Attorneys,
consultants and lobbyists practicing in the dynamic and rapidly evolving areas
of Communications and Technology will want to attend the 2014 Communications Law
Annual Forum. The Forum will feature a diverse selection of attorneys from
industry, private practice and government.
SCHEDULE
7:30 – 8:00 Breakfast and Check In
8:00 – 9:15
Keynote Presentation
Welcome: Shannon Heim
Speaker: Alan Butler, Epic Appellate Advocacy
Counsel
Over the last year, the National Security Agency's surveillance
of telephone and Internet communications records has been the focus of heated
debate and constant scrutiny. The President and other officials within the
Intelligence Community have shifted from defending the program to evaluating the
best way to incorporate privacy-protecting provisions. But modern communications
privacy and national security laws still leave a great deal of discretion to
federal intelligence agencies. The current laws rely upon telecommunications
carriers and other service providers to both respond to lawful government
requests and protect the privacy of their users. As a result, these gatekeepers
will
continue to play a critical role in the evolution and daily
functioning of the privacy oversight process.
9:15 – 9:45 View From The Chair
Speaker: Beverly Jones Heydinger, Minnesota
Public Utilities Commission Chair
Chair Heydinger
will provide her perspective on the changing regulatory landscape for regulated
utilities.
9:45-10:00
Break
10:00 – 10:45
Introduction of Office of Broadband Development
Speaker: Danna MacKenzie,
Executive Director
Ms. MacKenzie will discuss the mission of the Office of
Broadband Development and the development of robust broadband in greater
Minnesota.
10:45 – 11:30 Evolution of the IP Network
Moderator: Shannon Heim, Dorsey & Whitney
Speakers: Jason Topp, CenturyLink
Milda Hedblom, Dain Legal Services
Dan Lipschultz,
Minnesota Public Utilities Commissioner
Labeled the
“Fourth Network Revolution” the telecommunications industry is undergoing “. .
.historic technology transitions that are transforming our nation’s voice
communications services – from a network based on time-division multiplexed
(TDM) circuit-switched voice services running on copper loops to an all-Internet
Protocol (IP) network using copper, co-axial cable, wireless, and fiber as
physical infrastructure.” This technology transition brings fantastic new
capabilities and additional choices to consumers. It does so by largely
replacing, rather than supplementing, legacy copper circuit switched based
networks.
Such
a fundamental change raises important issues for the industry, its consumers and
for policy makers. This panel will describe the IP-Transition, explain why
the transition is inevitable, describe the issues it raises, and provide
opinions regarding policies state and federal authorities should adopt to both
facilitate change and serve both rural and urban customers.