Conmergence

The NTIA has awarded $62.5+ million in stimulus funding to Internet2, NLR, Indiana University, the Northern Tier Network Consortium. Together with their vendor partners Ciena, Cisco, Infinera and Juniper Networks, the collaborators propose the construction of the United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN), an advanced network that will link regional networks across the nation, including other projects funded through ARRA. U.S. UCAN’s advanced infrastructure will—in partnership with regional and state research and education networks—connect America’s community anchor institutions. For more info, http://www.usucan.org.

Funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, the United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN) will be a nationwide, coast-to-coast advanced network infrastructure that, together with state and regional network partners, will enable the connection of America’s community anchor institutions—schools, libraries, community colleges, health centers and public safety organizations—to support advanced applications not possible with today’s typical Internet service. U.S. UCAN fills a critical gap linking community anchor institutions together into a national, open network with next-generation capabilities, operated with end-to-end transparency and the highest levels of performance uniquely suited to the needs of these communities.

U.S.UCAN will provide a network environment capable of supporting life-changing applications such as telemedicine and distance learning for all community anchor institutions, including those in areas previously considered too remote or economically depressed to support advanced network services. Led by the same advanced networking community that has already connected 66,000 community anchors through partnerships across public and private sectors, U.S.UCAN will prepare Americans—now and in the future—to compete successfully in an increasingly competitive global economy.

The network will offer its services to community anchors nationwide through a new not-for-profit organization (also called U.S. UCAN), which will be directed and governed by a partnership of the research and education networking community and representatives of community anchor institutions.

Contacts

General inquiries – info@usucan.org
Media inquiries – media@usucan.org, (734) 352-7037

A scholarship from big tobacco company led Leila to volunteer as a teacher in Ghana. Seeing her students ambition combined with the rise in global literacy and access to technology, Leila presents the concept of microwork as a way to overcome poverty and participate in the global tech economy.

Leila Chirayath Janah is the founder of Samasource, a social business that connects women, youth, and refugees living in poverty to microwork — small, computer-based tasks that build skills and generate life-changing income.

GLORIAD is built on a fiber-optic ring of networks around the northern hemisphere of the earth, providing scientists, educators and students with advanced networking tools that improve communications and data exchange, enabling active, daily collaboration on common problems. With GLORIAD, the scientific community can move unprecedented volumes of valuable data effortlessly, stream video and communicate through quality audio- and video-conferencing.

GLORIAD exists today due to the shared commitment of the US, Russia, China, Korea, Canada, the Netherlands and the five Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, to promote increased engagement and cooperation between their countries, beginning with their scientists, educators and young people. The benefits of this advanced network are shared with Science & Education (S&E) communities throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.

GLORIAD provides more than a network; it provides a stable, persistent, non-threatening means of facilitating dialog and increased cooperation between nations that often have been at odds through the past century. This new era of cooperation will provide benefits not only to the S&E communities but to every citizen in the partner countries through:

These are a small sample of the literally thousands of active collaborations served by both the general and advanced network services provided by GLORIAD. To learn more about the applications using GLORIAD, browse the following pages. This site describes the currently operating GLORIAD network and plans to expand this to a much higher capacity and more capable infrastructure in the years ahead.

How Social Media Is Revolutionizing Community Building – And How Planners Can Manage It

By Mickey Murphy, Association Conventions & Facilities, themeetingmagazines.com

During a major conference that her firm was assisting, Julie S. McKown, communications strategist, Fusion Productions, was sitting backstage during a general session of the meeting. On the projection screen, rolling along in real-time, were tweets from attendees in the audience who were listening to the speaker’s remarks.

http://broadband.ideascale.com/a/rpxAuthentication.do

Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson and their team at GoROWE.com have made it their mission to promote “results-only work environments”. They have a Linkedin GoROWE Group http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2715125 and a blog at their web page. I think it is asinine that as we build out global broadband, cloud computing and distributed computing like World Community Grid, Grid Republic and BOINC, that management refuses to adopt/provide tools which would allow folks (many with disabilities — 70% unemployed) to work from anywhere the work can be done. Sure, there are security and IP issues, but there are rural economic development and green issues, not to mention digital accessibility issues that CANNOT be solved until the mental culture/worldview of C-Suites and their subordinates promote the available technologies. So share holders, proxy holders, institutional investors–let’s start asking about these issues during the next quarterly conference call.

The Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council has issued a Call for Papers for its 9th annual conference to be held from September 12 – 16, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV.  The 2010 FTTH Conference & Expo is the only gathering of its kind dedicated to the advancement and deployment of FTTH technologies and benefits. This year’s theme, FTTH: All Fiber, All the Way!, will bring leaders, visionaries and decision makers to the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino to share success stories and lessons learned about the business elements needed to generate revenue with FTTH.

With considerable investments in fiber to the home deployment, the pressure is on for operators to add subscribers and to generate revenue from the subscribers they serve. The stakes are high and so are the expectations. The 2010 program will offer attendees an overview of best business practices for advancing of high speed broadband over fiber optic networks.

The FTTH Council is seeking papers in the following target areas:
Conference Tracks

1.    Why Fiber all the Way – explain the advantages of the all fiber network – for greater revenue services, lower cost of ownership, and economic development. Experience-based service provider submissions will be given first consideration.

2.    Success Stories: Share your experiences as a provider of FTTH services to help others build successful FTTH based businesses. Explain the benefits realized from linking your customers and community to FTTH, to better quality of life and prosperity.  Experience-based service provider submissions will be given first consideration.

3.    New Technology: Educate prospective and practicing network builders on new technologies that enable profitable FTTH services. Target topics include new FTTH standards such as 10 Gigabit PONs, MDU technologies, in-home connectivity, video and IP video, green benefits, and comparisons of FTTH to other broadband technologies. Special consideration will be given to system-level papers that help decision-makers improve the business case for FTTH.

4.    Advanced Network Design, Construction and Management: Explain innovations in efficient network design, construction, installation and testing. Describe new options for efficient management of the network and subscribers. Target topics include network design cost modeling, construction techniques and equipment, testing and tools for managing subscribers.

5.    Finance and Regulatory:  Elucidate the new funding and financing options available, and teach how to access capital.   Explain how to navigate though the application process to reach government loans and grants. Provide insights on the National Broadband Plan.

6.   Fiber 101:  Provide a firm foundation in the fundamentals of FTTH – in the areas of greatest concern to FTTH deployers – content acquisition, technology, installation techniques, network design, or any topic you feel is relevant to FTTH neophytes.

7.  Latin America (Portuguese and/or Spanish only):  Latin America (Portuguese and/or Spanish only) – provide insights to Latin American providers on the opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned in deploying FTTH to help our Southern neighbors launch FTTH successfully to millions of homes in the region.

Abstract Guidelines

Abstracts should be a maximum of 500 words, without pictures, and must be commercial free. The abstract should describe the primary conclusion or results of the paper including pertinent details of the work indicating the significant findings. Learner outcomes must be included. Papers must contain significant new material not presented or published previously.  Papers may range from introductory to advanced, but bear in mind that your audience may be just getting started in this field. As such, “FTTH 101″ papers will also be considered within each category.*

Returning by popular demand for our 2010 Program…we will be offering a track sessions in Spanish or Portuguese supported by the FTTH Council Latin American Chapter.  As a perspective speaker, you may wish to indicate that you wish to repeat your presentation in Spanish or Portuguese during the online submission process.

For complete information on deadlines and submission guidelines go through the newsletter signup/update process ( click here ) and select “Add Me To: 2010 Call for Papers Submission Announcement.”

FTTH 101 Papers do not need to meet the new or unpublished requirement.

About the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council

The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council is a non-profit association consisting of companies and organizations that deliver video, Internet and/or voice services over high-bandwidth, next-generation, direct fiber optic connections – as well as those involved in planning and building FTTH networks.  The Council works to create a cohesive group to share knowledge and build industry consensus on key issues surrounding fiber to the home. Communities and organizations interested in exploring FTTH options may find information on the FTTH Council web site at www.ftthcouncil.org.

About Legend Conference Planning

Legend Conference Planning is the official project management and event planning firm for the 2010 FTTH Conference & Expo and the FTTH Council Secretariat. For further information, email at info@legendconferences.com.

Contact:
Speaker Liaison
Legend Conference Planning
Tel: 613-226-9988 x4
Email: speakerliaison@legendconferences.com

Download the plan here.

FCC TO HOLD OPEN COMMISSION MEETING
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, which is scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.

With respect to the items on the open meeting agenda, the Commission, on its own motion, is waiving the prohibition on ex parte presentations that normally applies during the Sunshine period. 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1200(a), 1.1203. Parties that make ex parte presentations that would otherwise be subject to disclosure requirements must continue to disclose them during the Sunshine period. Id. § 1.1206(b).

The meeting will include a presentation of the National Broadband Plan.

ITEM NO. BUREAU/GROUP SUBJECT 1 WIRELINE COMPETITION

TITLE: A National Broadband Plan for Our Future (GN Docket No. 09-51)

SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Broadband Mission Statement containing goals for U.S. broadband policy. The meeting site is fully accessible to people using wheelchairs or other mobility aids. Sign language interpreters, open captioning, and assistive listening devices will be provided on site. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. In your request, include a description of the accommodation you will need and a way we can contact you if we need more information. Last minute requests will be accepted, but may be impossible to fill. Send an e-mail to: fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty).

Additional information concerning this meeting may be obtained from Audrey Spivack or David Fiske, Office of Media Relations, (202) 418-0500; TTY 1-888-835-5322. Audio/Video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast live with open captioning over the Internet from the FCC Live web page at www.fcc.gov/live.

For a fee this meeting can be viewed live over George Mason University’s Capitol Connection. The Capitol Connection also will carry the meeting live via the Internet. To purchase these services call (703) 993-3100 or go to www.capitolconnection.gmu.edu. Copies of materials adopted at this meeting can be purchased from the FCC’s duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (202) 488-5300; Fax (202) 488-5563; TTY (202) 488-5562. These copies are available in paper format and alternative media, including large print/type; digital disk; and audio and video tape. Best Copy and Printing, Inc. may be reached by e-mail at FCC@BCPIWEB.com.

-FCC

The Alliance for Distance Education in California (ADEC) is pleased to announce Summit XXI: Online Education — Collaborating to Succeed. The annual distance learning summit will be held in partnership with CUE 2010 this year. ADEC’s Summit reflects the theme of collaboration in today’s challenging times and the corresponding booming growth in recent years of online learning.Sessions will examine online trends, collaborative professional development and content delivery and successful funding strategies. Lunch and reception are included. CUE 2010 conference registration is NOT required to attend the summit. Registration is limited to 50 attendees so sign up today!

# # # #

New Online Learning Bundle to Attend ADEC Summit, CUE 2010 & SAVE!
Greetings ADEC members! I wanted you to be among the first to hear about an exciting new way to save precious professional development funding AND advance you and your colleagues’ learning opportunities!
To draw attention to the record number of activities centered around online learning at this year’s CUE Conference, we’ve crafted a bundle of all of them and lowered the cost to participate! Please feel free to attend and share with those around you!
All the details: http://www.cue.org/conference/bundles#olb
Here’s the info:Online Learning Bundle – Regularly $394, Bundle rate of $349Full CUE Conference registration <http://www.cue2010.org/> , March 4-6; Palm Springs, CA.  Conference registration includes opening and closing keynotes, over 200 speaker presentations, and 100,000 square feet of vendor displays.  1 year CUE membership benefits <http://www.cue.org/members/memberPage/>  Online Education Summit <http://www.cue.org/conference/oes>  - Thursday, March 4, 10 am – 7 pm; The Alliance for Distance Education in California (ADEC) is holding its annual distance learning summit at CUE this year.  This reflects the theme of collaboration in today’s challenging times and the corresponding booming growth of online learning in recent years.  Sessions will examine online trends, collaborative professional development and content delivery, and successful funding strategies.  Lunch and reception are included.Online Learning Breakfast – Saturday, March 6, 7 – 9 am; Susan Patrick – Join Susan Patrick, CEO and President of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and panel of expert guests for a breakfast discussion on the future of online learning in California. Continental breakfast included 7:00 – 7:30 am.  Using E-Learning for Academic Continuity:  School Closures & Flu Pandemic Planning   Saturday, March 6, 12:30 – 1:30 pm; Spotlight session by Susan PatrickA Global and National Perspective on the Future of Education – Saturday, March 6, 2:00 – 3:00 pm; Spotlight session by Susan Patrick eLearning Special Interest Group picks <http://www.cue.org/conference/featuredstrands>  Various concurrent session over the 3-day conference <http://www.cue.org/conference/sessions/%20> See you in Palm Springs!
– • • •Mike LawrenceExecutive DirectorComputer-Using Educators (CUE)www.cue.org925.478.3461• • •
Kitty SalinasMatrix California MediaAlliance for Distance Education in California
626-272-1615fax 626-285-3754kitty.salinas@sbcglobal.net

Top Houston Hospital Selects MedConcierge to Offer
Telemedicine to Corporations and Master Planned
Communities

September 8, 2009 (Sarasota, FL & Houston, TX) – St. Joseph Medical Center, the largest, Level 3 trauma hospital in downtown Houston, has selected MedConcierge to provide its advanced telemedicine solution to leading communities and corporations. Both parties will demonstrate the user experience and benefits of telemedicine during the upcoming 2009 FTTH Conference & Expo taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, September 27th through October 1st.

"We are very excited to demonstrate the MedConcierge at St. Joseph Medical Center service to local community developers and corporate executives at the upcoming Fiber to the Home Conference," states St. Joseph chief executive officer Phillip D. Robinson, "Telemedicine will clearly be at the center of healthcare delivery moving forward and leveraging the technological advantages of the MedConcierge service over fiber-optic communications will help us extend patient services, generate additional revenue and save costs."

"St. Joseph is a leader in the Houston area, and we are thrilled to play a role in helping them deliver health and wellness services to residents of FTTH communities in and around the Houston metropolitan area," says MedConcierge director Rob Scheschareg. "Telemedicine offers competitive and financial benefits in a cost-effective fashion that is critical in today's market environment. We look forward to meeting service providers and developers at the FTTH Conference & Expo who want to take advantage of the billions being spent by consumers and the government in the next 30 months on home-based telemedicine."

Substantial news coverage, increasing consumer interest and adoption, and the allocation of billions of dollars in Federal stimulus funds specifically for broadband and healthcare information technology have placed telemedicine at the forefront of applications that benefit from fiber to the home networks.

"Fiber to the home provides benefits to consumers and employers that truly improve the quality of life. From our own industry research to that of our members and market followers, it is becoming increasingly evident that consumers want the benefits of improved healthcare services and access to doctors that services like MedConcierge and healthcare providers like St. Joseph can provide," states Joe Savage, president of the FTTH Council. "Telemedicine is a prime example of the type of applications that will be on display at our upcoming conference demonstrating the power of fiber".

To showcase the user experience, benefits and implementation of telemedicine services, MedConcierge and St. Joseph Medical Center will be hosting a number of activities at the upcoming 2009 FTTH Conference & Expo.  These include:

Corporate VIP Demonstration & Reception, Tuesday, September 29th.  For more information call the Corporate Health Connection at St. Joseph Medical Center at (713) 756-8600. 

MedConcierge Booth in the Fiber Zone, located on the show floor during exhibit hours. 

Phillip D. Robinson, CEO, St. Joseph Medical Center will be discussing telemedicine over FTTH networks as part of the Closing Keynote presentation Wednesday, September 30th at 2:00 pm.

For information about these events, visit the conference website at http://www.ftthconference.com.

About St. Joseph Medical Center

St. Joseph Medical Center, downtown Houston's only general acute care hospital, partners with Houston physicians to provide comprehensive health care to all.  As Houston's first hospital, St. Joseph Medical Center provides services for outpatients as well as inpatients, with a full continuum of care in surgery, cancer care, emergency care, Women's services, cardiovascular services, wound care, rehab, sports medicine, Corporate Health Connection and more. For more information on St. Joseph Medical Center, please visit http://www.sjmctx.com or call 713.757.1000.

About MedConcierge, LLC

MedConcierge is the leading provider of telemedicine solutions for community developers and operators, broadband service providers, healthcare providers, and municipalities, that deliver personal, concierge healthcare services to consumers at home, at work and while traveling. Utilizing our award-winning, patent-pending technology, MedConcierge provides unparalleled private and secure access to certified doctors, specialists and content. MedConcierge offerings range from real-time, live videoconference consultations, on demand, 24/7 with leading doctors, specialists, psychiatrists and wellness experts, to educational content, health status monitoring and dynamic electronic medical records – all accessible from the comfort, privacy and convenience of homes and facilities. For more information, visit http://www.medconcierge.com.

From Telework Exchange Newsletter: 

Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Virginia teleworkers saved approximately $113,000, avoided driving 140,000 miles, and removed 75.89 tons of pollutants from the air through participation in Telework Day on August 3, 2009.

“I commend the individuals and organizations that took the Telework Day pledge,” Governor Kaine said. “The results are clear – telework plays an important role in meeting the Commonwealth’s green objectives, reducing strain and traffic on our roads, increasing savings for our employees, and will provide our businesses with increased employee productivity.”

The “What We Saved; What We Learned” report, compiled by Telework Exchange, also reveals an increase in productivity by participants and reports satisfaction with their teleworking experience.

Key findings:

• 4,267 employees teleworked on Telework Day – 22% of participants never teleworked before Telework Day; 95% of participants located in Virginia
• 69% of Virginia Telework Day participants said they accomplished more than on a typical day at the office
• 91% of Virginia Telework Day participants say they are now more likely to telework in the future
• Teleworking one day per week delivers approximately $2,000 in savings to each teleworker annually

To download the full report, please visit http://www.teleworkexchange.com/teleworkdayreport/.