Steve Blum. president of Tellus Venture Associates, sets the stage for a speech by FCC chair Julius Genachowski, celebrating San Leandro's gigabit city status on 27 February 2013.
Tellus Venture Associates is a management, planning and business development consultancy for municipal and community broadband systems. Since 1996, our clients have built, funded, launched and managed fiber optic, wireless and satellite networks that serve communities and consumers around the world. They have attracted new businesses and jobs, revitalized commercial and industrial areas and created state-of-the-art resources for consumers, businesses and government agencies.
We help research, plan and develop the broadband policies, programs and businesses that make this success possible. Services include preparing market and implementation studies, developing business plans and funding, conducting community outreach and stakeholder assessment, drafting policy, RFPs, agreements and staff reports, and assisting with the evaluation and negotiation of proposals.
Our projects include:
- Developing a commercial broadband master plan and negotiating the agreement that led to the construction of a privately-funded fiber optic network for the City of San Leandro.
- Financial analysis of a user-financed fiber-to-the-premise system and planning a fiber and wireless municipal network expansion for the City of Palo Alto.
- Evaluating broadband infrastructure and services in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano Counties, and preparing detailed, city by city maps and report cards.
- Business plan and financing development, including private equity funding and California Advanced Services Fund grant and loan applications, for private sector broadband projects in Nevada, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties.
- Managing the development of a broadband policy bank and infrastructure inventory for California's Central Coast region.
- Chief operating officer of a wireless ISP.
- Senior vice president of marketing and sales for an IPTV consumer electronics company.
- Due diligence lead for an NGO delegation to Angola
- Team leader for an NGO project in the Philippines.
- Development of satellite radio systems in Africa, the Middle East, and the U.S.
- Principal negotiator for a cable system sale to a top tier MSO.
- Managing consultant for a public/private WiMAX network deployment.
- Principal consultant for comprehensive feasibility studies for municipal wireless broadband systems.
- Management advisor for satellite broadcasting systems in North and South America, Asia, the Pacific Rim, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, including most recently Italy, Cambodia and New Zealand.
In addition, we offer cities, communities and private companies a wide range of broadband project development services, including market research, business planning, geographic analysis, financial modeling, service and facilities design, and technical evaluation. Our client list includes many California cities, such as San Leandro, Palo Alto, Oakland, Los Angeles, Benicia, Lompoc and Folsom.
Steve Blum, president of Tellus Venture Associates, and Jim Fleming, City of Palo Alto, present a broadband feasibility study to the Palo Alto Utilities Advisory Commission, 1 June 2011.
Stephen Blum, the president of Tellus Venture Associates, has led many successful projects and served in several senior executive positions on a consulting basis. He is a 30-year industry veteran and an expert in developing new broadband infrastructure and services, including wireless, fiber optic and satellite systems.
His career includes playing key roles in the launch and growth of DirecTv in the U.S., as well as other satellite broadcasting platforms around the world. For the past ten years, his work has focused on planning and building community broadband systems.
Steve is the author of seven books on the Internet and satellite broadcasting and is a frequent contributor to professional journals and industry events. He holds an A.B. in History from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. in East Asia Studies from the University of Washington, and an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas.