Dear Friends, Clients, and Colleagues,
After many years of providing advisory services, I a wrapping up my work activities. If you would like to talk about your project, or desire to get work papers for a project I supported, please feel free to email or call me. I am happy to discuss your project — at no cost, of course. I am no longer accepting fee-based engagements and have retired all licenses, permits, and commercial insurances.
If you have a new engagement and need assistance, I can recommend to you The Broadband Group. I worked with the founder of The Broadband Group, Tom Reiman, on many important projects over a 30-year period. You will find The Broadband Group to be a team of skilled professionals with the same high standards for professionalism and ethics as Blue Ridge Advisory Services Group. Thank you all for a terrific career. I loved working for you and with you.
Bob Picchi
Mid-Atlantic Broadband (MBC)
Developed a business plan for the commercialization of a carrier-neutral wholesale regional-transport network in Southern Virginia. The network was launched in 2005 and is currently well ahead of plan.
Mason County, West Virginia
Conducted a comprehensive broadband assessment of this Ohio-River County in Western, West Virginia. Identified existing communications infrastructure, prioritized and ranked the unserved and underserved communities, and facilitated discussions with regional service providers.
Montgomery County, Virginia
Performed a broadband assessment of the County including the City of Radford and the Towns of Christiansburg and Blacksburg. We identified 9,000 households with inadequate or no service, developed a network plan and an $18 million capital budget to address the need, and outlined implementation strategies (with partners) to close the broadband gap.
Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority
Developed a business strategy and business plan for the implementation of a regional broadband network with a focus on driving economic development in the region. The Authority includes Botetourt County, Roanoke City and County, and the City of Salem.
Virginia Coalfield Coalition
Managed the deployment of a 39-tower wireless project in rural Southwest Virginia. The project resulted in the roll-out of 4th generation wireless services, expanding the reach of true mobile broadband service to many un-served and under-served communities.
Virginia Planning Districts 1, 2, and 3
Identified specific needs of the region (13 counties and 3 cities) and communities to support technology-enabled, quality-of-life-improving applications. Explored remedial strategies, including an estimated cost to build a middle mile and last mile network to reach the various communities.
Wayne County, West Virginia
Conducted a comprehensive broadband assessment of this Ohio-River County in Western, West Virginia. Identified existing communications infrastructure, the un-and-underserved communities, and all regional service providers.
West Virginia Planning Regions 1 and 4
This was a large study area of 11 counties in Southern, West Virginia that included the recreational areas along the new River Valley and Greenbrier, as well as the industrial corridors along Interstate 77. The region is large and diverse, but the need for broadband was nearly universal.
Catellus Development
Organized and led a process to develop and implement a comprehensive technology plan at Mission Bay in San Francisco, a 340-acre redevelopment program adjacent to Pac Bell Park. The project included 5 million square feet of commercial space and 7,000 residential units in one of the densest master-planned communities in the country.
City of Covington
Performed an evaluation of the City’s investments in communications enterprises, including Covington FiberNet, Covington CATV, Covington CableNet, and the non-core investment in Georgia Public Web.
Consolidated Electric Cooperative, Delaware, Ohio
Performed a market evaluation and developed a business plan for this Ohio-based distribution cooperative to launch a regional carriers’-carrier telecom enterprise – Enlite Fiber. Later, conducted a market evaluation and feasibility study to engage in a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) retail communications service business.
Dominion Energy
Developed a business case to identify the market opportunity for Virginia Power to enter the commercial telecommunications market. The scope of the study included strategy development, market assessment, and financial analysis.
In 2003 we organized Blue Ridge Advisory Services to provide professional consulting to clients in need of assistance with advanced communications. Our clients include Cities, Counties, Councils of Government, Planning Districts, Regional Economic Development Agencies, and Electric and Telecommunications Cooperatives. Any organization committed to improve the quality of life for the citizens it serves, through telecommunications, is a prospective client for Blue Ridge.
Case Study: Wayne County, West Virginia
For this engagement, we conducted a comprehensive broadband assessment of this Ohio-River County in Western, West Virginia.
In the process, we identified existing communications infrastructure, the un-and-underserved communities, and all regional service providers. Our firm mapped all un-and-underserved households in the County.
Additionally, we developed a prioritization algorithm to rank-order the 31 communities in need of remediation.
Blue Ridge then developed a Capital Cost estimate for a FTTH solution in each community and a regional backbone to reach the communities.