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E-rate and Fiber Networks: Demystifying Special Construction
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT
Presented by Joe Freddoso, COO and Co-Founder, Mighty River LLC; Kim Friends, Vice President, E-Rate Compliance Services, CSM Consulting, Inc.; and Roy Hoover, Network and Telecommunications Coordinator, Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
Hosted by Cynthia Schultz, Esq., Managing Member, Broadband Law Group, PLLC
Sponsored by Velocity Fiber
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The high one-time and recurring costs of constructing and maintaining telecommunication infrastructure has long been a barrier to K-12 school districts seeking access to affordable, high-speed broadband — particularly for small and medium school districts. For many districts, utilizing E-rate discounts for special construction has allowed them to build a high-speed Wide Area Network (WAN) that is both affordable and scalable for their future bandwidth demands.
In this edWebinar, we discuss all things fiber and the E-rate program: the highs, the lows, the ups, and the downs. Our expert panel spans the gamut of experience with successful E-Rate Fiber Special Construction applications and boots on the ground implementation of fiber WANs. Prepare yourself for a lively recorded session with relevant and timely insight on the special construction process from contract to connection!
This recorded edWebinar will be of interest to school and district leaders.
About the Presenters
Joe Freddoso is a former Cisco executive (2000-2007) and former President and CEO of MCNC/The North Carolina Research and Education Network (2007-2014). From 2009-2012, Joe helped lead MCNC’s efforts to build a state-wide 2600-mile fiber network that serves as the North Carolina’s community anchor backbone network. Joe and his wife April founded Mighty River in 2014. Mighty River has consulted on over 40,000 linear miles of fiber construction for private and public entities. These fiber networks serve both middle and last mile markets and often connect community anchor institutions to upstream colocation and network access point (NAP) facilities. Mighty River, through past or current consulting contracts with USAC, EducationSuperHighway, the state of Nevada, and individual E-rate applicants, has worked in some capacity on over 1000 E-rate special construction applications for districts as large as Broward County, Florida and projects as small as single public or tribal library.
Kim Friends is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost experts in the field of E-rate compliance. She owns and manages one of the country’s largest E-rate consulting firms, working with almost 400 applicants (schools, libraries, and consortia) throughout 15 states. Kim and her talented staff tackle some of the most challenging E-rate situations in their day-to-day operations resulting in a wide swath of experience across all aspects of the program, which in turn allows CSM to recognize potential concerns often before they are known by the program’s administrators. CSM’s primary offices are located throughout California, however, there are satellite offices in Nashville, TN, Tallahassee, FL, and the greater Washington, DC area.
Roy Hoover has over 30 years of experience working with technology in K-12 educational environments. He has an associate degree in electronics from York Technical Institute and a bachelor’s degree in management and organizational development from Eastern Mennonite University. He started his career as an audio-visual technician at a school district and held a number of technology positions before moving to Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 as a technology specialist. His current role at IU13 is Network and Telecommunications Coordinator where he is responsible for the regional wide area network that provides network connectivity to public and private schools in the region. This network serves approximately 79,000 students in Pennsylvania. He is also responsible for the local area networks in IU13 buildings as well as landline telephones, mobile phones, and video conferencing services. Roy holds a Global Information Assurance Certification from the SANS Institute.
About the Host
Cynthia Schultz, Esq. is one of the nation’s leading experts in E-rate and is passionate in her work to close the digital divide. She is the Managing Member of Broadband Law Group recognized in both the public and private sectors as an authority on federal regulatory and compliance requirements governing the broadband, communications, and technology sectors focusing on education and healthcare. She served as general counsel of a broadband company, and as a partner in a major international law firm in Washington D.C., where she also specialized in technology and communications law with a focus on federal technology grants and E-Rate. Cynthia also served as the Chief Compliance Officer for the $4.7B BTOP Program at NTIA and as the Director of Service Provider Support for the $2.25B E-rate Program at USAC, where she managed compliance issues and advocated on behalf of over 4,000 service providers nationally. She received her J.D. from American University and B.A. from the George Washington University.
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Velocity Fiber builds Networks for the Next Generation. We offer managed leased lit and leased dark fiber wide area networks (WANs) to K-12 school districts across most lower 48 states, and all of our networks are E-rate Category 1 eligible. Velocity Fiber WANs are designed to scale incredibly cost-effectively as bandwidth demands increase, because school districts should grow minds–not network costs.
