MAY 2010 MEETING
Holiday Inn Blacksburg

Thursday, May 13, 2010
note change from normal 3rd Thursday

Virginia
Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program
Fiber Projects

Jeff Crowder, program director
Information Technology Division
Virginia Tech

Abstract:
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 appropriated $7.2 billion to expand broadband access to unserved and underserved communities across the US, and to increase jobs, spur investments in technology and infrastructure, and provide long-term economic benefits. The result is the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), and the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

Virginia Tech and the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative partnered to submit proposals to the BTOP program resulting in a combined award of $21.5 million to expand Virginia's open-access fiber backbone network. The projects will build over 575 miles of new fiber throughout southside and western Virginia. This talk will describe plans for the implementation and utilization of this network.

Jeff Crowder is an Information Technology Program Director at Virginia Tech. During his career at the university spanning 25 years, he has led several successful programs targeted at providing early access to advanced networks for economic development, education, and research. Examples include NetworkVirginia, Internet2, National LambdaRail, Mid-Atlantic Crossroads, and the Mid-Atlantic Terascale Partnership. Jeff served as the Principal Investigator for the Virginia Tech BTOP proposal and is serving as Program Manager for implementation of the project.

 

Meeting Details:
Social: 6:30 PM
Dinner: 7:00 PM
Talks: 8:00 PM
Cost:
          Members & Guests $20.00
          Students $10.00

Location:

Holiday Inn - Blacksburg
900 Prices Fork Road
BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA 24060
click on the link above for map

Please Reserve by 5 PM Monday
May 17, 2010

Dr. Wilbur Dale
(540) 464-7547
dalewn@vmi.edu

Please specify the number of attendees.