1. BTOP Lessons Learned Don Welch Merit Network

2. Agenda l Project Review l What has worked l Lessons learned l Risk mitigation l Concluding quotes

4. Projects l REACH-3MC l $41.6 MM ($33.3 MM Grant) l 955 (now over 1000) miles of fiber in 4 corridors l 4 (now 3) commercial sub-recipient partners l 72 strands, 15 access points, mostly aerial l REACH-3MC II l $87 MM ($69.6 MM Grant) l 1272 (now over 1300) miles of fiber in 3 corridors and 3 states l 7 commercial sub-recipient partners (2 also in round 1) l 96-168 strands, 28 access points, half trenched l Total l > 30,000 pole permits l At least 105 community anchors directly attached.

5. What has worked l Outreach l Community l Political l Managing the project l RFPs l Merit PM with Fiber Construction Experience l Reuse RFPs l Local EA firm l If you haven’t started your EA you are too late l Compliance l Two dedicated staff

6. Lesson’s Learned l Keep your friends close and enemies closer l There is no such thing as bad publicity l $130 MM opens a lot of doors l Everybody thinks I carry $130 MM in my wallet l And they are entitled to their share l The federal government is hard to work with l Somebody remembers everything you said l Some of it is actually what you said

7. Risk Mitigation l Environmental Assessment l Incumbents l Change in attitude in the federal government l Loans for us and our partners l Loss of partners l Project overruns l Permitting

8. Conclusions l "Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else." – Will Rogers l "You can do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.“ - Colette l "Life is tough, and its even tougher if you’re stupid.“ - John Wayne l "By definition risk-takers often fail. So do morons. In practice it's difficult to sort them out.“ - Scott Adams l "Weiler's Law: Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself."

9. Conclusions l "One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.“ - Bertrand Russell l “Progress always involves risks. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first.” - Frederick B. Wilcox l “Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.” -Warren Buffett l “If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure.” - Dan Quayle