TECHNOLOGY
ROLLOUT AND DEPLOYMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES
My associates and I designed, developed
and deployed private
sector voice and data networks. We also created survivable critical
infrastructure* and
rural
broadband (high speed Internet) deployment strategies with public policies enabling
communities to bridge the "digital divide" navigating through
complex business, technical, and policy issues to discover:
How can we foster private sector
investment in sustainable broadband and critical infrastructure?
When and how should local government
or cooperatives provide either the infrastructure and services
themselves?
When should we use fiber, wireless
(including wi-fi or wi-max) or satellite?
What type of organization does this
best?
What are governance and management
requirements?
How can its sponsored services lower
taxes?
How can it maintain government
services despite revenue cuts?
How can we encourage the development
of financially sustainable services in health care and telemedicine?
How can we use the entire
communications infrastructure including broadband for public safety
communications including VOIP, video or broadband 9-1-1?
How can we create interoperable
infrastructure as well as interoperable communications?
How can we create efficient and
secure networks and policies?
How can we use our network and
information technology to foster economic development, jobs and an
improved environment?
(* Manto white paper on
EMP all-hazards scenario planning for public safety officials will be
published on the
Public Technology Institute website in May 2006)
The following policies are examples of
recently published strategies that we developed for
rural communities across Maryland. (See the similar issues raised
by
municipal broadband offerings in both rural and
urban areas such as Philadelphia, broadband over power lines
(BPL) discussions by NARUC (National
Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) and the US
Congressional
EMP Commission. Contact us to learn how
to deploy fiber optic backbone infrastructure that can withstand natural
and intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI).
Create rural broadband policy that fosters
survivable, sustainable, scalable and interoperable high speed
networks by supporting diverse routes and carriers for backbone and
last mile infrastructure serving government, business, and citizens.
Follow through policy recommendations and
strategies with specific next steps, responsible parties, and
resulting goals that can be measured.
Support the availability to businesses of
current and proposed diverse routes. In western Maryland, that
would include the Level3 fiber optic network that runs along
Interstate 68, the MCI fiber route that runs along the CSX tracks, and
the Allegheny Communications Connect fiber route that is being
extended into Oakland in Garrett county. In the Eastern Shore,
that would include Cavalier, MBC, Connectiv and Easton Utilities
networks.
Encourage adoption of cost saving or value
creating applications which require broadband usage, such as converged
voice, data, and video emergency services communications.
Facilitate access to rights of ways,
including conduits and towers, for private business and carriers to
provide diverse routes for backbone and last mile services. Review
cost recovery structure to minimize overcharges compared to the market
while maintaining revenue needed to maintain systems.
Explore feasibility of aggregating demand
for private sector and public sector rural broadband networks as they
create peering relationships in their respective points of presence.
This would include use of networkMaryland, SAILOR, AllCoNet2, UMATS
and Internet2. As an example, the Baltimore Education Research
Network (BERnet) is a model that can be used in rural regions.
Create a Maryland broadband and related
critical infrastructure finance or bonding authority to support public/private
partnerships in infrastructure development, especially to underserved
areas.
Develop and support county or tri-county
critical infrastructure coordinators who understand public and private
sector critical infrastructure and can coordinate, plan, and procure
funds for their protection and growth.
Develop local process to gain and protect
information required to plan for emergency communications as outlined
in the
federal executive orders.
Support local and state capacity to find
federal funds, including federal rebates to rural health care
providers for broadband internet usage.
Encourage the development and
implementation of cost-saving telemedicine applications and coordinate
state reimbursements for services to further promote the use of these
applications.
Encourage the state to modify current
economic development incentives to attract external infrastructure
funding.
Consider the economic development
promotion of western Maryland as a strategic location for remote sites
for information technology assets and employees for the purposes of
business continuity and other smart growth initiatives.
Leapfrog from rural “catch-up mode” to a
world class leadership role. Support entrepreneurship and business
development that provides broadband services and infrastructure
technology commercialization that will lead the world in the
deployment of new technology, services, and businesses. Use next
generation internet resources to create virtual incubators for
broadband intensive start-ups and high growth firms.
Encourage and prioritize the use of state
infrastructure such as towers and the dozen fiber optic strands that
networkMaryland has for swapping with other carriers to be used in the
state-wide development of rural networks.
Eliminate Maryland-only disincentives to
the deployment of broadband infrastructure, particularly taxes unique
to MD.
Create demand-side opportunities, such as
a broadband day sign-up by chambers of commerce.
Develop a model of a systems and network
development (SAND) corporation serving local government that can bring
private sector best practices to network infrastructure and services.
This would make it possible to reinvest a meaningful portion of money
saved or increased revenue into staff, services, and infrastructure.
Project
Management
The deployment of
new technology can be unnecessarily expensive if complex projects are
not managed as simply and thoroughly as possible. My associates and I
have deployed very complex projects that required daily oversight of
well over a million items and have been recognized by leading
communication firms internationally as having the most thorough and
effective deployment methodology known in the industry. This
included the deployment of telecommunications broadband voice and data
technology in VA, MD and DC spread across more than 100 Verizon
locations.
Some projects were
facilitated by tools such as Microsoft Project and Excel where thousands
of critical path items needed to be tracked on a daily basis so the
millions of details could be managed effectively.
Feel free to contact us for examples.
Public Sector
Projects
Successful public
sector projects are usually as successful as they are collaborative.
Though the vision may be simple and compelling, they usually are very
complex to execute. This network security example is a case in point.
powered
by: Omega Communications, Inc.
