DHS Encourages Companies to Join Pandemic Preparedness Webinar July 2nd, 2008

USTelecom has been working with various government and private sector entities on efforts related to pandemic influenza preparedness, which we discussed in-depth in a recent edition of Crossroads Express. Because of those ongoing efforts, USTelecom members are invited to participate in a live cross-sector webinar on July 11, 2008, where infrastructure owners and operators will be briefed on recent information and developments in preparedness planning. You can register for the webinar here. This webinar is designed to help our industry better prepare for the effects of a severe pandemic and will include information from the Department of Homeland Security, the National Vaccine Program Office at the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USTelecom’s recent member survey on pandemics indicated that there was very strong interest from our members to receive quality information of the type that will be presented in the webinar. We look forward to your participation.

USTelecom Webinar Today on Hiring and Employee Retention July 1st, 2008

Don’t forget to check out our webinar today at 1pm, “Hiring & Employee Orientation as Retention Tools,” brought to you by USTelecom and Helios HR.  You’ll have the opportunity to learn how other companies are maximizing their recruitment and selection process to ensure that they identify a targeted applicant pool; you’ll also hear how employee assimilation processes are being utilized to maximize employee retention.

You can register for the webinar here.  Or, if you can’t log on today, check out some of our archived webinars here.

USTelecom Webinar Tomorrow June 25th, 2008

We’ll be hosting a webinar tomorrow at 1pm on ustelecom.org called “Data Center Technologies for the Converging Service Provider.” It will focus on the key considerations in deploying server and storage technologies for digital media solutions including voice over IP and video on demand. We’ll also go over some emerging best practices for server deployments relevant to service provider owned facilities and talk about hosted environments, with a focus on optimizing key data center operations for power, cooling and bandwidth. To register, click here.

USTelecom Vidcast: Tom Soroka on USTelecom’s Webinars May 23rd, 2008

As you may have noticed, we recently began promoting USTelecom’s webinars here on our blog. To give you a better idea of what those are all about, I sat down this morning with Tom Soroka, USTelecom’s vice president for engineering and technology, to talk about what webinars are, what kinds of topics USTelecom webinars cover, and what we’re planning for the near future.

Be sure to check our events page regularly to see a listing of our upcoming webinars and to visit the archives of our previous webinars, available to you on demand.

Webinar This Thursday: IPTV Integration—the Lessons Learned May 13th, 2008

Join USTelecom at 1pm this Thursday for a free webinar about the ins and outs of IPTV, “IPTV Integration Trials and Tribulations-the Lessons Learned.” Whether you’re launching a new IPTV service or upgrading an existing service, the integration of new IPTV technologies and features can be risky and difficult. But Mariner Partners President and CEO Curtis Howe will walk you through the process, describing the challenges his team has faced over a decade of IPTV deployments; you’ll learn techniques and practices from a true IPTV insider about how to successfully develop and deploy innovative IPTV services. To register, click here.

How Broadband Enhances Public Safety in Your Community February 28th, 2008

I listened to yesterday’s webinar that looked at the tremendous strides Ft. Wayne, Ind., has made in improving economic development, public safety, health care and education through a comprehensive program to provide high-speed broadband to a metropolitan area of 250,000 people. It was a fascinating look at how one city is successfully using broadband to leverage existing resources to improve city operations.

Former Mayor Graham Richard explained how, when taking office in 2000, he formed a team dedicated to incorporating technology into the community’s public safety programs. Early on, Graham recalled, the mandate for broadband was clear. “What can we do with technology to make sure that we’re using every available hour of every police officer in a particular and in an effective way?” he said.

Richard, joined by Brent Johnson, director of the Public Safety Academy of Northeast Indiana, said the city aimed for a more mobile police force that “could get back to a strong community policing model.” In a few short years, this task force has created a highly mobile and efficient first responder community that is using high-speed broadband for crime fighting and advanced training. The centerpiece of this strategy is the Public Safety Academy of Northeast Indiana, a $27 million training facility designed to “radically improve the collaborative efforts of 5,000 first responders” in the Ft. Wayne area. The academy is placing a strong focus on broadband technology and on-line learning which will be made available to police, fire and EMS personnel throughout the region and the state using a new broadband network.

The Academy has also partnered with a wide range of local educational organizations to offer public safety related degree programs. These partnerships will help develop an educational infrastructure to meet challenges facing public safety and government officials.

Meanwhile, crime in the Ft. Wayne area has declined to the lowest level in 27 years—and last year alone, Ft. Wayne experienced a 5.5 percent decline.

Richard also touted the Firehouse College, a program that allows firefighters to connect with online educational resources while they are in-between response calls. By educating the firefighters and leveraging their time with training, the community is creating a better prepared and efficient group of first responders. Firehouse College ensures that not only do firefighters get the right training but—with broadband—they can remain in their station houses during training so they can readily respond to emergencies.

To watch an archived version of the webinar click here.

[Cross-posted at NextGenWeb.org]

USTelecom Webinar Tomorrow! February 26th, 2008

When former Ft. Wayne, Indiana Mayor Graham Richard took office in 2000, he formed a team dedicated to incorporating technology into the community’s public safety programs. In a few short years, this task force has created a highly mobile and efficient first responder community.

Join Mayor Richard and Brent Johnson, director of the Public Safety Academy of Northeast Indiana, for a USTelecom webinar tomorrow at 11am. The panelists will describe how broadband access in Ft. Wayne has led to a series of public safety initiatives that have lowered crime in the Ft. Wayne area to the lowest level in 27 years, and make suggestions on how similar initiatives can help first responders in your region. Register now!