IP Telephony (VoIP):

Business, Regulatory, and Policy Challenges

Thursday, February 19, 2004, 1:00-4:30 pm (VOIP tutorial 10:30-12 noon)

Union Building, Parlor B+C, Michigan State University, EAST LANSING

Co-sponsors:

Quello Center for Telecommunication Management & Law at Michigan State University

Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University

Pre-Workshop Tutorial

10:30-12:00       VoIP technology and applications

§         Introduction and welcome: Janice Beecher, Director, IPU

§         Instructor: Ron Choura, MI Public Service Commission

12:00-1:00            Lunch break (several cafeterias are available in the Union Building)

Workshop Program Schedule

1:00-2:00 pm      Keynote address by The Honorable Kathleen Q. Abernathy, Commissioner,

                        Federal Communications Commission (Live webcast | Archive)

§         Introduction: Johannes M. Bauer, Executive Director, Quello Center

2:00-2:30 pm      Refreshment break

2:30-4:30 pm      Business, regulatory and policy aspects of Internet telephony (VoIP) (Live webcast | Archive)

§         Introduction: Steven S. Wildman, Director, Quello Center

§         The Hon. Robert Nelson, MI Public Service Commission (Presentation)

§         Mr. Wayne Fonteix, AT&T (Presentation)

§         Mr. Paul Fuglie, Verizon  (Presentation)

§         Ms. Robin Gleason, SBC

§         Mr. Richard Wolfe, Comcast Cable (Presentation)

§         Mr. Rick Gamber, Michigan Consumer Federation

§         Mr. Kevin Schoen, ACD.net (Presentation)

§         Moderator: Mr. Rick Coy, Clark Hill

Registration

The event is free to the public but please contact Brenda Dilday at the Quello Center (phone 517-432-8001, fax 517-432-8065 or email at quello@msu.edu) to sign up.

Directions and Parking

The Union Building is at the south-eastern corner of Grand River Ave. and Abbott in downtown East Lansing.  A map with directions is available here; driving directions from outside the Lansing area are available here.  Parking is available in downtown East Lansing, one block from the Union.

Webcast and Archive

The afternoon workshop (but not the tutorial) will be webcast by WMSU (Abernathy keynote at 12:55 pm EST, Panel discussion at 2:25 pm EST), also accessible via links on the Quello Center and IPU websites.  The event will be archived at http://www.ipu.msu.edu/ipuonline.htm.

More Information

Johannes M. Bauer, Executive Director, Quello Center (phone 517-432-8003, email bauerj@msu.edu)

Janice Beecher, Director, Institute of Public Utilities (phone 517-355-1876, email beecher@msu.edu)

Speaker Bios

Kathleen Q. Abernathy was nominated by President George W. Bush on May 1, 2001. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on May 25 and sworn in as FCC Commissioner on May 31, 2001. As Commissioner, she is responsible for representing the public interest in each of the policy areas under the FCC's jurisdiction. These responsibilities include regulation of broadcast television, cable, satellite, domestic and international telecommunications, wireless telephony, consumer protection and education and general enforcement of Commission rules. In addition to her other responsibilities at the FCC, she also chairs the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. Since joining the FCC, Commissioner Abernathy has been honored by several organizations for her professional achievements, including receiving the Forerunner Accolade from Women in Cable and Telecommunications, the Milestone Award from Catholic University's Columbus School of Law, and being named one of the most powerful women in television by Electronic Media magazine.  Prior to her FCC appointment, Commissioner Abernathy was Vice President of Public Policy at BroadBand Office Communications, Inc. Before that, she was a partner at the law firm of Wilkinson Barker Knauer. Commissioner Abernathy’s experience also includes serving as Vice President for Regulatory Affairs at U.S. West, Inc. and as Vice President for Federal Regulatory at AirTouch Communications, Inc.  In addition to her experience in the private sector, Commissioner Abernathy held several positions at the FCC. She was a Telecommunications Legal Advisor to FCC Chairman James H. Quello, Legal Advisor to Commissioner Sherrie P. Marshall, and Special Assistant to the FCC’s General Counsel.  Commissioner Abernathy has been very active in various bar activities and academia. She is a member and former President of the Federal Communications Bar Association and a member of the Washington, D.C. Bar. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.  Commissioner Abernathy is a graduate of Marquette University, where she received a Bachelor of Sciences degree, magna cum laude. She received a Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.  Commissioner Abernathy is married and has one daughter.

Ron Choura has been active in the regulatory and telecommunications industry for more than 33 years, currently hold the position of State Executive with the Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services, Public Service Commission, Communications Division and Professor at Michigan State University, Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media. He is currently the Director of the Michigan State University Site for Information Technology and Experimentation and Supervisor Service Quality, Communications Division, with the Michigan Public Service Commission, teaches digital networking classes and manages a technology lab at Michigan State University. Professional positions include member of the Independent Telephone Pioneers Association, Board Member on The Children’s Network, Registered Professional Engineer, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, past Vice Chairman of NARUC Staff Subcommittee on Communications, Federal State Joint Boards, Federal State Joint Conference, and past Director of the Governors Telecommunications Task Force.

Rick Coy leads Clark Hill P.L.C.’s administrative law practice and has more than 30 years of experience specializing in energy, telecommunications and utility law in Michigan.  Coy provides legal counsel and representation to large corporate and institutional utility service users and their statewide associations, as well as new competitors in these increasingly deregulated industries.  Coy’s practice in gas, electric, and telecommunications regulatory issues has given him a unique vantage point to observe each industry as it has been restructured.

Wayne Fonteix is Director – Regulatory Affairs with AT&T’s Law and State Government Affairs organization, working out of AT&T’s headquarters in Bedminster, NJ.   He is responsible for managing the planning and implementation of public policy initiatives across all state regulatory jurisdictions and has additional administrative responsibility for AT&T’s State Government Affairs Eastern Region.  He also has primary responsibility for AT&T’s relationship with NARUC.  Prior to his current assignment, Wayne held the position of Local Markets Director in AT&T’s Local Services Organization.  There, he was responsible for defining business and regulatory requirements in support of AT&T’s competitive entry into the local exchange and exchange access markets.  In that role he frequently appeared before the FCC and state commissions to provide expert testimony regarding unbundling, interconnection and resale.  He has been with AT&T since 1985 and has held a variety of positions in the areas of human resources, business planning, regulatory analysis and policy development.  Wayne currently serves on the Advisory Council for the New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities and as a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University.

Paul Fuglie is Assistant Vice President Public Policy and External Affairs for Verizon Michigan.  Paul brings a broad telecommunications background with over 28 years of experience in the industry.  After leaving the military he started his career in 1979 with Southern Pacific Communications, a start up, long-haul telecommunications company.  At Southern Pacific, which went on to become Sprint, he worked in a number of operations, network planning and regulatory/public policy positions.  His roles contributed to the company growing from a fledgling new entry in the competitive transport business to the third largest interexchange carrier with the first nationwide fiber optic network.  Paul took a position with GTE in 1996 with the responsibility to obtain interexchange authority in all state and federal jurisdictions as the result of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.  After obtaining authority for GTE in all jurisdictions, Paul continued to advocate and support the needs of the business units after the merger of GTE and Verizon on July 1, 2000.  Paul took his current position, Assistant Vice President Public Policy and External Affairs in early 2002 and actively manages Legislative and Regulatory issues for Verizon Michigan. 

Rick Gamber is Executive Director of the Michigan Consumer Federation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer advocacy group headquartered in East Lansing.  Mr. Gamber has been a consumer advocate in Michigan for nearly 27 years, the last 12 years with MCF.  A veteran of countless legislative and regulatory battles, Rick has advocated for consumer interests at the State Capitol, the Michigan Public Service Commission as well as in Washington before Congress and federal regulatory agencies.  In addition to his work with the Michigan Consumer Federation, Gamber serves on the Board of Directors of the Consumer Federation of America, the nation’s largest consumer group with nearly 300 member organizations representing 70 million Americans.  He is a member of its Policy Resolutions Committee and Co-chairs its subcommittee on Telecommunications.

Robin Gleason currently serves as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for SBC Michigan. She started her career with Michigan Bell in 1978.  Throughout her tenure, Ms. Gleason has held several regulatory positions and worked in Chicago for Ameritech Services from 1993 to 1999.  She returned to Michigan in 2000 with her current position. Robin received her bachelor’s of business administration degree from the University of Michigan in 1978.  She resides in Okemos, Michigan.

Hon. Robert B. Nelson is Commissioner at the Michigan Public Service Commission and Chair of the NARUC Committee on Telecommunications.  He was originally appointed by Governor John Engler on May 10, 1999.  He was subsequently reappointed for a term ending July 2, 2005.  Mr. Nelson served as President of the Michigan Electric and Gas Association from December 1987 until his appointment to the Commission in 1999.  From 1979 to 1987, he was Director of the Commission's Office of Regulatory and Consumer Affairs, overseeing the legislative, legal, public affairs and consumer services functions of the Commission.  From 1976 to 1979, he served as both Assistant and Deputy Director of Policy at the Commission.  From 1974 to 1976, he was an Assistant and, later, Senior Assistant Prosecutor for Ingham County. From 1970 to 1974, he was a trial attorney for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  Mr. Nelson serves on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Consumer Affairs Committee and the Telecommunications Committee, of which he is chairman.  He is also a member of the NARUC Triennial Review Implementation Project (TRIP), the NARUC Inter-Commission Emissaries (NICE) Task Force, and the Advisory Council for the Center for Public Utilities at New Mexico University.  Mr. Nelson is a member of the North American Numbering Council, an advisory committee to the FCC on numbering issues.  He previously served as chairman of the Administrative Law Section of the Michigan Bar Association.  He has also served as Chairman of the East Lansing Cable and Telecommunications Commission.  Mr. Nelson received a B.A. in Political Science from Wayne State University (1968), and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School (1970).

Kevin Schoen is President of ACD.net.  Mr. Schoen founded ACD at age 15, and initially started selling floppy disks and supplies to the automotive companies in South East Michigan. ACD later evolved into an assembler of custom computers, and network servers, building five to seven thousand machines a year in the 90’s. In 1996 ACD became and Internet Service providers, and 2000 ACD became a licensed CLEC providing DSL and other telecommunications services. During his career, Kevin has provided consulting, started up, and raised venture capital funding several international callback companies, Internet Providers, Fiber optic firms, and software firms. Kevin’s has extensive knowledge in the technology industry, and sits on the technical advisory panels of three publicly traded technology firms, and is a board of director of several private firms.

Richard R. Wolfe is Director of Regulatory Affairs - Telephony, for the Midwest Division of Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.  Mr. Wolfe acts as Comcast's primary regulatory interface for telecommunications policymakers and regulators in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota (where Comcast has deployed local telecommunications services) as well as other midwest states where Comcast's presence is currently limited to long distance resale.  Rick has worked in the telecommunications industry for more than 26 years, beginning as a central office technician with GTE in California.  His 22 year tenure with GTE (and then Verizon) spanned network operations, cost separations, local and toll service pricing, product management, and regulatory policy and business support positions.  He left Verizon in late 2000 to join Williams Communications, LLC, a fiber-based provider of wholesale long distance services to carriers, as their Regulatory Affairs Director, with a predominant focus on rights-of-way issues.  Rick joined Comcast in January of last year, in the wake of the acquisition by Comcast of the former AT&T Broadband assets, inclusive of 1.4 million facilities-based telephony customers.

Last updated 02-19-04 jmb