Windstream, which offers up to 100 Mbps DSL in the community, and pay TV customers have only Dish Network and DIRECTV to choose from.

City leaders plan to work with the nearby independent telephone company, Casey Mutual Telephone, if voters authorize a telecommunications utility.