• Mission & Governance
• Services Overview
• How to Get Involved
• Standing Committees
• NCSL Foundation

• Issue Areas: A-Z
• State-Federal Relations
• NCSL Standing Committees
• News from D.C. and the States

• About State Legislatures
• Elections, Campaigns & Redistricting
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory
• Web Sites

• Online Guide to NCSL Services
• Staff Sections and Networks
• Meetings & Professional Development
• Staff Directories

• Meetings Calendar
• Online Registration
• Meetings Home Page
• Legislative Summit

• Bookstore
• State Legislatures Magazine
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory

Connecting America
Broadband Policy Issues and Options for State Legislatures

Project Meetings and Meeting Handouts

Upcoming Meetings:

• To be determined

Past Meetings:

• 2007 Fall Forum, Phoenix, Arizona, November 27-28, 2007
• Preconference Invitational Seminar, NCSL Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, August 5-9, 2007
• Steering Committee Conference Call, May 31, 2007
• 2007 Spring Forum, Washington, D.C., April 19, 2007
• 2006 Fall Forum, San Antonio, Texas, December 6, 2006
• Steering Committee Conference Call, October 31, 2006
• 2006 Annual Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee, August 15-18, 2006
• Business Meeting Minutes

Past Meetings and Meeting Handouts

Connecting America Foundation for State Legislatures (FSL) Partners Project
NCSL Fall Forum, Phoenix, Arizona
November 27-28, 2007

Agenda and Session Handouts and Materials

Connecting America Foundation for State Legislatures (FSL) Partners Project
NCSL Spring Forum, Washington, D.C.
Thursday, April 19, 2007

Tour and Briefing:  Comcast Participants toured Comcast's head end facility in Alexandria, Virginia for demonstrations of video, high speed Internet and digital voice, including high definition TV, digital video recorders, parental controls, and product integration.

Delivering Broadband: Technology Options, Costs and Funding This session examined various ways of offering broadband services to communities including cable, DSL, power line, satellite, and wireless. In addition, it also explored the costs associated with each type of service and outline some of the funding sources available to states to encourage broadband deployment. Moderators:  Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota, Immediate Past Chair, Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce Committee Lisa Wallmeyer, Executive Director, Joint Commission on Technology and Science, Virginia, Staff Chair, Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce Committee Speakers:   Emmitt Carlton, Special Counsel, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C. Richard Clarke, Assistant V.P.,  Regulatory Planning and Policy, AT&T, Washington, D.C. Peter Gulla, Vice President, Marketing, North American Division, Hughes Network Systems, Germantown, Maryland Lennard Kruger, Specialist in Science & Technology, Congressional Research Service, Washington, D.C. Ron McMillan, Regional Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Time-Warner Cable - Texas Region, Houston, Texas Joe Nipper, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, American Public Power Association, Washington, D.C. Jim Schuler, Assistant Vice President, Policy, CTIA - The Wireless Association, Washington, D.C. Handouts: Speaker Biographies Broadband Data Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 07-17) Broadband Deployment Notice of Inquiry (FCC 07-21) Seattle's Broadband Role - Peter Gulla's presentation Connecting America - Ron McMillan's presentation

Connecting America FSL Partners Project Business Meeting Connecting America project members will discuss project deliverables and plan the agenda for future partners meetings. Presiding: Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota, Project Co-Chair

Connecting America Foundation for State Legislatures (FSL) Partners Project
NCSL Fall Forum, San Antonio, Texas
December 6, 2006

Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Tour and Briefing:  AT&T Headquarters
Co-Sponsored by the NCSL Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee
The tour was held at the AT&T headquarters and demonstrated AT&T's Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) service and its efforts in the deployment of broadband over DSL to facilitate IPTV. 

The Benefits of Broadband
Co-sponsored by the NCSL Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee
Broadband can deliver a wide range of resources, services, and products to individuals and provide proven economic benefits to communities. In this session, learn about the many benefits of broadband services, including improved medical care for those in rural or underserved areas and a wide range of educational opportunities and resources.

Co-Moderators:                
Senator Carol Fukunaga, Hawaii, Project Co-Chair
Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota, Project Co-Chair

Speakers:         
Gary Chapman, Director, The 21st Century Project, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 
Dale C. Alverson, M.D., Medical Director of the UNM Center for Telemedicine, Albuquerque, NM
Susanna Garza, Coordinator, Instructional Technology, Education Service Center, Region 20, San Antonio, TX 
Susan Altgelt, Coordinator, Distance Learning Services, Education Service Center, Region 20, San Antonio, TX 

Handouts: 

• Speaker Biographies
• Dr. Alverson's presentation
  UNM Health Sciences Center Program Information
• Gary Chapman's presentation
• Susanna Garza and Susan Altgelt's presentation

Connecting America FSL Partners Project Business Meeting
Connecting America project members will discuss project deliverables and plan the agenda for future partners meetings.

Presiding:
Senator Carol Fukunaga, Hawaii, Project Co-Chair
Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota, Project Co-Chair

 NCSL Annual Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee
August 15-18, 2006

Monday, August 14, 2006
Tour and Briefing: Dell Inc.
Michael Dell started his business in a college dorm room with $1,000 and an unprecedented idea - to build relationships directly with customers. Today, Dell Inc. is the world's biggest supplier of personal computers. Legislators and staff were able to see the Dell model in action at their state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. The tour  began at the Eastgate Desktop Factory in Lebanon, Tennessee and will continue at the East Coast Fulfillment Center in Nashville.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Broadband Services for the 21^st Century
High-speed broadband offers the promise of increasing access to the Internet and helping communities attract new businesses.  State legislatures have taken the lead, by offering state subsidies and tax credits, to promote broadband deployment.  Learn about innovative strategies and programs states have used to provide broadband services to all regions of the country and the impact it is having on communities.

Presiding:
Senator Orville B. Smidt, Chairman, NCSL Communications, Technology and Interstate Commerce Committee 
Dave Larson, Director, Legislative Computer Services, Kansas, Staff Chair, NCSL Communications, Technology and Interstate Commerce Committee

Speakers:
Representative Phil Montgomery, Wisconsin
Representative Ruth Ann Palumbo, Kentucky
Larry Irving, President, Irving Information Group, Washington, DC
Matt Krupnick, Public Policy Counsel, Dell Inc., Texas
Fred J. McCallum, Jr., Vice President Regulatory, BellSouth Telecommunications, Georgia
Bret Perkins, Vice President Government Affairs, Comcast, Pennsylvania
Dane Snowden, Vice President of External and State Affairs,Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), Washington, D.C.
Michael Lazorik, Director, Office of the Chief Technology Office, Business Development/Public Policy, Dell Inc.

Friday, August 18, 2006
Connecting America Partners Project Business Meeting

Presiding:
Senator Carol Fukunaga, Hawaii, Project Co-Chair
Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota, Project Co-Chair

---

 Connecting America Broadband Partnership Home