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| Jan 7, 2020 Broadband Stakeholder Network Leadership Meeting Report.pdf |
January 7, 2020 Meeting Summary
Attendees: Steve Peters, Oris Friesen, Henry Goldberg, Mark Goldstein, Derek Masseth, Dan Stormont, Graham Taylor, Karen Ziegler
Welcome New Member of AZBSN Leadership Team
Steve welcomed Derek Masseth to the Arizona Broadband Stakeholder Network (AZBSN) leadership team. Derek is Executive Director of the Sun Corridor Network and Chief Technology Officer of the University of Arizona. The Sun Corridor Network connects ASU, the University of Arizona, NAU, and some state school districts to Internet2. Derek was the founding architect of the Sun Corridor Network. Derek became interested in AZBSN after participating in the AZBSN December 13, 2019 Webinar and seeing potential opportunities for collaboration.
ATIC Seed Funding and Progress Update
Steve noted that ATIC has provided about $5,000 in seed funding to support AZBSN activities including organizing the May 28, 2019 in-person Roundtable and the December 13, 2019 Webinar (ATIC has also provided Steve an additional $1,000 to co- ordinate a proposal to establish an “Arizona Virtual Laboratories Consortium” where educational institutions will require high-speed broadband connections to access Labster virtual online science lab courses).
With this AZBSN seed funding, in addition to organizing the 2019 Roundtable and Webinar, Steve has coordinated the activities of the AZBSN Leadership Team, constructed an AZBSN website (hosted on the ATIC website), worked on developing a CRM/database and e-mail communication platform for a comprehensive list of statewide broadband stakeholder contacts, sent e-mail updates to stakeholders on AZBSN activities and important announcements, and prepared a sponsorship request document to discuss with potential funding sponsors of the AZBSN.
December 13, 2019 Webinar Brief Overview
The December 13th Webinar included presentations by Jeff Sobotka (State Broadband Director and Vice President at the Arizona Commerce Authority), who provided an excellent overview of his activities in promoting broadband deployment statewide, Tony Casella and Jim Logan of Simply Bits (southern Arizona’s largest fixed wireless Internet service provider), and Ricardo Platt of ED2 (a 5G wireless infrastructure company).
There were 58 people who registered to attend this webinar, including representatives from the three state universities, community colleges, school districts, economic development directors, libraries, local communities, and Native American tribes.
AZBSN Leadership Team attendees at today’s teleconference agreed this webinar was interesting and effective in promoting further collaboration among potential stakeholders.
Meeting with Lev Gonick (ASU CIO)
Steve stated ASU CIO Lev Gonick attended the December 13th Webinar, and subsequently e-mailed a request to Steve to meet with Jeff Sobotka and Steve. The meeting is scheduled for January 10, 2020. Steve will provide further information after this meeting. Derek Masseth noted that Lev Gonick is the Board Chair of the Sun Corridor Network.
AZBSN Newsletter/Announcements
Steve sent an announcement to the AZBSN contact list regarding the USDA Broadband ReConnect Program Second Round of Funding Webinar held on Dec. 30, 2019. The FCC is holding a road show in Arizona on January 27, 28, 29. Steve will send out an announcement describing the agenda, locations, and times when it becomes available.
Draft AZBSN 2020 Plan
Steve distributed the following draft plan for AZBSN activities in 2020:
Steve explained that he will be coordinating AZBSN activities carefully with Jeff Sobotka, so that the AZBSN supports statewide goals for promoting the deployment of broadband infrastructure and applications. Steve added there may also be regional workshops if there is a demand for this.
Mark Goldstein commented that he believes there should be consistent monthly newsletters with all relevant information at the time, and Steve agreed though he believes occasional special announcements may need to be made for time-sensitive events.
Steve explained that with his construction of the stakeholder database and experience with coordinating the 2019 roundtable and webinar, he believes he can execute the above proposed roundtables and webinars.
The attendees of today’s AZBSN Leadership Team agreed that this plan for 2020 activities is comprehensive and generally supported the plan.
Henry Goldberg stated that it will be critical for Steve to contact potential sponsors in the near future to provide the required funding for Steve to carry out this plan. Steve explained he is working on a list of potential sponsors to contact, and will do so after his sponsorship request package is finalized. The major issue to resolve with the sponsorship package is the sponsorship funding levels and associated benefits to sponsors.
Next Steps
After today’s teleconference ended (because of a technical issue), Steve, Mark, Henry, and Oris discussed briefly the possibility of considering additional ATIC seed funding in 2020 (current seed funding expires at end of February 2020) to continue the AZBSN momentum until Steve has obtained the required AZBSN sponsorship funding. This funding issue must be considered by the ATIC Board, and would need to discuss issues such as the splitting of revenues among AZBSN, ATIC, and GAZEL and a method of reimbursing ATIC for seed funding according to some formula. Mark added that ATIC is looking to add new Board members, and should ask Derek Masseth and Lev Gonick to join the Board if they have interest.
Henry Goldberg and Oris Friesen will write up a summary report of today’s leadership team meeting
Welcome New Member of AZBSN Leadership Team
Steve welcomed Derek Masseth to the Arizona Broadband Stakeholder Network (AZBSN) leadership team. Derek is Executive Director of the Sun Corridor Network and Chief Technology Officer of the University of Arizona. The Sun Corridor Network connects ASU, the University of Arizona, NAU, and some state school districts to Internet2. Derek was the founding architect of the Sun Corridor Network. Derek became interested in AZBSN after participating in the AZBSN December 13, 2019 Webinar and seeing potential opportunities for collaboration.
ATIC Seed Funding and Progress Update
Steve noted that ATIC has provided about $5,000 in seed funding to support AZBSN activities including organizing the May 28, 2019 in-person Roundtable and the December 13, 2019 Webinar (ATIC has also provided Steve an additional $1,000 to co- ordinate a proposal to establish an “Arizona Virtual Laboratories Consortium” where educational institutions will require high-speed broadband connections to access Labster virtual online science lab courses).
With this AZBSN seed funding, in addition to organizing the 2019 Roundtable and Webinar, Steve has coordinated the activities of the AZBSN Leadership Team, constructed an AZBSN website (hosted on the ATIC website), worked on developing a CRM/database and e-mail communication platform for a comprehensive list of statewide broadband stakeholder contacts, sent e-mail updates to stakeholders on AZBSN activities and important announcements, and prepared a sponsorship request document to discuss with potential funding sponsors of the AZBSN.
December 13, 2019 Webinar Brief Overview
The December 13th Webinar included presentations by Jeff Sobotka (State Broadband Director and Vice President at the Arizona Commerce Authority), who provided an excellent overview of his activities in promoting broadband deployment statewide, Tony Casella and Jim Logan of Simply Bits (southern Arizona’s largest fixed wireless Internet service provider), and Ricardo Platt of ED2 (a 5G wireless infrastructure company).
There were 58 people who registered to attend this webinar, including representatives from the three state universities, community colleges, school districts, economic development directors, libraries, local communities, and Native American tribes.
AZBSN Leadership Team attendees at today’s teleconference agreed this webinar was interesting and effective in promoting further collaboration among potential stakeholders.
Meeting with Lev Gonick (ASU CIO)
Steve stated ASU CIO Lev Gonick attended the December 13th Webinar, and subsequently e-mailed a request to Steve to meet with Jeff Sobotka and Steve. The meeting is scheduled for January 10, 2020. Steve will provide further information after this meeting. Derek Masseth noted that Lev Gonick is the Board Chair of the Sun Corridor Network.
AZBSN Newsletter/Announcements
Steve sent an announcement to the AZBSN contact list regarding the USDA Broadband ReConnect Program Second Round of Funding Webinar held on Dec. 30, 2019. The FCC is holding a road show in Arizona on January 27, 28, 29. Steve will send out an announcement describing the agenda, locations, and times when it becomes available.
Draft AZBSN 2020 Plan
Steve distributed the following draft plan for AZBSN activities in 2020:
- Coordination of 2 statewide in person Stakeholder Roundtables, with webinar/audio, web and video conferencing available. Roundtables may include: presentations; updates and information sharing; project/vendor showcase; networking
- Bi-monthly Webinars
- Periodic stakeholder email newsletters/updates such as announcements of federal, state and local resources and funding opportunities, events, articles, etc.
- Posting announcements on the ATIC and GAZEL LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook accounts
- The ATIC/AZBSN website to include: a calendar of events related to broadband planning and related initiatives; overview/summaries of Arizona broadband planning initiatives, entities, contacts and resources, access to information about strategies and resources for planning and deployment of broadband
- An integrated GAZEL/ATIC CRM/database and email communication platform to connect with key leaders and interested parties representing stakeholder groups
- Collateral material such as AZBSN flyers
- Discussion of telecom planning and policy issues
- Exhibits at education, technology, government, healthcare, economic development conferences and events
- A collaboration platform
Steve explained that he will be coordinating AZBSN activities carefully with Jeff Sobotka, so that the AZBSN supports statewide goals for promoting the deployment of broadband infrastructure and applications. Steve added there may also be regional workshops if there is a demand for this.
Mark Goldstein commented that he believes there should be consistent monthly newsletters with all relevant information at the time, and Steve agreed though he believes occasional special announcements may need to be made for time-sensitive events.
Steve explained that with his construction of the stakeholder database and experience with coordinating the 2019 roundtable and webinar, he believes he can execute the above proposed roundtables and webinars.
The attendees of today’s AZBSN Leadership Team agreed that this plan for 2020 activities is comprehensive and generally supported the plan.
Henry Goldberg stated that it will be critical for Steve to contact potential sponsors in the near future to provide the required funding for Steve to carry out this plan. Steve explained he is working on a list of potential sponsors to contact, and will do so after his sponsorship request package is finalized. The major issue to resolve with the sponsorship package is the sponsorship funding levels and associated benefits to sponsors.
Next Steps
After today’s teleconference ended (because of a technical issue), Steve, Mark, Henry, and Oris discussed briefly the possibility of considering additional ATIC seed funding in 2020 (current seed funding expires at end of February 2020) to continue the AZBSN momentum until Steve has obtained the required AZBSN sponsorship funding. This funding issue must be considered by the ATIC Board, and would need to discuss issues such as the splitting of revenues among AZBSN, ATIC, and GAZEL and a method of reimbursing ATIC for seed funding according to some formula. Mark added that ATIC is looking to add new Board members, and should ask Derek Masseth and Lev Gonick to join the Board if they have interest.
Henry Goldberg and Oris Friesen will write up a summary report of today’s leadership team meeting
2020 Plan @ a Glance
- Coordination of 2 statewide in person Stakeholder Roundtables, with webinar/audio, web and video conferencing available. Roundtables may include: presentations; updates and information sharing; project/vendor showcase; networking
- Bi-monthly Webinars
- Periodic stakeholder email newsletters/updates such as announcements of federal, state and local resources and funding opportunities, events, articles, etc.
- Posting announcements on the ATIC and GAZEL LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook accounts
- The ATIC/AZBSN website to include: a calendar of events related to broadband planning and related initiatives; overview/summaries of Arizona broadband planning initiatives, entities, contacts and resources, access to information about strategies and resources for planning and deployment of broadband
- An integrated GAZEL/ATIC CRM/database and email communication platform to connect with key leaders and interested parties representing stakeholder groups
- Collateral material such as AZBSN flyers
- Discussion of telecom planning and policy issues