This post was provided by State Broadband Director Carol Miller who was one of the driving forces behind the Telecom Summit – great job by all associated with this event!
The 2011 NH Telecommunication Summit on May 11 at the Radisson in Manchester NH was an exciting gathering of service providers, technology companies, state agencies, regional planning commissions, municipalities and business. Sponsored by NH Business Review, the NH Division of Economic Development, the New Hampshire Telecommunications Association, Head Networks and G4 Communications.
Roy Duddy, Interim Director, Division of Economic Development welcomed a crowd of close to 150 participants. He thanked everyone for their support and interest in the discussion surrounding expansion of broadband to unserved and underserved communities in the State of NH.
Carol Miller, Director of Broadband Technologies at the Division assumed the role of master of ceremonies keeping attendees on track for the keynote, breakout sessions, and a service provider panel as Industry Leaders share their insight.
“This represents the first time in several years that providers, municipalities, and businesses have gathered to share information and resources about telecommunications,” she said.
The keynote was delivered by Scott Valcourt, UNH on the Network NH Now, and other initiatives that build upon the federally funded assets in construction that will build middle mile fiber to all 10 counties of NH. The Public Safety Microwave Project encompasses a planned upgrade of state agency facilities to a multi-user platform to free up space on state owned mountain tops for wireless broadband providers. The New Hampshire Fastroads LLC will bring that fiber to the customer premise in two last mile projects in Rindge and Enfield. In addition, Valcourt talked about the impact to economic development and the way it will change and enhance telemedicine, education, and job growth opportunities for the people of NH.
Breakout sessions included “Wireless/Cellular Technology Today” by AT&T’s Brian Krause, “Where’s My Broadband?” by Michael Blair of the NH Mapping and Planning Program at UNH, “Telecom 101 for Businesses and Municipalities” by Cisco’s Paul Gasparro and “Who Needs Broadband?” hosted by Carol Miller, Director of Broadband Technologies for the State of NH.
The Service Provider Panel was moderated by Matt Cookson, Executive Director of NH High Tech Council. The Panelists were Brad Scofield, Regional Director of Product Management for Comcast, Jeremy Katz, CEO of segTEL, Gunnar Berg, CEO of Cyperpine Wireless and Bill Meehan Director of Segment Marketing of FairPoint Communications.
Each panelist described their company products and footprint. They answered questions about expansion to rural areas, and business incentives to enhance investments in infrastructure.
Allen Voivod of Epiphanies Inc., provided the social media blitz for the Summit thanks to the generous sponsorship of G4 Communications. Video from the event can be seen online at the following location: http://www.youtube.com/NHEconomy, and photos can be seen at http://on.fb.me/2011TelecomSummit. Read the event’s comments on Twitter by following the hashtag #NHTelecom.