DA 00-810
           Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services
                  Roundtable in Tacoma, Washington and
                   Field Hearing in Anchorage, Alaska 

                                    
Release Date: April 10, 2000

The Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services (Joint Conference) will hold a
roundtable on April 14, 2000, from 10:45 am to 4:45 pm at the Tacoma Public Utilities Auditorium, 3628 South
35th Street, Tacoma, Washington. The Joint Conference will also hold a field hearing on April 17, 2000, from
9:00 am to 4:00 pm in the Assembly Chamber of the Z. J. Loussac Library, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage,
Alaska. FCC Commissioner Susan Ness and the Chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, G. Nanette
Thompson will host both the roundtable and the field hearing.

Part of the Joint Conference's mission is to gather information on the deployment of advanced
telecommunications services.  At this field hearing and roundtable, the Joint Conference will focus on the
impact of broadband deployment on economic development and deployment of broadband by satellite. 

The agenda of the Roundtable in Tacoma, Washington on April 14, 2000 is as follows:

     10:45 am  Opening Remarks 
     FCC Commissioner Susan Ness
     Chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, G. Nanette Thompson
     Chairwoman of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, Marilyn Showalter.
     
11:00 am  Community Broadband Deployment - Forks Project  
          Don Dennis, Government Affairs Manager, Century Telephone  
John Jones, Superintendent of Quilayute Valley School District
Roger Harrison, Director of Information Services, Forks Community Hospital
Rod Fleck, Forks City Attorney/Planner  

12:15  pm Lunch break

1:15  pm  Broadband and Rural Economic Development - Satsop 
          David Danner, Governor Locke's Executive Policy Advisor on Energy and Telecommunications
Bo Wandell, President, SafeHarbor.com
Tami Garrow, Director of Business Development, Grays Harbor Public Development Authority 

2:45 pm   Deployment Strategies in Eastern Washington
     Robert C. Lahmann, Transmission Business Line Account Executive, Bonneville Power
     Administration 
John Andrist, CEO, North Cascades Broadcasting, Inc, and CEO, NCIData.com, Inc.
Greg Marney, CEO, NoaNet.Net

4:15  pm  Public Comment

4:45 pm   Adjourn


The agenda of the Field Hearing in Anchorage, Alaska on April 17, 2000 is as follows:

     9:00 am   Opening Remarks 
     FCC Commissioner Susan Ness
     Chair of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, G. Nanette Thompson
     Introduction of Moderator, Alaska Lt. Governor Fran Ulmer
9:15 am   Broadband Deployment via Satellite
     James J. Furstenberg, AT&T, Satellite
     Tom Brady, Microcom 
     Chuck Russell, Vice President, United  
     Steve Hall, ACS Satellite Engineer
     Guy Christiansen, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Skybridge
     
10:15 am  Telehealth Demonstration
          Hazel Julius, Village Health Aide from Yukon Kuskokwim Health Consortium

10:30 am  Telehealth Issues
     Dr. Tom Nighswander, Executive Director, Alaska Telehealth Advisory Commission 
     Rebecca Grandusky, Yukon Kuskokwim Health Consortium
     Bob Cita, Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network
     Pat Stalney, Athabaskan Tribal Council 
     
11:30 am  Lunch Break
1:00 pm   Distance Education
Steve Smith, Chief Technology Officer, University of Alaska 
Dr. Andrew Hageman, President, Ilisagvic College 
Martin Cary, Vice President of Broadband Services, GCI 
Chick Beckley, Facilitator of Instructional Technology, Aleutians East Borough School District
Dave Fauske, President, Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative 
Mark Springer, Coordinator, Distance Delivery Consortium


2:15 pm   Economic Development
          Joseph Davis, Calista/Watermark Consulting 
Jack Rhyner, President, TelAlaska
Bob Poe, Commissioner of Administration
Marvin Yoder, City Manager, Galena
Tom Harris, President, Alaska Village Initiatives

3:15 pm   Public Comment
4:00 pm   Adjourn

Transcripts of this meeting, as well as updates on future field hearings, will be posted on the Joint Conference's
web site: www.fcc.gov/jointconference. 


                                -- FCC --

FCC Contact: Emily Hoffnar (202) 418-0940 TTY: (202) 418-0484
Regulatory Commission of Alaska Contact: Phil Treuer (907) 276-6222 
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Contact: Tom Wilson (360) 664-1293