Technical, Marketing/Customer Service Topics Set for Fall Broadband Meeting

 The IAMU Fall Broadband Meeting is next week, Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at the IAMU Office and Training Complex in Ankeny. Topics have been determined for the technical and marketing/customer service breakout sessions after lunch.
 
The tech topic, which will be addressed in the Auditorium, will be “LTE Fixed Wireless”. The presenter, Ryan Malek, formerly worked at Osage Municipal Utilities and now operates Router12 Networks, a successful wireless internet provider in Iowa. Ryan has a broad background with different fixed wireless technologies and has begun to utilize LTE for certain applications. He’ll talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using LTE for fixed wireless service and outline the process he used to get started.
 
The marketing/customer service topic will be “Exploring OTT Options” and will be led by IAMU Broadband Services Coordinator Curtis Dean. Curtis, who has been an on-again, off-again cord cutter for several years, will provide a demonstration of the various OTT offerings that many broadband customers are examining, including Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, Sony Playstation Vue, and FuboTV.
 
Morning general session topics include retransmission consent and regulatory changes at the federal and state levels. A complete agenda is listed below.  Sign up today on the IAMU Events page and we’ll see you next week!
 
SCHEDULE

8am-9am                  Registration
Rolls, coffee, and juice will be available

9am-10:30am           Retransmission Consent
Auditorium
Matt Polka, President and CEO of the American Cable Association (ACA),  will provide members with an update on preparing for this year’s round of retransmission consent negotiations.

10:30am-10:45am    Break
 

10:45am-11:45am     The Shifting Regulatory Landscape
Auditorium
Regulatory changes at both the state and federal level are affecting how broadband companies operate. In this session, Matt Polka with the ACA will discuss the changing regulatory landscape at the national level.  Curtis Dean with IAMU/SmartSource Consulting will review recent actions by the Iowa Utilities Board that lifts several reporting burdens on telephone providers.

11:45am-1:00pm       Lunch                        
Provided in registration

1pm-2pm                   LTE Fixed Wireless
Auditorium
Ryan Malek with Router12 Networks will discuss LTE fixed wireless as an alternative for serving rural areas and share his own experience with testing and deploying the service

                                    Exploring OTT Options
Board Room
Curtis Dean with IAMU will demo the various OTT video services that are available in the market today, including Sling TV, Sony Playstation Vue, Hulu Live, and FuboTV.

2:15pm-2:45pm       2018 Broadband Conference
Auditorium
As we wrap up the 2017 Fall Meeting, we’ll take a look at some of the possible topics for the 2018 Broadband Conference and brainstorm for other ideas.