The Fiber Broadband Association is proud to announce its weekly live video series, Fiber for Breakfast.
Fiber for Breakfast is a weekly 30-minute live video discussion hosted by our President and CEO, Gary Bolton, and featuring industry thought leaders on current topics that explore fiber as the critical infrastructure for 21st century communications as well as other connectivity and workplace issues presented during these challenging times.
Fiber for Breakfast will take place every Wednesday at 10am ET. Below are the registration links and recordings for each episode. For questions about Fiber for Breakfast or if you are interested in supporting and sponsoring the series, please contact Jennifer Vassil at jvassil@fiberbroadband.org.
Attention loyal Fiber for Breakfast audience! We are pleased to offer our viewers the opportunity to opt-in for registration for the 2023 season of Fiber for Breakfast. Click here and you will be automatically added to the registration list ahead of each episode.
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2023 - Week 11: The Treasury Department’s Multibillion Investment in Broadband
(March 15, 2023 - 10am ET)
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund provides $10 billion to states, territories, freely associated states, and Tribal governments to fund critical capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring. A key priority of this program is to make funding available for reliable, affordable broadband infrastructure and other digital connectivity technology projects. To date, the Capital Projects Fund has awarded nearly $4.8 billion to states that will be invested in high-speed internet infrastructure estimated to reach over 1.4 million homes and businesses. Joseph Wender plans to discuss how Treasury’s work is part of Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to achieve the goal of deploying high-speed internet to those without access and lowering costs for those who cannot afford it.
Panelist:
- Joseph Wender - Director, Capital Projects Fund, U.S. Department of the Treasury
2023 - Week 10: Not Your Grandpa's Cable Company: How Today’s MSOs are Moving Forward with Fiber
(March 8, 2023)
Service providers across the country continue to embrace fiber and cable operators are no different. Fiber has already existed in MSO networks for a long time yet pulling fiber deeper into the access network is relatively new. Cable operators are responding to demand and competition by evolving HFC networks with fiber closer to the end user, transitioning over to full fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) networks, or having a strategy somewhere in the middle. Join Omdia's Jaimie Lenderman as we discuss the latest insights around MSO access network transformation including recent operator survey results.
Panelist:
- Jaimie Lenderman - Research Manager & Principal Analyst, Broadband Access, Omdia
2023 - Week 9: Best Practices Deliver Top Net Promoter Scores for Bluebird Network
(March 1, 2023)
Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with Michael Morey, President and CEO of Bluebird Network, a company focused on intimately understanding their customers’ needs and delivering services and solutions to ensure organizations have the tools and resources to excel in the digital world. Proactive communication, personalized and detailed troubleshooting, and a deep understanding of technological shifts within the industry are hallmarks of why customers remain so loyal to Bluebird. Beyond world-class customer service, Bluebird customers regularly espouse the reliability of the Bluebird fiber network and data center operations they rely on to keep business moving. At the core, Bluebird Network provides fiber connectivity, cloud and data center solutions for business. On a deeper level, customers understand they’ve found a partner in their digital journey and this is reflected by the Bluebird’s high-flying NPS scores.
Panelist:
- Michael Morey - President and CEO, Bluebird Network
2023 - Week 8: The Bay into Bay High
(February 22, 2023)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Brad Moline, President and CEO of ALLO Communications, will discuss how fiber is changing the lives of the youth in Lincoln, Nebraska. Since 2003, ALLO has been on a mission to create, connect, and serve gigabit communities. Throughout this initiative, ALLO has supported and partnered with over 80 local nonprofits, including The Bay and Rabble Mill. Supporting Bay High’s initiative to prepare our future innovators, entrepreneurs, and creators has been a priority at ALLO.
Panelist:
- Brad Moline - President and CEO, ALLO Communications
2023 - Week 7: Fiber to Hyperscale Data Centers: Lessons Learned
(February 15, 2023)
Tune in to hear how race car driving CEO Josh Snowhorn scored the best data center site on the East Coast and how Quantum Frederick, the company's first gigawatt sized campus development is coming along. The audience of Fiber for Breakfast will get a deep-dive update on QLoop, the company's massive fiber loop extending the Northern Virginia Internet ecosystem just 20-miles north to Frederick County, Maryland, while gleaning insights to some of the lessons Josh and his team have learned since embarking on this 2,100-acre project.
Panelist:
- Josh Snowhorn - CEO, Quantum Loophole
2023 - Week 6: Scaling Broadband Workforce Development for BEAD and Beyond
(February 8, 2023)
FBA is hard at work developing a plan to enable our members to scale the fiber workforce to meet the challenges of the current and future fiber buildouts. FBA OpTIC Path™ course and certification graduates are starting to enter the workforce, and we hope to significantly increase their numbers in the very near term. This episode of FFB will discuss FBA’s workforce development plans and how you can help us meet the workforce development challenges ahead of us.
Panelists:
- Mark Boxer - Technical Manager, Solutions and Applications Engineering, OFS, and FBA Board Member
- Deborah Kish - VP of Research and Workforce Development, Fiber Broadband Association
2023 - Week 5: Building the Internet the Way it Should Be
(February 1, 2023)
Customers need a connection they can count on and most internet providers fall short. LiveOak Fiber is building a world-class fiber network to deliver the fastest broadband internet to homes and businesses in Glynn County, Georgia and Okaloosa County, Florida. The company is committed to investing in the communities they serve by delivering modern digital infrastructure needed to improve the quality of life and drive economic growth. Tune in to learn from Jody Craft, President of LiveOak Fiber, to hear what steps they are taking as a broadband service provider building a purpose-built network to bring customers the best internet experience possible while also being an accessible and affordable fiber-based service provider.
Panelist:
- Jody Craft - President, LiveOak Fiber
2023 - Week 4: Fiber to the Trailer Park
(January 25, 2023)
As we work to close the digital divide, thousands of Americans live in non-traditional homes. 17.7 million people (5.6% of the population) live in manufactured homes across the country. Further, 1 million Americans live in recreational vehicles full-time and over 9 million families travel in RVs. That’s nearly 30 million people and families that need access to Gigabit broadband but may be challenged to get fiber. This session with Joe Costello, CEO of Kwikbit Internet, will explore strategies to close the digital divide in these non-traditional environments. We all know (and the Kwikbit team agrees) that fiber delivers the best possible broadband experience. We in the fiber industry need other great broadband companies who can complement our technology to help more Americans get fiber class service today. Come hear how Kwikbit Internet is working with the fiber industry to make their broadband more available.
Panelist:
- Joe Costello - CEO, Kwikbit Internet
2023 - Week 3: Making Britain Faster and What the US Might Learn from the UK Fiber Gold Rush
(January 18, 2023)
The Fibre Gold Rush in Great Britain is potentially a preview of what is in store for the US in the coming years. The UK market has four large incumbent networks and over 100 new networks, each with the ability to deliver faster, reliable fibre to customers. These networks have delivered 12 million full-fibre homes over the past 5 years and are now facing the next step in their evolution: buy or be bought. The customer impact of the potential mergers could be significant based on the integration complexity. Richard Sinclair MBE, Chief Operations Officer at Zzoomm PLC, will explain how the UK is a case study for the rest of the world - establishing key principles to remove customer complexity and improve business value.
Panelist:
- Richard Sinclair MBE - Chief Operations Officer, Zzoomm PLC
2023 - Week 2: FCC Broadband Data Collection Now & Later – Challenges, Round 2, and What Happens After
(January 11, 2023)
With the first round of FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC) behind us and the resulting maps released, the January 13 challenge filing deadline – and ongoing reporting – looms ahead for broadband providers. Tammie Herrlein, Sr. Analyst and BDC Specialist at Vantage Point, will advise on immediate steps for challenges and amendments; provide an update on timelines to expect in the next few months; and offer clarity and guidance for the next round of BDC filing (and the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that…).
Panelist:
- Tammie Herrlein - Senior Analyst, Vantage Point Solutions
2023 - Week 1: Successful Broadband Projects Include Damage Prevention
(January 4, 2023)
Kicking off the 2023 season of Fiber for Breakfast, Steve Sellenriek, President of Sellenriek Construction Incorporated, will explain the steps leading up to constructing a fiber network and how damage prevention plays a critical part in the success of the entire broadband fiber to the home project.
Panelist:
- Steve Sellenriek - President, Sellenriek Construction Incorporated
2022 - Week 52: New Provider Survey Results Reveal Fiber Broadband Deployments Accelerate in 2022
(December 28, 2022)
FBA's 2022 Fiber Provider Survey has reported more fiber was deployed in 2022 than ever before as the industry advances its goal to close the digital equity gap. The research, performed by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA), shows that fiber providers passed 7.9 million additional homes in the U.S. in 2022—the highest annual deployment ever, even with challenges in materials supply chain and labor availability. Tune in to this Fiber for Breakfast to learn more!
Panelist:
- Michael Render - CEO, RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting
2022 - Week 51: Is Quantum the Next “Killer App” for Fiber Broadband?
(December 21, 2022)
Quantum Physics, what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance” is at the heart of the world’s next technological revolution, the Quantum Age. In this Fiber for Breakfast session, Dr. Duncan Earl, president, co-founder, and Chief Technology Officer at quantum networking company, Qubitekk will speak about the progress being made in quantum technologies, their possible future implications, and what fiber broadband practitioners can do to get ready for the Quantum Age.
Panelist:
- Dr. Duncan Earl - President, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Qubitekk
2022 - Week 50: Strategy for Winners: It’s All About Experience
(December 14, 2022)
For broadband service providers, the propositions of ever-increasing speed and bottomless reliability have been on the selling landscape for far too long. Winners in the market realize that these propositions are now a race to the bottom as the need for speed is no longer in alignment with actual market demand. What people want now is not faster speeds at a lower price, but an enriching online experience carefully crafted by their service provider instead. Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with Matt Collins, Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations and Chief Marketing Officer at Calix, to hear insights about new managed service models broadband service providers should consider that provide exceptional results.
Panelist:
- Matt Collins - Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations and Chief Marketing Officer, Calix
2022 - Week 49: NTIA’s Internet for All Initiative & A Workforce to Connect America
(December 7, 2022)
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a new Workforce Planning Guide for states and territories to use when planning high-speed Internet deployment projects. The Internet for All initiative's Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program contains workforce requirements that grant recipients and subgrantees must meet when implementing their projects. This guide is part of NTIA’s obligation to provide technical assistance materials those entities need to meet the workforce requirements and promote a skilled workforce. The guide may also be helpful for entities participating in other Internet for All programs like the Digital Equity Planning Grant program and the Middle Mile program.
The Workforce Planning Guide lays out strategies and examples for meeting our funding’s requirements and ensuring a skilled, competitive, and diverse workforce.
- Components of a Workforce Plan for the BEAD Program
- Developing a BEAD Workforce Plan, including proposed planning steps and pacing suggestions for completing BEAD submissions and key integration points with the Digital Equity Program
- Strategies and Examples that offer a range of approaches for meeting workforce requirements
- Additional Resources to support workforce planning and implementation
Panelist:
- Lucy Moore - Special Policy Advisor, NTIA
2022 - Week 48: Workforce Development – The Clock is Ticking
(November 30, 2022
The telecom industry needs to prioritize building a workforce and now the clock is ticking on the state planning process post NOFO. Industry leaders are here to help with workforce planning, providing resources to broadband offices and guidance on ways to leverage other funding. Apprenticeships, training, and education programs provide a strong opportunity to keep the pipeline filled and keep those four-year projects on track and ongoing agility in maintenance.
Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with Mark Boxer, Technical Manager at OFS, and Tim House, EVP, COO at WIA as they provide insights into the importance of industry partnerships and participation from internet service providers and contactors on how they can benefit from apprenticeships and apply for grant funding to expedite building their much needed workforce.
Panelists:
- Mark Boxer - Technical Manager, Solutions and Applications Engineering, OFS
- Tim House - Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Wireless Infrastructure Association
2022 - Week 47: Fiber, Meet DOCSIS4.0 – Cable’s Upgrade Path to 10Gbps
(November 23, 2022)
After a quick HFC primer, Grant Joslin, VP of US Telecom Equity Research at Credit Suisse, will explain the upgrade path for HFC operators from the current state to DOCSIS4.0. Credit Suisse's financial modeling and industry immersion work suggests the evolution to DOCSIS4.0 is a cheaper-than-feared upgrade that has benefits beyond just its 9Gbps/5Gbps speeds, including more reliability and more manageability. In contrast to the durable nature of investors’ debates on the cable broadband subscriber growth and pricing, in their view capex concerns are demonstrably overdone, and the ultimate benefits of DOCSIS4.0 upgrades are not yet broadly considered.
Panelist:
- Grant Joslin - VP of US Telecom Equity Research, Credit Suisse
2022 - Week 46: State and Local Leaders Can Close Digital Divide by Removing Barriers to Free Internet
(November 16, 2022)
Approximately 28.2 million of the 122.8 million households in the United States do not have high-speed broadband. The historical narrative has been that these households are unconnected because they do not have access to high-speed Internet infrastructure. However, the reality is that 18 million of these households, home to 47 million people, are simply offline because they cannot afford an available Internet connection. Over the past year, closing the broadband affordability gap has become a national priority. Congress created the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to close the gap, yet only a quarter of the 51.6 million eligible households have enrolled. During this Fiber for Breakfast, Evan Marwell, the Founder and CEO of EducationSuperHighway, will discuss the ACP’s progress and the barriers that are keeping unconnected households offline. He will also outline the tools and resources the nonprofit has created to help state and local leaders increase awareness and support enrollment, including GetACP.org (https://www.getacp.org/) – a virtual mobile assistant that simplifies the ACP enrollment process and provides real-time support to help eligible households determine the easiest way to qualify, identify the documents needed when applying, and find "free-with-ACP" broadband plans available at their address.
Panelist:
- Evan Marwell - Founder and CEO, EducationSuperHighway
2022 - Week 45: Fiber is Not Enough!
(November 9, 2022)
Cable had a broadband speed advantage for a decade, and they marketed to their advantage. Fiber took the lead on speed and followed the same marketing strategy as Cable. The reality is that broadband speed doesn’t matter nearly as much to the consumer experience as we pretend it does. The success of fixed wireless broadband has made that plain. Fiber companies can’t afford to be complacent. They need to invest in other elements of the customer experience, or risk being ill prepared when others in the industry change the narrative. Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with New Street Research's Managing Partner, Jonathan Chaplin, as he shares insights from his latest research.
Panelist:
- Jonathan Chaplin - Managing Partner, New Street Research
2022 - Week 44: Overcoming Permitting Roadblocks to BEAD Deployment
(November 2, 2022)
With the new bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) law mandating an historic investment in high speed rural broadband that has drawn comparisons to the electrification of rural America last century, it is clear that more work needs to be done to maximize its effects. Federal and state governments have been busy mapping the neediest communities and starting to plan for the implementation of the BEAD program. At the same time other broadband programs such as the Tribal Program, RDOF, and RUS Reconnects have been making funding awards. As this happens, it is becoming clear just how much is at stake if federal and state permitting requirements delay these important broadband infrastructure builds. This has become a major priority for the Biden Administration and FBA has already brought members in to speak to the Department of Commerce about addressing this problem. Just as important is an effort in Congress to confront this issue by streamlining the permitting process legislatively. Come listen to the leaders of this effort in the House of Representatives as they talk about their plans to legislate important changes to broadband permitting. And bring your own ideas about the areas on which this legislation needs to focus its attention.
Panelists:
- Kate O’Connor - Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Evan Viau - Professional Staff Member for the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce
2022 - Week 43: Commitment to Serve Yields Sky-High NPS
(October 26, 2022)
Many companies talk about placing a priority on customer service – but i3 Broadband is so laser focused on the people they serve – they’ve built an uncompromising commitment to exceptional service at the very top of their company core values. That has earned i3 one of the highest NPS ratings in the industry. i3 Broadband CEO Paul Cronin will be on Fiber for Breakfast to talk about how the mission to improve the communities they serve, is also improving the bottom line. This as i3’s rapid growth model reaches into underserved cities that need (and appreciate) broadband for economic development and a better quality of life.
Panelist:
- Paul Cronin - CEO, i3 Broadband
2022 - Week 42: Millions Left Behind: BEAD Isn’t Enough to Close the Digital Divide
(October 19, 2022)
How much will it cost to reach universal broadband availability in the United States? Answering that question requires understanding network construction costs, estimating the number of unserved and underserved locations, and defining “broadband” – and that is exactly what Vantage Point Solutions has done in their recent whitepaper, Cost of Bringing Broadband to All.
Larry Thompson, PE, co-author of the paper, will discuss the methodology and findings of the report during this Fiber for Breakfast presentation.
In particular, he will explain how previous estimates came to be so far off the mark and will share the implications raised by this new research, including – perhaps shockingly – that even the current funding infusion is woefully inadequate to truly finish the job once and for all. And while the cost to bring broadband to all is high, the cost of failing to do so is higher.
Panelist:
- Larry Thompson, PE - CEO, Vantage Point Solutions
2022 - Week 41: Fiber to Every Rural Home: BEAD is More Than Enough
(October 12, 2022)
The level of BEAD funding is far more than adequate to complete the work started under the CAF II Auction, and continued under CARES, RDOF and ARPA: Fiber to every rural home.In 2010, the consultants working on the National Broadband Plan estimated that the cost to build fiber to every rural home would exceed $300 billion. That estimate, as much as any other factor, drove the federal government’s view that rural fiber was prohibitively expensive. The FCC effectively decided not to close the digital divide, and instead pursue “good enough” solutions, including DSL, fixed wireless and satellite. Over the decade to follow, the FCC committed nearly $100 billion to non-fiber solutions while the divide grew. As a nation, will we make that mistake again? Will exaggerated costs to build fiber networks divert public resources to sub-optimal technologies? Or will we commit to close the digital divide with fiber-optic networks to every rural community?
Panelist:
- Jonathan Chambers - Partner, Conexon
2022 - Week 40: Future-Proofing the World’s Fastest Internet: Why EPB Took the Leap to 25 Gig
(October 5, 2022)
This summer, Chattanooga’s municipal utility EPB re-affirmed the city’s reputation as Gig City by launching the world’s first community-wide 25 Gig internet service. Committed to keeping its community on the cutting edge, EPB recognized the opportunity to establish a network that removed bandwidth constraints for local and prospective businesses that require hundreds or thousands of streaming devices. While 25 Gig is still on the frontier of connectivity needs for most customers, adding the service now future-proofs EPB’s fiber optic network so it’s ready whenever customers need more bandwidth. EPB Vice President of New Products Katie Espeseth helped lead EPB into fiber with the 2010 launch of America’s world’s fastest community-wide, symmetrical internet service delivered over a 100% fiber optic network and, in 2015, the expansion to 10 Gig service. Katie will share EPB’s rationale for offering 25 Gig service now, the benefits it’s expected to provide the community and work to prepare the first 25 Gig customer, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Convention Center.
Panelist:
- Katie Espeseth - Vice President of New Products, EPB
2022 - Week 39: State of the States: Broadband Mapping Initiatives at the State Level
(September 28, 2022)
IIJA / BEAD and the ARP / Capital Projects Fund each offer unprecedented funding to states for broadband infrastructure deployments. One of the requirements is that each state or territory assumes an active role in identifying those areas of greatest need for broadband infrastructure deployment (also meeting a long list of other requirements) and runs a grant program. A small number of states have been proactive in collecting data and making it available to the public. Two best-in-class examples include North Carolina, in collecting geospatial speed test data and associated primary survey research, and Georgia, in collecting performance data from each ISP based on a fabric of specific locations. Join us for this Fiber for Breakfast to learn how each of these data sets can be visualized and integrated into a broader GIS decision-making process that reflects the funding criteria of BEAD.
Panelists:
- J. Randolph Luening - Founder and CEO, Signals Analytics, LLC / BroadbandToolkit.com
- Eric McRae - Associate Director, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia
- Ray Zeisz - Senior Director, Technology Infrastructure Lab, Friday Institute, North Carolina State University
2022 - Week 38: BEAD and Washington Update
(September 21, 2022)
Tom Cohen, FBA Regulatory Counsel and Partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, and Michael Romano, Executive Vice President at NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, will be discussing a BEAD program update.
Panelists:
- Tom Cohen - FBA Regulatory Counsel and Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
- Michael Romano - Executive Vice President, NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association
2022 - Week 37: The FCC Maps are Going to be Wrong, and That’s OK
(September 14, 2022)
The FCC maps are going to be wrong, and that’s OK. But the challenge process itself will be challenging. Scott Wallsten, President and Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute (TPI), will discuss the error inherent to any mapping process, the incentives the challenge process creates, and TPI’s own approach to challenges.
Panelist:
- Scott Wallsten - President and Senior Fellow, Technology Policy Institute
2022 - Week 36: Bringing Home the Bacon: Connecting the Tar Heel State
(September 7, 2022)
Nate Denny, Deputy Secretary of the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Broadband and Digital Equity Division, will provide details about how North Carolina is closing the digital divide by expanding access to affordable, high-speed internet in every corner of the state, ensuring it is equitably adopted, and making sure that residents are enabled to use it for everyday necessities. On this Fiber for Breakfast, Nate will speak to the impact on more than 100,000 households and 3,300 businesses across the state that will receive high-speed internet access through the recently-awarded $260 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants and will share information on the upcoming $400 million Completing Access to Broadband program. Through these federal American Rescue Plan Act-funded programs, as well as the additional funding programs coming from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, North Carolina is planning to connect the entire state by the end of 2027.
Panelist:
- Nate Denny - Deputy Secretary of Broadband and Digital Equity, N.C. Department of Information Technology
2022 - Week 35: New Evidence: End-to-End Fiber Broadband Is Changing Lives
(August 31, 2022)
The Fiber Broadband Association has sponsored a large random study of online consumers for 16 years now to monitor trends in broadband performance, satisfaction, life impacts, and more. The 2022 Study broke new ground, digging deeper into the ways that high quality broadband – especially fiber – is making a difference in the world. Join us on Fiber for Breakfast and see how fiber to the home is impacting the lives of those in low income and minority categories in terms of education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and job quality. The session will also examine ways fiber is helping to lower U.S. carbon emissions, enabling new migration trends to more rural areas, and improving personal productivity.
Panelists:
- Deborah Kish - Vice President of Research and Workforce Development, Fiber Broadband Association
- Mike Render - Founder and CEO, RVA LLC Market Research and Consulting Group
- John George - Sr. Director, Solutions and Professional Services, OFS, and Chair of the Fiber Broadband Association's Technology Committee
2022 - Week 34: Rock Down to Electric Avenue: Electric Utilities and Their Role in Broadband Expansion
(August 24, 2022)
Electric Power Utilities have been in the business of delivering power and other necessary utilities to all the communities across the United States for almost 200 years, at every level of scale. They have created the most granular utility delivery system by leveraging generational investments into long-term assets that have allowed us to become the most advanced and productive economy on the planet. High-speed Broadband Networks are clearly a necessity to maintain our position as the economic and development benchmark in the world. This new utility is critical for us to monitor, manage, secure, and shape our power infrastructure as well as to deliver new services. This includes Internal Network Requirements, Green Power Initiatives, Rapid Service Restoration, Demand Balancing, Asset Tracking, EMA, Public Safety as well as Fiber-based Broadband Internet applications, just to name a few. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Scott Pell, Vice President of Quality at FiberRise, will talk about the flexibility of Fiber Broadband as a utility and how Power Companies will play a major part in the continued deployment of Fiber across the country.
Panelist:
- Scott Pell - Vice President of Quality, FiberRise
2022 - Week 33: Connecting All: How Digital Literacy is Critical for Mental Health
(August 17, 2022)
Digital literacy and internet access can substantially help people with mental illness. John Torous, MD MBI and Noy Alon, BS from the Division of Digital Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will discuss how the Internet and Digital Literacy can positively impact patient outcomes and how they have worked to improve patients' digital literacy and use of smartphones. Dr. Torous and his team have also developed a digital navigator training program to scale Digital Literacy across the country. While their efforts are focused on leveraging broadband to improve Mental Health, these Digital Literacy tools can be applied to different use cases.
Panelists:
- John Torous, MD MBI - Division of Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Noy Alon, BS - Division of Digital Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
2022 - Week 32: An Open-Access Network in the Empire State
(August 10, 2022)
In this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, join us as we hear from Mayor William Acee of the Village of Sherburne in Chenango County, New York. Mayor Acee will share how after being the first community between Utica and Binghamton to install an EV charger and in 2008 creating and instituting an Energy Efficiency Program filed with the NYS Public Service Commission, Sherburne has continued to innovate. The town is focused on end-of-year completion of a municipally owned fiber to the home network for approximately 2000 electric customers. The process has included an ahead-of-schedule timeline and state grant funding. Mayor Acee has been instrumental in pushing for Open Access Municipal Fiber.
Panelist:
- William Acee - Mayor of the Village of Sherburne, New York
2022 - Week 31: The Limits of Fixed Wireless Technology for Rural Communities
(August 3, 2022)
As states examine how to best invest federal funds to deploy broadband in unserved and underserved areas, a new study developed by CTC Technology & Energy analyzed fixed wireless technologies and their suitability for delivering broadband service in various environments. Join us for Fiber for Breakfast and an in-depth conversation analyzing fixed wireless and fiber technology in unserved rural areas. Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Andrew Afflerbach, P.E., will discuss considerations such as long-term impacts of fiber technology through infrastructure and population mapping; realistic cost modeling; and the maintenance, benefits, capacity, and performance of fiber technology.
Panelist:
- Andrew Afflerbach, Ph.D., P.E. - CEO and Chief Technology Officer, CTC Technology & Energy
2022 - Week 30: Revitalizing Appalachian Communities through Broadband
(July 27, 2022)
Appalachian communities see connectivity as key to economic revitalization. Yet today, only 21% of people living in the region’s most distressed counties have high-speed internet connections in their homes. The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is working to change that by investing roughly $30M/year on broadband projects in the region, while also helping communities prepare for the $65B freight train of federal funding heading their way. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Curtis Hansen, who leads ARC’s broadband work, introduces this unique agency and shares upcoming initiatives to watch.
Panelist:
- Curtis Hansen - Broadband Program Manager, Appalachian Regional Commission
2022 - Week 29: Are You Ready for Make-Ready?
(July 20, 2022)
As the U.S. prepares to make an unprecedented investment in both energy and broadband infrastructure, it will be important to recognize the role utility pole infrastructure can play. Whether a company chooses to undertake its own broadband deployments or opts to facilitate deployments by others, the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program prioritizes fiber broadband deployments. These deployments can be less costly and completed more quickly if the fiber is run on existing utility poles. However, these poles may require a make-ready process before they can support fiber deployments. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Finley Engineering Company's Sean Middleton, Director, Strategy and Operations, will discuss the implications and requirements for utilities, including potential options to leverage federal funding to modernize electric power infrastructure.
Panelist:
- Sean Middleton, P.E. - Director, Strategy and Operations, Finley Engineering Company
2022 - Week 28: Moose, Lobsters, Blueberries and Broadband
(July 13, 2022)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Peggy Schaffer, Executive Director of ConnectMaine Authority, will discuss securing $28 million in NTIA grant money and key partnerships she has made for the benefit of her state and its residents. The NTIA Broadband Infrastructure grant was built on a history of community engagement, sophisticated data and targeting, and collaborations with industry partners. This webinar will highlight how Maine is building on this successful model as it develops its strategy for Capital Projects funds, BEAD, Middle Mile and DEA programs.
Panelist:
- Peggy Shaffer - Executive Director, ConnectMaine Authority
2022 - Week 27: The Work from Home and Collaboration Megatrends are Fueling the Fiber Diet
(July 6, 2022)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Ron Westfall, Research Director & Senior Analyst, will share how Futurum Research recently completed a 500+ person survey across the key decision makers of major organizations in partnership with Microsoft to identify workplace engagement and collaboration trends over the past two years. Futurum’s key survey findings included an increasing percentage of current workforces are now primarily REMOTE or work-from-home – i.e., not required to regularly be in an office. This includes that in the post-pandemic era, organization decision makers expect their workforces to become more REMOTE or work-from-home. Of key importance is a significant shift across workspace arrangements with conference rooms and spaces at commercial offices receding and physical restructuring of unused office space picking up pace. Ron will explain how Futurum believes the expansion of WFH/hybrid work and distributed collaboration platform adoption provides significant warrant and validation for the evolving FTTH and fiber build use cases.
Panelist:
- Ron Westfall - Research Director & Senior Analyst, Futurum Research
2022 - Week 26: Changing the Fate of Rural Missouri with Fiber Broadband – An Electric Coop with More Broadband Subs Than Electric Members…
(June 29, 2022)
The unique thing about United Fiber is that they now have about 24,000 fiber subscribers and its parent company, United Electric, has 7500 members (10,000 meters). They are the only electric cooperative with more fiber subscribers than electric members in the country. Furthermore, they are a small cooperative with one of the lowest customer densities (2.5 meters per mile) in the State of Missouri. Darren Farnan, General Manager of United Fiber, will share how they have now built out the bulk of their membership (finishing in the next 12 months) in over 40 communities in Northwest Missouri. Fiber broadband connectivity has changed the future opportunities in their region, along with the future of the Cooperative.
Panelist:
- Darren Farnan - General Manager of United Fiber
2022 - Week 25: Fiber Connect…ing the Dots: Post-Show Recap
(June 22, 2022)
Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with Omdia’s Julie Kunstler and Jaimie Lenderman as they sit down with FBA's Gary Bolton to chat all things Fiber Connect 2022. They will be discussing the hottest topics, key insights, and biggest takeaways from what lived up to be the biggest Fiber Connect yet.
Panelists:
- Julie Kunstler - Chief Analyst, Broadband Access Intelligence Service, Omdia
- Jaimie Lenderman - Principal Analyst, Broadband Access Intelligence Service, Omdia
2022 - Week 24: The Power of Fiber: Power Utilities Build Fiber for the Greater Good
(June 15, 2022)
Power Utilities built fiber networks early to support the critical services they provide. Join the panel to hear about how utilities have used fiber in the past and their plans to serve their communities in the future. In this Fiber for Breakfast, FBA President and CEO, Gary Bolton, will lead a panel discussion diving into the challenges and opportunities that Power Utilities see during this tumultuous time of broadband growth.
Panelists:
- Pete Hoffswell - Superintendent of Broadband Services, Holland Board of Public Works
- Katie Espeseth - Vice President of New Products, EPB
- George Stegall - Connectivity Manager, Alabama Power
2022 - Week 23: How 1G Became the Global Broadband Standard
(June 8, 2022)
How did 1G become the global standard for broadband? In this Fiber for Breakfast, Jaimie Lenderman, Principal Analyst, Broadband Access Intelligence Service at Omdia, a global technology market research firm, will discuss this question and the results of an Omdia study around wireline broadband offerings. What's more, Jaimie will break down the drivers behind this trend in the North America.
Panelist:
- Jaimie Lenderman - Principal Analyst, Broadband Access Intelligence Service, Omdia
2022 - Week 22: The Middle Mile: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!
(June 1, 2022)
Wireline network operators, generally assisted by government funding, are beginning to extend their broadband services beyond metro areas, and potentially into outright rural areas. This extension of their networks beyond the reach of the edge central offices of the metro network will create a new network segment - the middle mile network, sometimes called the second-mile network. This new network segment will raise new networking challenges as it carries a mix of services that were previously served by separate networks that were terminated in a metro central office; any special network treatment was performed in the access network, not transport. In addition, vendors are introducing new (and sometimes novel) optical transport formats to minimize costs in this new network environment. This complexity in the aggregation network calls for network design and control specific to this new second mile network.
Panelist:
- Rick Talbot - Principal Analyst, ACG Research
2022 - Week 21: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: What We’ve Learned from 30+ Network Evaluations
(May 25, 2022)
The fiber network market continues to burn hot for digital infrastructure investors as well as service providers seeking capital to fund upgrades and expansions. No matter where you sit in the ecosystem, the observations and insights of Broadband Success Partners will be an eye-opener. Having completed over 30 technical due diligence projects, Jack Burton and David Strauss of Broadband Success Partners will share what they’ve seen and, in some cases, wished they hadn’t. Their document analyses, management interviews and physical inspections of a wide variety of networks have yielded a vast and valuable volume of dos and don’ts. While a good number of the assets they’ve investigated pass with flying colors, others do not. The red and yellow flags they’ve uncovered are proof positive that present and potential network owners and stakeholders should not take anything for granted.
Panelists:
- Jack Burton - Principal, Broadband Success Partners
- David Strauss - Principal, Broadband Success Partners
2022 - Week 20: Accelerating Broadband in Illinois and the NTIA NOFO
(May 18, 2022)
In 2019, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly committed $420 million to broadband expansion through the state’s historic $45 billion Rebuild Illinois infrastructure package. At the time, this was the single largest state commitment to a broadband matching grant program ever. Since then, Illinois has established its Office of Broadband, rolled out a full suite of complementary digital equity, community engagement, and planning programming, and benefited from the active engagement of the state’s Broadband Advisory Council. Of course, the world has changed, too – with unprecedented federal investment in broadband access, adoption, and digital equity. In this Fiber for Breakfast with Matt Schmit, Chair of the Illinois Broadband Advisory Council, the conversation will cover this ground, as well as the recently-posted NOFO for NTIA’s Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program.
Panelist:
- Matt Schmit - Chair, Illinois Broadband Advisory Council
2022 - Week 19: U.S. Business Technology Analysis – Telecom Transformation in the New Normal
(May 11, 2022)
The Covid pandemic has spurred changes across many industries and U.S. businesses have implemented new technologies to meet these new challenges. Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with Independence Research founder and principal analyst, Matt Davis, who will share recent survey findings that analyze which telecom and IT technologies saw the biggest changes as we enter the “new normal”. The study examines core telecom services including broadband, managed WiFi, internet back-up and unified communications in addition to IT services ranging from E-Commerce to Cybersecurity.
Panelist:
- Matt Davis - Founder and Principal Analyst, Independence Research LLC
2022 - Week 18: Robust Mapping and Public-Private Partnerships Unlock Rapid Broadband Funding Deployment in Georgia
(May 4, 2022)
What do maps, partnerships, and a governor who champions opportunities regardless of zip code have in common? It’s a recipe to make Georgia one of the leading states to efficiently and effectively distribute transformational public funding to close the digital divide. Georgia is charting its way forward through a meticulous commitment to high-quality service data and by offering relentless assistance to providers, local communities, and state agencies to move together with a common goal in mind. Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with Josh Hildebrandt, Director of Broadband Initiatives at Georgia Technology Authority, to learn about the current broadband environment and how to do work in the Peach State in the months and years ahead.
Panelist:
- Josh Hildebrandt - Director of Broadband Initiatives, Georgia Technology Authority
2022 - Week 17: The US Fiber Surge in Numbers
(April 27, 2022)
There is no question committed fiber passings and fiber deployments in the US have surged in the last couple of years. But just how much has spending on FTTH equipment increased, which technologies are currently at the heart of these deployments, and which technologies will operators use in the next five years? How much additional spending growth should the industry expect to see in the next five years? Dell’Oro Group's Vice President of Broadband Access and Home Networking, Jeff Heynen, will share his latest forecast updates and projections for FTTH equipment and will help quantify the current and future fiber surge.
Panelist:
- Jeff Heynen - Vice President of Broadband Access and Home Networking, Dell’Oro Group
2022 - Week 16: Western Colorado Regions Elevate Broadband
(April 20, 2022)
Between 2018 and 2020, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments (NWCCOG) and Region 10 created open access middle mile transport networks to support unserved and underserved communities in NW and Western Colorado. These networks were funded initially by local investment and matching grants by the State of Colorado. These networks have become invaluable in expanding the availability of last mile broadband to rural residents, businesses, education, and community anchor institutions. In April 2022, they received additional grant funding from State of Colorado Department of Local Affairs to connect dispersed networks to serve more communities and deliver affordable, reliable, accessible middle mile broadband to more communities. Nate Walowitz, Regional Broadband Director at NWCCOG, will share how this elevates their ability to support last mile provider goals to deliver 100/20 Mbps and 100/100 Mbps service to more unserved rural communities.
Panelist:
- Nate Walowitz - Regional Broadband Director, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments
2022 - Week 15: The Role of Rural Broadband for OzarksGo
(April 13, 2022)
Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with OzarksGo General Manager, Steven Bandy. OzarksGo began fiber construction in 2016 and completed construction within our electric cooperative footprint in 2021. In 2019, we made the decision to expedite the project with the goal to complete construction one year ahead of original forecasts. During the peak of the acceleration of the project, OzarksGo completed over 1,100 new fiber to the home installations per month. This accelerated pace became a necessity to meet increased demand during the Covid -19 pandemic.
With the completion of the initial project, OzarksGo continues to find ways to expand our broadband footprint by utilizing state and federal funding opportunities. We have enhanced our mission-driven initiative at OzarksGo by joining with 13 other Arkansas Cooperatives to form Diamond State Network (DSN). DSN will ultimately bridge our networks together creating one of the largest middle mile networks throughout the state of Arkansas.
Panelist:
- Steven Bandy - General Manager, OzarksGo
2022 - Week 14: The Terabit Edge
(April 6, 2022)
Join us for Fiber for Breakfast with Stephen Alexander, CTO at Ciena. Continued advances in DWDM and Coherent Optical Systems have allowed over a 100X improvement in the amount of information that can be carried over optical fiber. Total capacities of 30, 50 and even 60 Tb/s are now routinely designed into long-haul networks. System size and power consumption are much reduced, and these same technologies are now being applied to regional and local networks. This Terabit Edge will be one of the key enablers delivering the high-bandwidth low-latency services needed for our long sought-for work, learn, play anything-from-anywhere digital experience.
Panelist:
- Stephen Alexander - CTO, Ciena
2022 - Week 13: Crowdsourced Network Performance Data Insights into Customer Experience and Broadband Funding Opportunities
(March 30, 2022)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, join Ookla's Vice President of Smart Communities, Bryan Darr. Now that the infrastructure bill is law, the hard work really begins. Determining how and where billions of dollars will be spent is a challenge in and of itself. Past mapping efforts have fallen well short of expectations and patience is running thin with lawmakers to get their underserved citizens connected with fast, reliable service. The long-term goal is to map connectivity to every building in the nation, but that will take time. Crowdsourced network performance data provides immediate insights into existing online experiences and will assist in targeting communities where the need for broadband infrastructure projects can be quickly justified. The ongoing inflow of this data will also provide immediate evidence of improved service without the wait of current federal reporting requirements.
Panelist:
- Bryan Darr - Vice President of Smart Communities, Ookla
2022 - Week 12: Fiber Connect 2022 Sets the Agenda to Close the Digital Divide
(March 23, 2022)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Joseph Jones, EVP at OnTrac, Fiber Connect Conference Chair, and FBA Board Vice-Chair along with Richard Williams, President of Connect2 Communications and Fiber Connect Program Director will share the exciting plans for the Fiber Broadband Association's annual conference, Fiber Connect.
Fiber Connect 2022 is where the industry will meet to discuss, debate and share information. The conference includes presentations from leading experts representing the companies driving the levels of capacity demand only fiber can satisfy, policy and regulatory thought leaders, regulatory officials, think tanks, state broadband offices, leading service providers, municipal and utility broadband experts, and leading media and analysts.
Panelists:
- Joseph Jones - EVP at OnTrac and Fiber Connect Conference Chair
- Richard Williams - President of Connect2 Communications and Fiber Connect Program Director
2022 - Week 11: Broadband Latency Explained
(March 16, 2022)
It is time to update our understanding of the primary factors directly affecting end-user internet performance. For over thirty years, industry and policymakers have collectively missed a key factor that drives end users’ internet quality of experience (QoE). In this Fiber for Breakfast presentation, Douglas Sicker, Ph.D., Executive Director & Chair of the Technical Working Group, BITAG, and Greg White, Distinguished Technologist, CableLabs, will define latency and its relationship to throughput and speed. Douglas and Greg will also describe the impact that latency has on user experience for applications and consider the sources/contributors to latency as well as metrics and methods for characterizing latency. They will close by discussing the current and future technologies to reduce latency.
Panelists:
- Douglas Sicker, Ph.D. - Executive Director & Chair of the Technical Working Group, BITAG
- Greg White - Distinguished Technologist, CableLabs
2022 - Week 10: How Tennessee Plans Economic Transformation Through Broadband Infrastructure
(March 9, 2022)
Tennessee is setting out to connect every corner of the state. The State Broadband Director, Taylre Beaty, is working to administer over $400 million of federal funding through the Tennessee Emergency Broadband – American Rescue Plan (TEBF-ARP), and is planning for what will come down the pike with additional federal funding from IIJA. Since the launch in 2018, Tennessee’s broadband program has administered over $120 Million in funding to serve over 140,000 Tennesseans. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Taylre discusses the unique challenges in Tennessee’s communities from broadband infrastructure to digital literacy and adoption. Taylre will share how the Broadband Team at Tennessee Economic and Community Development plans to work with providers across the state to get communities, households, and businesses connected to broadband.
Panelist:
- Taylre Beaty - State Broadband Director, Tennessee
2022 - Week 9: Elevating the Field Technician: Metronet University’s Progressive Training Programs
(March 2, 2022)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Kyle Hamilton, VP of Field Operations at Metronet, will share insights on how Metronet has overhauled its technician training program, going well beyond the paradigm of where telecom technician skills has been to date. Kyle will tell the story of how his training team has taken ground-breaking steps to prepare the field team for careers, not just jobs. From committing to centralized, immersive training for every team member to creating a clearly defined and celebrated career progression plan, Metronet has greatly reduced voluntary attrition for this critical group. Kyle can provide a virtual tour of Metronet’s unique training facility, known as MU, where hundreds of associates have trained using a full-scale house constructed within our headquarters, solely for simulating real-world installations and repair scenarios.
Panelist:
- Kyle Hamilton - Vice President of Field Operations, Metronet
2022 - Week 8: Montana Takes Strides to Expand Broadband Access
(February 23, 2022)
Recently, Montana’s Governor, Greg Gianforte stated: “Too many of our communities, particularly in our rural and frontier areas, lack access to reliable broadband. That’s why we’ve made a historic investment to get fiber in the ground and close the digital divide.” State Broadband office data shows that two-thirds of Montana addresses currently have 100 mbps service or its pending. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Montana Broadband Program Manager Chad Rupe will explain how the state is working to provide modern internet access to parts of Montana, particularly the rural ones and tribal communities, that lack broadband connectivity and get access to locations so people can engage in today’s society. Chad will share steps Montana and the ConnectMT Program are taking and how the state has unveiled a broadband access map and is soliciting grant applications.
Panelist:
- Chad Rupe - Broadband Program Manager, State of Montana
2022 - Week 7: Construction Digitization - Digital Transformation for the Metaverse Era
(February 16, 2022)
Enabling fast, consistent, and accurate deployment of networks requires a complete life cycle solution – a solution which addresses key infrastructure deployment challenges.
As we enter a period of unprecedented broadband network deployment, we face significant challenges in supply chain and labor market. The construction industry has lagged many others in leveraging technology to improve efficiency and accuracy. It is estimated that over $500B is spent globally on rework – over 50% caused by poor, inconsistent data and communication. On average large deployments overrun budget by 80% and the average delay for construction projects can be on the order of 20 months or more.
Now, more than ever, it is critical that a full end-to-end solution be embraced to enable network deployment - whether fiber-to-the-home, in-building and large venues, or datacenters. An ecosystem of tools is coming into existence which can be woven together into an optimized solution to address everything from manufacturing to network turn-up and activation.
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Subbu Meiyappan of ECSite and Seán Adam of AFL will discuss how Construction Digitation can aid in addressing many of the challenges and inefficiencies in the deployment of optical networks.
Panelists:
- Subbu Meiyappan - CEO, ECSite
- Seán Adam - Vice President of Market Strategy and Innovation, AFL
2022 - Week 6: Beware the Loudest Promising the Largest: What History Has Taught Us About Rural Connectivity
(February 9, 2022)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, drawing on his new book "Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity," Dr. Christopher Ali will talk about past efforts to connect rural areas, including the Rural Electrification Administration and the FCC’s high cost funding programs. With policymakers in the process of drafting the rules for the largest public investment in telecommunications in the nation’s history, it is vital that the failures of the past are not repeated.
Panelist:
- Dr. Christopher Ali - Associate Professor of Media Studies, University of Virginia
2022 - Week 5: One-Traffic-Light Town in Eastern Kentucky with Some of the Fastest Internet in the U.S.A.
(February 2, 2022)
Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC) is nestled in the foothills of Appalachia and the center of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Eastern Kentucky. Formed in 1950, it has been PRTC’s mission to build, maintain and grow a local network that works for the communities of Jackson and Owsley Counties. PRTC was able to complete a 100% all fiber-to-the-home buildout in 2014. With this network, gigabit capable internet is available to every home and business in the entire 2 counties. It has been a game changer. In this Fiber for Breakfast, hear from CEO, Keith Gabbard, of PRTC, dubbed “The People’s Fiber Network” about how broadband has helped education, the economy, healthcare, and entertainment in turn offering something the community can be proud of and that everyone else wants.
Panelist:
- Keith Gabbard - CEO, Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative
2022 - Week 4: Fireside Chat with Chris McLean, Acting RUS Administrator
(January 26, 2022)
RUS’s Reconnect Program was the first out of the gate to increase “build to” broadband speeds from 25/3 to 100/100Mbps. Join us for a fireside chat with the leader of USDA Rural Utilities Service as the Honorable Chris McLean provides an update on the progress and impact of the RUS Reconnect Broadband Program. Mr. McLean also serves as Assistant Administrator for RUS’ Electric program, presiding over a $48 billion loan portfolio. In recent years, the RUS annual lending budget for new electric infrastructure loans has exceeded $5 billion and much of this is for fiber.
Panelist:
- Chris McLean - Acting Administrator, USDA Rural Utilities Service
2022 - Week 3: What Will It Take To Close The Digital Equity Gap?
(January 19, 2022)
In this Fiber for Breakfast episode, hear from Ernesto Falcon, Senior Legislative Counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes 21st century fiber access for all Americans in its policy work. Ernesto is a lead researcher and advocate that was deeply involved in pushing California to promote universal fiber infrastructure in its newest broadband program. Learn about the latest developments in the state of California as well as the interplay between the states and the new bipartisan broadband infrastructure law to close not just the digital divide but the equity divide in broadband access. The NTIA has been tasked with not just funding broadband infrastructure, but long-term infrastructure solutions. Specifically, the NTIA has been tasked to establish a “Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program” to prioritize networks that will deliver a minimum of 100/20 mbps with latency that is sufficiently low to allow reasonable foreseeable, real-time, interactive applications. These networks must easily scale speeds over time to meet evolving connectivity needs and support 5G, successor wireless technologies. Simultaneously, the NTIA must define “low-cost broadband service” as part of its process while the Federal Communications Commission must implement a new 5-year, $30 a month subsidy program to help low-income Americans afford broadband access. Learn how all of these objectives come together and why fiber will play a central role.
Panelist:
- Ernesto Falcon - Senior Legislative Counsel, Electronic Frontier Foundation
2022 - Week 2: Why Fiber is the Only Future Ready Broadband
(January 12, 2022)
Next generation applications like virtual and augmented reality will require equipment upgrades to support higher data rates and lower latency requirements that will reach 2 Gb/s symmetrical with less than 5 millisecond latency within this decade. The same optical fiber infrastructure can support decades of these upgrades without any changes, compared to copper, coax, terrestrial wireless, or satellite based networks. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Fiber Broadband Association Technology Committee Chair, John George, will explain how fiber broadband can close the broadband digital divide, offers lower operating expenses than other options, and enable decades of network upgrades from 10 to 50 to 100 Gb/s and higher data rates on the same fiber infrastructure.
Panelist:
- John George - Sr. Director, Solutions and Professional Services, OFS
2022 - Week 1: Charting Oregon’s Trail to Digital Equity
(January 5, 2022)
Oregon’s approach to charting a path to digital inclusion is as diverse as the state’s geography. From metropolitan cities to rural frontier counties, the state is and will be listening to communities and partners as it scales up its efforts to address broadband access, affordability, and adoption.
In this Fiber for Breakfast, join us and learn from Oregon Broadband Office's Broadband Manager, Daniel Holbrook, AICP, how Business Oregon is preparing for the largest federal investment in broadband history.
Panelist:
- Daniel Holbrook, AICP, Broadband Manager, Oregon Broadband Office
2021 - Week 51: The Numbers Are In: Fiber Broadband Is Strong… And Record Deployment Is Ahead
(December 29, 2021)
Each year at this time, the Fiber Broadband Association releases its official fiber to the home and other US and Canadian deployment numbers based on research from RVA LLC. Deployment for 2021 is ramping, and deployment for the next few years is anticipated to be truly record breaking. Michael Render with RVA will discuss why and how such deployment is occurring, and where construction is likely to go from here. Besides the numbers and basic forecast, deployment timing and challenges will be discussed. Finally, key opportunities for players in the market to best position themselves to take full advantage of the upcoming investment cycle will be highlighted.
Panelist:
- Michael Render - Founder and CEO, RVA LLC Market Research and Consulting Group
2021 - Week 50: Who’s Pulling Your (Supply) Chain
(December 22, 2021)
Christmas is already upon us and like many years, popular items are in short supply. Many can remember the fever over trying to find the must have gift, be it Mr. Potato Head (1952), Tickle Me Elmo (1996), or Nintendo WII (2006). These famous shortages of a must have item created havoc for the consumers looking to buy and stores attempting to keep up. Each of those shortages followed a similar trend: effective marketing creating demand, widespread appeal to a large market, and high profits for certain segments until the supply chain caught up. The current must have gift, broadband, appears to be just another in a long list to follow the trend. It is being widely marketed, has mass appeal, and there will be many that profit over the shortages of essential broadband labor and materials until the supply chain catches up. That is until now. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Finley Engineering Company's Vice President, Dean Mischke, P.E., will take a look at the underlying factors impacting our supply chain and provide some opinions as to why this supply chain issue may not follow the trends of previous shortages.
Panelist:
- Dean Mischke, P.E. - Vice President, Finley Engineering Company
2021 - Week 49: The Time is Now: Bridging the Urban-Rural Digital Divide
(December 15, 2021)
The internet has become a ubiquitous part of daily life, and has become essential for education, financial services, social services and more. And yet, an estimated 42 million people in America continue to lack broadband in the US. This disproportionately affects the elderly, people of color, low-income populations, and those who live in rural areas. These populations are left digitally invisible and unable to participate in the modern economy and ways of life. However, the Biden administration’s recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides hope for rapid broadband deployment across the country, to alleviate the digital divide.
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Director of the Center for Technology Policy, speaks to the importance of closing the rural-urban digital divide, and the importance of digital equity for all. Drawing from her experiences documented in her forthcoming book, “Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass”, she details what more must be done to close the digital divide.
Panelist:
- Dr. Nicol Turner Lee - Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, and Director, Center for Technology Policy
2021 - Week 48: It’s Time to Build: Removing Barriers to Accelerated Broadband Deployment
(December 8, 2021)
Billions ($) are now available for broadband deployment but permitting could be the roadblock that stalls fiber deployment. Current permitting processes across all infrastructure sectors are marred by contradictory and overlapping statutory and regulatory requirements, timelines, and policies that continue to cause avoidable process delays, cost overruns, and in some cases, project abandonment. These costs are simply too high and the process too slow. Service providers face permitting issues in states, cities, counties, Tribal Nations, and local communities across America. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Alex Herrgott, President and CEO of The Permitting Institute will discuss these issues and the path forward to enable fiber to be deployed to all Americans.
Panelist:
- Alex Herrgott - President and CEO, The Permitting Institute
2021 - Week 47: Unlocking a Historic Opportunity: Innovation for the Next Wave of Growth
(December 1, 2021)
With network demand rising dramatically, and the U.S. government planning a $65 billion investment in broadband expansion, the industry faces a historic moment of opportunity. But like all opportunities of this magnitude, it comes with challenges -- including marshaling the innovation and the capacity needed to meet network demand.
For Mike Bell, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Corning Optical Communications, the anticipation and excitement in the industry call to mind the early days of fiber to the home. Meeting today's extraordinary opportunity, he says, will require the same forward-thinking mindset as those early days. For Corning, that means strategic investments in capacity as well as fiber, cable and connectivity innovations that accelerate and simplify deployment, increase the capacity and speed of optical networks and lower costs. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Mike will discuss how Corning's latest innovations meet those needs -- and how the company that invented low-loss optical fiber is thinking about tomorrow's networks.
Panelist:
- Mike Bell - Senior Vice President and General Manager, Corning Optical Communications
2021 - Week 46: One Network is Finally Here!
(November 24, 2021)
The advent of 5G presents a significant opportunity for operators to converge on a common core. While this has been attempted in the past without success, the industry is finally at a point where basically everything else has already converged with smart personal appliances leading the way. So operators are presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to full converge their networks from the duct to the OSS. The Broadband Forum in cooperation with 3GPP has been working on 5G convergence for wireline for 5 years now. The first set of specifications has been published, and follow on work is now appearing like clockwork with the second set currently in finalization for publication and subsequent work on the drawing board. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Dave Allan, Distinguished Engineer at Ericsson, WWC Area Director and Distinguished Fellow at Broadband Forum, will provide a quick overview of the work, the motivations and answers the question “why now?”.
Panelist:
- Dave Allan - Distinguished Engineer, Ericsson
2021 - Week 45: Why Middle Mile Matters
(November 17, 2021)
Many networks talk about last mile, but what good is being able to deliver a network if you can't reach a location where the internet is cheaper than in your local area already? Middle-mile links are mostly forgotten, but they are very often the most important part of a network build.
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Reid Fishler, Sr. Director of Hurricane Electric and board member of many of the largest internet exchanges in North America, will explain why you should plan for how your local network will connect to the internet, as well as how you can turn around and sell a route through your network to others as a way for THEM to reach their final location.
Panelist:
- Reid Fishler - Senior Director, Hurricane Electric
2021 - Week 44: How Public-Private Partnerships Can Accelerate Efforts to Close the Digital Divide
(November 10, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Jack Lynch, COO of EducationSuperHighway, the national nonprofit that worked to bring high-speed Internet access to over 99% of America's K-12 classrooms, will discuss the current state of the digital divide and how public-private partnerships can close the gap. The pandemic has shown us that without high-speed Internet access at home, Americans can't send their children to school, work remotely, or access healthcare, job training, the social safety net, or critical government services. Unfortunately, there are still 28.2 million households in the United States that do not subscribe to high-speed broadband. New political will to close the digital divide at all levels of government has created an unprecedented opportunity for public-private partnerships to lead the way. The discussion will focus on the role fiber providers can play to increase broadband adoption in America's most unconnected communities.
Panelist:
- Jack Lynch - Chief Operating Officer, EducationSuperHighway
2021 - Week 43: 100% Fiber Optic Network Access is Taking Ponca City by Storm
(November 3, 2021)
A fairly small town in North-Central Oklahoma has made quite a name for itself over the past several years. The progressive thinking leadership there provided city-wide, free WiFi access throughout the entire town in 2007…and has taken another huge step in providing economic stability and high quality of life to its residents by creating a new utility service which provides ultra-high speed internet access. The project is nearing completion now and customers are over-the-top happy with the service being provided.
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Dave Williams, the Technology Services Director for Ponca City and member of the Fiber Broadband Association's Public Officials Working Group, discusses the phases of his town’s project, the financial realities, and shares specific insights into the decision-making process and what has been learned along the way.
Panelist:
- Dave Williams - Technology Services Director, Ponca City, Oklahoma
2021 - Week 42: From Best Practices to Next Practices: Breaking New Ground in Damage Prevention
(October 27, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Common Ground Alliance (CGA) President & CEO Sarah K. Magruder Lyle will share key insights on the next decade of damage prevention, including takeaways from CGA’s leading-edge Next Practices Initiative and most recent DIRT Report analyzing national damage data trends and root causes. Protecting infrastructure investments is critical to network reliability, and with construction activity predicted to rise across most of the country, utilizing excavation and installation best practices has never been more urgent. CGA research highlights several opportunities for improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the U.S. damage prevention system through “Next Practices” that address persistent roadblocks and provide the highest-ROI opportunities for reducing costly damages to your underground infrastructure.
Panelist:
- Sarah K. Magruder Lyle - President & CEO, Common Ground Alliance
2021 - Week 41: Fiber Planning and Design has Gone Mobile
(October 20, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Enghouse Networks' Director of Solutions Engineering, Tom Carroll, leads the discussion about how to simplify information accessibility and sharing at the point of service to reduce network downtime, escalations, and number of calls to your technical support center.
Your technicians might spend hours in finding key reports and data that would help them perform the task at hand. This can be tedious, time consuming, and translate into great operational costs.
How can you turn things around for your business and field service teams? By going mobile. Fiber planning and design is being used effectively and validated accurately in the field. Field technicians are using smart devices with apps to not only view the fiber plant, but more accurately document the fiber with GIS data, photos and redlines.
Panelist:
- Tom Carroll - Director of Solutions Engineering, Enghouse Networks
2021 - Week 40: Charting a Course Through Dangerous Fiber Network Waters
(October 13, 2021)
All fiber network operators are on a journey of continual improvement. We work hard to deploy and manage our networks with increasingly efficient processes that deliver the best possible service to our customers with the greatest profitability for our shareholders. However, at times it can be difficult to know where we stand on this journey and how we should focus our resources to take the next steps. Without a point of reference to guide us it’s easy to react tactically to challenges that appear in our path and quickly find ourselves off course and losing our competitive edge.
In this Fiber for Breakfast session, IQGeo's Vice President, Wade Anderson, and Solutions Engineer, Kyle Arnell, will discuss the perils that lie along the fiber operator journey and outline a three-step maturity model that should help keep you out of the weeds and on course in your mission to deliver the best possible broadband services to your customers.
Panelists:
- Wade Anderson - Vice President, IQGeo
- Kyle Arnell - Solutions Engineer, IQGeo
2021 - Week 39: The Importance of All-Fiber Networks in a Gigabit Society
(October 6, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Michael Philpott, Director of Research at Omdia, will discuss the importance of broadband to the COVID-19 recovery. This is bringing a new focus on the digital divide. However, this presentation will highlight that the digital divide should not be just about the connected versus the unconnected, but also about the quality of the connection as quality leads to accelerated socioeconomic benefits. Michael will explore the advantages of investing in an all-fiber network and how fiber is about more than just sheer speed, and he will identify the different metrics that service providers and government organizations should consider when developing their broadband investment plans. Finally, the presentation will introduce Omdia’s Fiber Development Index, the methodology of which has been adopted by the ETSI organization as best of breed when it comes to measuring a country’s fiber development, as well as outlining high-level results and key learnings.
Panelist:
- Michael Philpott - Director of Research, Omdia
2021 - Week 38: Ten Steps to Avoid a Cyber Breach
(September 29, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Christopher Cook, CEO, Lokx, and Chris Silvers, CEO, CG Silvers Consulting, both cyber security experts experienced in both offensive and defensive security with established cyber advisory practices, discuss how cyber attacks are now the #3 global risk tracked by the global insurance industry, exceeded only by business interruption and pandemic. Globally, Telcos/Service Providers, ISPs, and MSSPs account for the largest attack targets of ransomware gangs due to their unique nature of large back-office systems, hundreds and thousands of customer records, and connectivity in between. For the cyber criminal this is a veritable playground and treasure trove once on the inside.
In this session, Chris and Chris will discuss the rapidly changing nature of the current threat landscape, highlight the 5 most common root causes underlying causes of cyber breaches, and leave you with 10 practical things you and your organization can do to improve your cyber security posture.
Panelists:
- Christopher Cook - CEO, Lokx
- Chris Silvers - CEO, CG Silvers Consulting
2021 - Week 37: Survey Says: How Operators Plan to Deploy 10G PON
(September 22, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Lightwave’s Stephen Hardy will discuss results from a recent survey conducted by Lightwave and the Fiber Broadband Association. Findings from the survey uncovered investment plans in 10G PON over the next 2 years, and technology and supplier preferences as service providers in North America and Latin America aim to bring faster speeds and more reliable service to their subscribers through new and existing build outs of 10G on their fiber access network. What does this mean for rural areas? What will be the effect from the Infrastructure Plan? What does this mean for the suppliers and the overall supply chain?
Panelist:
- Stephen Hardy - Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
2021 - Week 36: Exploiting the Digital Divide – the Cybercriminal Perspective
(September 15, 2021)
FTTH service providers are rushing to provide the fastest broadband connectivity to previously unserved or underserved communities and offer their subscribers new opportunities and capabilities. However, this also provides opportunities for cybercriminals who are eyeing millions of new potential victims and higher speed access for their malicious activities.
In this Fiber for Breakfast, join Terry Young of A10 Networks and Gabriel Gumbs, cybersecurity expert and host of the Privacy Please podcast, in a discussion of cyber threat trends and their implications for rural broadband service providers and their subscribers. Discussion will include:
- How the pandemic has changed subscriber expectations for security
- The cybercrime business model
- The rise of DDoS threats
- Why rural and remote locations are particularly vulnerable
- What operators can do to combat increased threats
Panelists:
- Terry Young - Director of Service Provider & 5G Marketing, A10 Networks
- Gabriel Gumbs - Cybersecurity Expert and Host of the Privacy Please podcast
2021 - Week 35: Making A Difference with Juice & Fiber
(September 8, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast with Sean Vanslyke, CEO and Head Coach of SEMO Electric Cooperative and GoSEMO Fiber, tune in and learn how simple it is to add value to your enterprise by encouraging your staff members to cross train each other and your business partners. The payoff is more than you would expect!
From Camp SEMO to Fiber Fly-ins, SEMO Electric Cooperative and GoSEMO Fiber leverage innovative internal and external training events as they make other people’s lives better with essential electricity and broadband services. Team SEMO, the employee group, has built a $52 million fiber-to-the-premise network for its member-consumers and subscribers during the past 53 months. Plus, Team SEMO helps other electric cooperatives restore power after severe weather, shares broadband best practices with cooperatives from many states by hosting Fiber Fly-ins and educates internal and external attendees at Camp SEMO, a two-day all-inclusive hands-on experience inside the utility services world.
Panelist:
- Sean J. Vanslyke - CEO and Head Coach of SEMO Electric Cooperative and GoSEMO Fiber
2021 - Week 34: Rural Broadband – The Future of Precision Agriculture
(September 1, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Chad Rupe will discuss, Precision Agriculture: What is it? What can it do for rural broadband take rates and sustainability? What impact does it have on the world stage and on rural America? What federal programs are available? Where is it in the infrastructure bill? What can providers do to drive precision agriculture and gain quicker ROI?
Panelist:
- Chad Rupe - 21st Administrator of USDA's Rural Utilities Service
2021 - Week 33: The Future of Tribal Broadband
(August 25, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, Bobby Gonzalez, Principal Executive Officer/Chairman of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Caddo Communication Enterprises will share informative information related to federally recognized tribes and the push related to broadband in Indian Country under the American Rescue Plan Act. This act provides investment into infrastructure in broadband to provide access to high-quality broadband service in Indian Country into the millions and up to one source of funding that includes $1Billion. These new sources of tribal broadband funding are to assist in mitigating the effects of COVID-19 pandemic which is exacerbating the digital divide across the United States related to Native American communities.
Panelist:
- Bobby Gonzalez - Chairman, Caddo Nation
2021 - Week 32: Lumen / Apollo: Who Got the Better Deal?
(August 18, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast, New Street Research's Managing Partner, Jonathan Chaplin, will provide thoughts on how value will be created through the deal both within assets sold to Apollo and those retained by Lumen. He will explain how his firm thinks there is a good amount of new fiber investment coming to both sets of assets, and both companies will create value by turning copper into fiber if they execute effectively, but one will create more value than the other.
Panelist:
- Jonathan Chaplin - Managing Partner, New Street Research
2021 - Week 31: The Rise of Stand-Alone Broadband and the New Home Services Bundle
(August 11, 2021)
With the decline of pay-TV, traditional home services bundles have steadily declined over the past seven years. As a result, the penetration of stand-alone internet service is increasing, jumping from 34% in 2017 to 42% in 2021. Service providers have relied on bundles to attract new subscribers, increase consumer loyalty (and thus lifetime value), and differentiate from competitors. With bundling in decline, service providers turn to new value-added services to play these critical roles. In this Fiber for Breakfast, Jennifer Kent, Ph.D., Vice President of Research at Parks Associates, will discuss shifting broadband buying behaviors, the impact on service revenues, and opportunities for service providers to offer new service types to attract and retain customers.
Panelist:
- Jennifer Kent, Ph.D. - Vice President of Research, Parks Associates
2021 - Week 30: How Future Fiber Technologies Will Affect the Networks of Tomorrow
(August 4, 2021)
In this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Ken Ko, Managing Director of the Broadband Forum, discusses why service providers should be thinking today about how future fiber technologies will affect their networks tomorrow. Topics to be covered during this session will include:
• How technologies like 25G and 50G "Super-PONs" can enable new use cases and services;
• How they can serve as a catalyst for network transformation;
• Why planning for migration is important.
Panelist:
- Ken Ko - Managing Director, Broadband Forum
2021 - Week 29: Fiber Access Market Trends: Why PON is Set for Rapid Growth in North America
(July 21, 2021)
In this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Jaimie Lenderman, Senior Analyst, Service Provider Networks, at global technology market research firm Omdia, discusses how North America fiber broadband access networks will continue to experience strong growth throughout the decade. Omdia’s latest PON forecast data will be presented, along with market trends.
Panelist:
- Jaimie Lenderman - Senior Analyst, Service Provider Networks, Omdia
2021 - Week 28: Have We Finally Solved the National Broadband Mapping Issue?
(July 14, 2021)
On June 17, the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) released an “Indicators of Broadband Need” tool that puts on one map, for the first time, data from both public and private sources. It contains data aggregated at the county, census tract, and census block level from the American Community Survey collected by the U.S. Census, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Measurement Lab (M-Lab), Ookla and Microsoft. Speed-test data provided by M-Lab and Ookla help to illustrate the reality that communities experience when going online, with many parts of the country reporting speeds that fall below the FCC’s current benchmark for fixed broadband service of 25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload. This is the first map that allows users to graphically compare and contrast these different data sources.
Most importantly, this interactive mapping result is made generally available to the public at large. NTIA also offers to state governments and federal partners a geographic information system (GIS) platform called the National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) that provides more complex tools for analyzing broadband access, such as the ability to upload GIS files to compare proposed projects.
In this Fiber for Breakfast episode, NTIA's Tim Moyer, Director of Data & Mapping, and Sarah Bleau, Broadband Specialist, will explain NBAM in-depth and provide a demo of the Indicators of Broadband Need (IBN) map.
Panelists:
- Tim Moyer - Director of Data & Mapping, NTIA
- Sarah Bleau - Broadband Specialist, NTIA
2021 - Week 27: Poplar Bluff’s Path to Becoming World-Class – A Fiber Broadband Transformation Story
(July 7, 2021)
How does a sleepy little community in southwest Missouri go from being the Gateway to the Ozarks to becoming the Gateway to the World? In this session of Fiber for Breakfast, Kevin Cantwell, President of Big River Communications, describes their journey to build a world-class fiber network and the challenges ahead.
Panelist:
- Kevin Cantwell - President, Big River Communications
2021 - Week 26: Unlocking the Potential of Your Fiber Investment - Next Generation PON Technologies
(June 30, 2021)
ADTRAN CTO for the Americas, Ryan McCowan, discusses the evolution of PON technologies and what the next three to five years hold for PON development. PON-based solutions have been used to enable low-cost, highly reliable, low-latency multi-gigabit services to homes and businesses. EPON and GPON have had large-scale commercial deployments over the last decade, but many feel their popularity may be waning due to the to the capabilities presented by symmetric 10G EPON and XGS-PON. However, the PON landscape is continuing to evolve as 25G-PON and 50G-PON are already well under development.
Panelist:
- Ryan McCowan - CTO Americas, ADTRAN
2021 - Week 25: Fiber Broadband Can Eliminate The North American Rural Digital Divide
(June 23, 2021)
Rural areas in North America have lacked adequate high speed broadband availability compared to metropolitan areas for many years representing a digital divide in the continent. The pandemic highlighted that challenge after forcing nearly all interactions to be conducted from the home, exposing the insufficiency or lack of broadband available in these areas. The result is lower productivity, lagging education, declining economic development opportunities and poorer health outcomes for rural residents. In this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, John George, Sr. Director, Solutions and Professional Services at OFS, Barry Walton, Telecom Solution Architect at Corning and Michael Render, CEO at Market Research and Consulting group, RVA discuss how fiber broadband to the home can permanently close the rural high speed broadband availability divide.
Panelists:
- John George - Sr. Director, Solutions and Professional Services, OFS
- Barry Walton - Telecom Solution Architect, Corning
- Michael Render - CEO, Market Research and Consulting group, RVA
2021 - Week 24: Frontier: The Alchemy of Turning Copper Into Gold
(June 16, 2021)
In this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, we speak with Spencer Kurn, Partner, New Street Research.
Frontier will transform itself from broken ILEC into a fiber-based infrastructure asset over the course of the next several years. As they do so, they will return to growing revenues with expanding margins and, following a period of investment, rapidly growing FCF. This will give the equity a claim to a much higher multiple and drive potential upside of 4-10x!
- Where is the hidden value within Frontier?
- Why have fiber upgrades become more attractive in recent years?
- How can other companies benefit from Frontier’s approach?
Panelist:
- Spencer Kurn - Partner, New Street Research
2021 - Week 23: Alleviating the Labor Burden: A Roadmap for Those New to Fiber
(June 9, 2021)
Clearfield Inc.’s Chief Marketing Officer and FBA Board Member, Kevin Morgan, Cruzio Internet’s Director of Technology and Infrastructure, Frost, and Midco’s GM-Regional Engineering, Jeremy Billings, discuss how fiber roll outs have inherent challenges as network operators look to expand the range and reach of their FTTx networks. Greenfields, brownfields, overbuilds and Multi-Dwelling Units all present a significant opportunity to bring more customers on net but not without a cost. When evaluating new fiber opportunities, service providers are faced with any number of deployment variables as no network build is the same. With over 70% of the cost of fiber connectivity tied up in labor, time over-runs and return trips to solve deployment challenges, not having product that alleviates that burden is a common but avoidable oversight. During this Fiber for Breakfast session, we will look at some time and cost saving techniques learned through case studies of deployments in all types of networks, through all types of terrain and to every type of “network deployment". We will outline a path to creating a Labor Light deployment strategy that can significantly reduce both the time and cost to deploy.
Panelists:
- Kevin Morgan - Chief Marketing Officer, Clearfield Inc.
- Frost - Director of Technology and Infrastructure, Cruzio Internet
- Jeremy Billings - GM-Regional Engineering, Midco
2021 - Week 22: Time for a Network Upgrade: Fiber or Next-Gen HFC?
(June 2, 2021)
You’re a service provider who needs to decide: Should we upgrade the HFC plant or switch to fiber? During this session of Fiber for Breakfast, Broadband Success Partners' Jack Burton, Principal, and David Strauss, Principal, discuss the technical, operational, financial and market factors you need to consider in making this critical decision.
Panelists:
- Jack Burton - Principal, Broadband Success Partners
- David Strauss - Principal, Broadband Success Partners
2021 - Week 21: Business Fiber Trends - How Fiber Providers and Emerging Services Are Lighting Up the U.S. Landscape
(May 26, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast episode, Rosemary Cochran, Principal and Co-Founder, Vertical Systems Group, will discuss how Fiber Providers are expanding the base of lit commercial buildings and data centers across the country and outlines the key trends and services driving demand. Today’s U.S. Business Fiber landscape includes more than one million on-net sites, supplied by hundreds of retail and wholesale providers. The annual benchmark for measuring market leadership in this segment is Vertical’s Fiber Lit Buildings LEADERBOARD, which ranks the top providers based on fiber penetration rates. Latest research analysis shows that while the pandemic hampered installations during 2020, emerging services such as 5G plus opportunities in the small buildings segment will boost rollouts of new business fiber in 2021.
Panelist:
- Rosemary Cochran - Principal and Co-Founder, Vertical Systems Group
2021 - Week 20: Digital Equity - The Politics of Fiber
(May 19, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast episode, hear from Ernesto Falcon, Senior Legislative Counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and a lead advocate from the state of California, on their effort to get the 5th largest economy in the world to adopt a fiber standard in its broadband infrastructure policy. In 2016, the state established a broadband goal of delivering 10/1 mbps Internet access to 98% of its population and have since undergone a dramatic rethinking of its policy approach to include municipal open access fiber networks through bond financing, a broadband plan focused on scalable infrastructure, and several multi-billion dollar proposals focused on fiber at its core. Learn about the setbacks, the progress, the nature of the opposition, and what has proven successful in getting policymakers to recognize the need to consider future proofing in infrastructure investments.
Panelist:
- Ernesto Falcon - Senior Legislative Counsel, Electronic Frontier Foundation
2021 - Week 19: Matching Fiber Speeds To In Home Wi-Fi and Overall Latency to Service Expectations
(May 12, 2021)
In this Fiber for Breakfast episode, CommScope's Charles Cheevers, CTO, Home Network Solutions, discusses the rise in Fixed Line speeds and the new expectations of consumers to realize these speeds on every device in the home. With 1Gbps to 10Gbps services now being offered we show what is happening with Residential Gateways to ensure that these speeds are mapped across the home and delivered to the 90%+ of Wi-Fi devices that ingest and transmit the services for consumers. We will briefly outline the directions for Dual Band to Tri-band Wi-Fi solutions, Wi-Fi 6, 6E, 7 and 8 directions to bring more capacity and lower latency to match access speeds and the addition of more service aware latency applications to these new deterministic Fiber/Wireline and Wireless home networks.
Panelist:
- Charles Cheevers - CTO, Home Network Solutions, CommScope
2021 - Week 18: The Opportunities (And Challenges) With Stimulus Broadband Expansion Projects – (And Why We Should Do Them Anyway)
(May 5, 2021)
Brian Worthen, CEO, Visionary Broadband, discusses how broadband has become the buzzword darling of legislatures across the country this year, and for good reason: billions of dollars are projected to flow from federal funding to states in the next 6 months through a variety of economic stimulus bills and in response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. Providers who are paying attention are realizing the windfall presented with this sudden focus and accompanying dollars. The challenges aren’t as easy to see. Visionary Broadband was fortunate to have a run at this kind of funded expansion last year through the #ConnectWYoming program and CEO Brian Worthen has learned a few things about how to find the balance.
Panelist:
- Brian Worthen - CEO, Visionary Broadband
2021 - Week 17: Need State Funding? Grant Application Successes and Strategies
(April 28, 2021)
Mark Mrla, Director, Strategy Operations, Finley Engineering Company, discusses that many states are jumping on the broadband funding band wagon. And many of these state programs are beginning to look quite similar which means that similar strategies can be applied to their applications. But, each year some of them change their application priorities slightly. Finley Engineering has been involved in over 70 state grant funding applications during the last several years and have had excellent success on behalf of its clients. This presentation will summarize funding application successes, strategies and case studies as well as the value-add that a firm like Finley Engineering will bring to your state grant application process.
Panelist:
- Mark Mrla - Director, Strategy Operations, Finley Engineering Company
2021 - Week 16: Five Critical (and Difficult) Disaster Recovery Challenges
(April 21, 2021)
IQGeo's Jay Cadman and Todd Kuty discuss the many challenges that must be tackled when an emergency occurs in your operational area. With climate change, severe events like hurricanes, wildfires and extreme weather becoming common place, we all have to develop strategies to respond quickly when disaster strikes. Jay and Todd explore five key challenges we all face and the factors that are critical to developing an effective disaster response strategy.
Panelists:
- Jay Cadman - SVP Enterprise, IQGeo
- Todd Kuty - Director Customer Integration, IQGeo
2021 - Week 15: Why Data Provides the Key to Winning on Customer Experience
(April 14, 2021)
Plume’s Tyson Marian shares the company’s perspectives in enhancing the subscriber experience through data-driven personalization. He’ll deliver insights into the broadband and smart home market dynamics, discuss the headwinds that service providers face, and how they can counteract them by modernizing through big data, cloud and AI.
Panelist:
- Tyson Marian - Chief Commercial Officer, Plume
2021 - Week 14: The Impact of Video Streaming on Broadband Networks
(April 7, 2021)
Data usage on broadband networks continues to grow at an exponential rate with the movement of video services from traditional television service to over-the-top (OTT) streaming services. Most video content companies are making this transition, causing increasing data challenges. Broadband networks generally perform well until they exceed 85% network capacity. Beyond this point all traffic, regardless of source, can be negatively impacted. Broadband service providers are forced to make investments to accommodate the traffic on these networks, with no contribution to capital or operational investments from outside sources. In rural service areas, this is an even greater problem. In this Fiber for Breakfast session, Jimmy Todd, CEO & General Manager, Nex-Tech, will discuss efforts to bring this concern to light and what's being done about it.
Panelist:
- Jimmy Todd - CEO and General Manager, Nex-Tech
2021 - Week 13: Pandemic Network Performance and the Industry Response
(March 31, 2021)
Douglas Sicker, PhD, Executive Director, BITAG (Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group), discusses his report which focuses on the US and details how increased demand affected various parts of the Internet ecosystem, and how different organizations responded to these changes.
Panelist:
- Dr. Douglas Sicker - Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Senior Associate Dean of Computing, at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus/Denver and co-Director of the IRLE (Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics)
2021 - Week 12: The Rural Broadband Opportunity - A Wall Street Perspective
(March 24, 2021)
George Notter from Jefferies Group led a discussion of the market opportunity for rural broadband operators from the perspective of a Wall Street Equity Research Analyst following the Communications Equipment industry.
Panelist:
- George Notter - Managing Director and Equity Research Analyst at Jefferies
2021 - Week 11: The Future of Rural America - How Can It Prosper and Thrive?
(March 17, 2021)
Chad Rupe, the 21st Administrator of USDA's Rural Utilities Service, reflects on the RUS broadband programs and momentum under his leadership as well as life after RUS - how he plans to continue his mission to help Rural America prosper and thrive.
Panelist:
- Chad Rupe - Managing Member at Rural America Strategies, LLC
2021 - Week 10: Fiber and Fixed Wireless: An FBA Look
(March 10, 2021)
Join Fiber Broadband Association Board Members Mark Boxer and Joanne Hovis as they present a preview of an upcoming FBA white paper. They'll explore the relative roles of fiber and fixed wireless technologies in meeting today’s and future communications needs.
Panelists:
- Mark Boxer - Technology Manager, Solutions and Applications Engineering, OFS
- Joanne Hovis - President, CTC Technology & Energy
2021 - Week 9: Can Fixed Wireless Deliver RDOF Gigabit Speeds?
(March 3, 2021)
In the recent RDOF auction, 85% of the funding was won by bidders proposing to provide gigabit speeds using wireless or wireline technologies. While no one doubts the abilities of a fiber network, wireless gig deserves a closer look. Larry explores the circumstances where wireless may – and may not – be a fit for rural gigabit broadband.
Panelist:
- Larry Thompson - CEO, Vantage Point Solutions
2021 - Week 8: To 10G or Not to 10G? No Longer a Question with Combo PON
(February 24, 2021)
As service providers evaluate the increasing demands on their PON networks, some mistakenly believe they have only one choice—maintain GPON or migrate entirely to XGS-PON. In fact, Combo PON offers a much more capable, flexible, and cost-effective upgrade strategy, enabling operators to simultaneously deliver both GPON and XGS-PON on the same optical distribution network, while having the option to make a simple migration to XGS-PON at any time. Hear from Armstrong on why Combo PON was the clear choice for their network.
Panelists:
- Michael Scardina - Director of Network Strategies and Technologies, Armstrong
- Greg Luhman - Business Development Manager, ADTRAN
2021 - Week 7: Chattanooga Fiber Project Delivers $2.7B in Economic Impact
(February 17, 2021)
Chattanooga became one of the first Gigabit cities and now is a 10G city. Professor Bento Lobo, UT-Chattanooga, and Jim Ingraham, Vice President, Strategic Research, EPB, discuss the latest economic impact study and how fiber has changed the lives in this bustling community.
Panelists:
- Dr. Bento Lobo – Professor, University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
- Jim Ingraham - Vice President, Strategic Research, EPB
2021 - Week 6: The Time for 10G PON is Here and Now! Are You Ready?
(February 10, 2021)
Today’s access-network architecture is under stress. Blame the proliferation of connected devices and bandwidth-intensive customer applications, as well as dramatic increase in usage as subscribers work and attend school from home. Now is the perfect time to build your greenfield network or expand your existing network with 10G PON -- doing so will arm your customers with the high-speed, symmetrical broadband they need to stay connected.
Panelists:
- Kevin Kuo – Director, Product & Solution Marketing at Calix
- Charles Austin – Manager, Network Engineering & Operations at Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative
2021 - Week 5: Quenching the Thirst of a Parched County in a Broadband Desert
(February 3, 2021)
Noah shares with us their journey to expand operations into their neighboring county to bring Fiber to the broadband desert of Georgia.
Panelist:
- Noah Covington, Director of Operations, PACFiber
2021 - Week 4, Georgia’s Recent Broadband Decisions, with Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols
(January 27, 2021)
Panelist:
- Commissioner Tim Echols, Georgia Public Service Commission
2021 - Week 3, The Obstacle is the Way – Nevada City’s Journey to get Rural Broadband
(January 20, 2021)
Panelist:
- John Paul, Chief Business Development Officer - Spiral Fiber, Inc.
2021 - Week 2, Lighting up Utah with Open Access
(January 13, 2021)
Panelists:
- Roger Timmerman, CEO - UTOPIA Fiber
- Kim McKinley, CMO - UTOPIA Fiber
2021- Week 1, The Broadband Technology Designed with Future in Mind
(January 6, 2021)
Panelists:
- John George, Senior Director- Solutions and Professional Services, OFS
- Jeff Gavlinski, Director, Industry Organizations, Calix
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 39, The Fiber Broadband Association North American Advance Broadband Report
(December 23, 2020)
Panelist:
- Michael Render, CEO, RVA LLC Market Research and Consulting
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 38, Fiber Data Delivery in the Mid-West
(December 16, 2020)
Panelists:
- Rob Shema, CEO, Com Net, Inc. and Independents Fiber Network
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 37, Broadband in the Heartland
(December 9, 2020)
Panelists:
- John Greene, CEO, New Lisbon Telephone
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 36, There is More Fiber Coming
(December 2, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Jonathan Chaplin, Equity Analyst, New Street Research
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 35, What Keeps Public Officials Up At Night
(November 25, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Bob Knight, Executive Vice President & COO, Harrison Edwards PR
- Kim McKinley, Chief Marketing Officer, Utopia Fiber
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 34, COVID-19 Impact on Small/Medium Business – Internet Survey Analysis
(November 18, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Matt Davis, Principal Analyst, Independence Research LLC
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 33, FBA 2020 Post-Election Analysis
(November 11, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Kim Bayliss, Principal, Perry Bayliss Government Relations
-
Tom Cohen, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
-
Steve Perry, Principal, Perry Bayliss Government Relations
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 32, The Connecting Consumers Series: TWN Communications and Mohave Electric Coop – Meeting the Broadband Needs of Members
(November 4, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Rick Campos, Chief Operating Officer, Mohave Electric Cooperative
- Ami Rodriguez, Vice-President, Sales/Marketing & Business Development, TWN Communications
Moderator: Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 31, 5G & Fiber Networks Workforce Needs
(October 28, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Brad Baumann, Vice President-Wireless Solutions, Gabe’s Construction
-
Kelley Dunne, CEO, Novation Enterprises
-
Flynn Rico-Johnson, Legislative Director, Office of Congresswoman Matsui (D-CA),
-
Steve Sellenriek, President, Sellenriek Construction Inc.
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 30, The Connecting Consumers Series: United Electric Cooperative Services Connecting Across Counties
(October 21, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Marcellus Nixon, VP Internet Services, United Cooperative Services
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 29, The Connecting Consumers Series: Google Fiber in West Des Moines
(October 14, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- John Burchett, Head of Public Policy and Community Affairs, Google Fiber
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 28, CBRS Update and the Role of Fiber
(October 7, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Kurt Jacobs, Director-Solutions, JMA Wireless
- Jessica Zufolo, Vice President Rural Broadband Strategy, Magellan Advisors
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 27, A View from the Hill
(September 30, 2020 - 10am ET)
***This is an off-the record, no press event***
Panelists:
- Seth Ismail, Legislative Assistant, Representative Jim Clyburn (D-SC and House Majority Whip)
- Olivia Trusty, Republican Policy Director, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
- Kim Bayliss, Principal, Perry Bayliss Government Relations LLC
- Steve Perry, Principal, Perry Bayliss Government Relations LLC
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 26, Designing and Working in the Business Ecosystem – Moving Beyond Traditional Business Models (September 23, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Theresa Caragol, Founder & CEO, AchieveUnite
- Daryl Sullivan, Senior Director, Ecosystems, Alliances & Business Development, Hitachi Americas
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 25, Show Me the Money – A Federal Broadband Funding Overview (September 16, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Kim Bayliss, Principal, Perry Bayliss Government Relations
- Carol Mattey, Principal, Mattey Consulting LLC
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 24, Worldwide Fiber Demand and Deployment - The Near Term Prospects and Drivers (September 9, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Mike Finch, Head of Wire and Cable, Lead Fibre Optic Analyst, CRU Group
- Mike Render, CEO And Principal Analyst, RVA, LLC
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 23, COVID-19 and the Digital Divide. How Do we Move Forward? (September 2, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Francella Ochillo, Executive Director, Next Century Cities
- Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel, Public Knowledge
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 22, Monitoring our Infrastructure? Protecting Networks? SmartCity Integrity Applications? Fiber Optics Can do that. An Overview of Fiber Optic Sensing (August 26, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Michael Hines, Market Manager for Industrial Sensing, OFS
- Stan Fendley, Director, Legislative & Regulatory Policy, Corning
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 21, Fiber: An Essential Facet of the Connected Community – A WIA Report
(August 19, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO, Wireless Infrastructure Association
-
Rebecca Hussey, Managing Counsel, Utility Relations, Crown Castle
-
Jeffrey Strenkowski, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel of Governmental Affairs, Uniti Group
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 20, Bandwidth Needs for Anchor Institutions
(August 12, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
John Windhausen, Executive Director - Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition
-
Roy Hoover, Network and Telecommunications Coordinator, Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
- Bob Bocher, Senior Fellow, American Library Association
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 19, Fiber to the Data Center
(August 5, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Peter Cohen, Vice President Interconnectivity and Peering, QTS Data Centers
- Marc Dyman, Chief Revenue Officer, FiberLight
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 18, Fiber for Vertical Infrastructure - In Building and Outdoor
(July 29, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Rich Berliner, CEO/Publisher, Fifth Gen Media
- Tormod Larsen, CTO, ExteNet Systems
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 17, Accelerating Bandwidth Demand - Being Prepared for What's Coming
(July 22, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Jeff Gavlinski, Marketing Director, Calix
- Sanjay Udani, Technologist & VP, Public Policy, Verizon
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 16, Bragging Lights – Fiber and Lower OpEx. An FBA Study.
(July 15, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Mark Boxer, Applications Engineering Manager, OFS
-
John George, Senior Director- Solutions and Professional Services, OFS
-
Barry Walton, Solution Architect, Corning Optical Communications
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 15, Fiber and 5G
(July 8, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Kevin Morgan, Chief Marketing Officer, Clearfield
- Kurt Jacobs, Director, Solutions, JMA Wireless
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 14, Fiber and the Smart Grid, Energy Efficiency & Monitoring
(July 1, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Jim Glass, Senior Manager - Smart Grid Development, EPB
- Rich Carpenter, Senior Manager - Fiber Network Operations and Fiber Engineering, EPB
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 13, Fiber and the Smart City
(June 24, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Raimundo Rodulfo, Director of Information Technology / Chief Innovation Officer, City of Coral Gables
-
Peter Murray, Executive Director, Dense Networks
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 12, State Broadband Funds and Deployment Offices
(June 17, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Teresa Ferguson, Director, Federal Broadband Engagement, State of Colorado
-
Crystal Ivey, Broadband Director, Community and Rural Development, State of Tennessee
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 11, The FCC Adopts RDOF Procedural Rules
(June 10, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
-
Tom Cohen, Partner, Kelley, Drye & Warren
-
Mike Romano, Sr. Vice President of Industry Affairs and Business Development, NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 10, Building out Fiber Networks to Rural Communities
(June 3, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Scott Jackson, National Market Manager - Broadband, Graybar
- Charles L. Phillips, VP of Technical Services, Gibson EMC; VP of Operations, Gibson Connect
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 9, Examining the Cybersecurity of our Networks
(May 27, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Doug Howland, Senior Director, Systems Products, Calix
- Alex Ryals, Vice President, Security Solutions, Tech Data
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 8, RDOF: Plan for Your First Deadline
(May 20, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Joanne Hovis, President, CTC Technology & Energy
- Jon Wilkins, Partner, Quadra Partners/FiberRise
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 7, Post COVID-19: The Future of Work
(May 13, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Janet Schijns, CEO, JS Group
- Adam Zuckerman, Eisenhower Fellow & Emerging Technology/Future of Work Strategist
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 6, New Market Research is in – Broadband in the Pandemic
(May 6, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Diego Anderson, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Lumos Networks
- Michael Render, CEO And Principal Analyst, RVA, LLC
- Monica Webb, Head of Market Development & Strategic Partnerships, Ting Internet
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 5, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Localized Telemedicine and Keeping Patients First
(April 29, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Dr. James Cates, M.D., Satellite Med
- J. Wilson Cates III, Co-Founder & CEO, Intellectual Care, LLC
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 4, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Response: It's NOT Trillions. Building Out Fiber to 90% of US Households. An Overview of FBA's Rural Fiber Cost Study.
(April 22, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Tom Cohen, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
- Sam Kornstein, CFA, Vice President Strategy & Analytics, Cartesian
- Bob Whitman, VP Market Development, Corning
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 3, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Response: How Do We Deploy and Construct Networks During a Pandemic?
(April 15, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Clay Branch, Director Network Development, C-Spire
- Steve Sellenriek, President, Sellenriek Construction
- Mark Tichenor, Executive Vice President, On Trac, Inc.
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 2, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Will We Break the Internet?
(April 8, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Gary Bolton, Vice President Global Marketing, ADTRAN
- Ryan Keel, Vice President - Technical Operations, EPB
- Jon Sallet, Benton Senior Fellow, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
Week 1, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Hill Legislation and Online Learning (April 1, 2020 - 10am ET)
Panelists:
- Mark Boxer, Applications Engineering Manager, OFS
- J.Ed Marston, Vice President Marketing, EPB
- Steve Perry, Principal, Perry Bayliss Government Relations
Moderator: Lisa R. Youngers, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association
