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Sunday, May 17, 2026
1:30 PM - 5:15 PM ET
FBA Fiber Starter Toolkit

1:30 PM - 5:15 PM ET

FBA Fiber Starter Toolkit

1:30 PM - 1:35 PM ET

Welcome and introduction

Host: Quinn Jordan

Toolkit

1:35 PM - 2:25 PM ET

Construction Junction: What's Your Function

Moderator: Doug Mohney (he/him/his) – Fiber Forward magazine

Panelist: Trent VanMaanen – TAK Broadband

Panelist: James King (he/him/his) – Millennium

Panelist: Bob Whitman – Corning Optical Communications

Panelist: Nicholas Pena (he/him/his) – Fibersmith

Toolkit

2:25 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Break

Toolkit

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM ET

FTTH Basics and Network Design

Panelist: Mark Boxer – Lightera

Panelist: Jeff Bush – Lightera

Toolkit

3:00 PM - 3:40 PM ET

New Market 101: Tools and Tips to Make Market Entry Seamless

Moderator: Jade Piros de Carvalho – Socket Fiber

Panelist: Michael Woodard – NTI, a Network Connex Company

Panelist: Luke Oborny – Nex-Tech

Panelist: Kevin Bush – Surf Internet

Panelist: Collin Rose – DayStarr Communications

Toolkit

3:40 PM - 3:45 PM ET

Break

Toolkit

3:45 PM - 4:25 PM ET

OSP Common Obstacles and How to Avoid

Moderator: Rebecca Denman – UniTek Global Services

Panelist: Josh Summit – Shentel/GloFiber

Panelist: Will Platt – BHC

Panelist: Ryan Kudera (he/him/his) – Finley USA

Panelist: Jon Owen – RSMI North America, Inc.

Toolkit

4:25 PM - 4:30 PM ET

Break

Toolkit

4:30 PM - 5:10 PM ET

Now You've Built It, Will They Come

Moderator: Doug Mohney (he/him/his) – Fiber Forward magazine

Panelist: Ashley Church (she/her/hers) – GFiber

Panelist: Lexi Christensen (she/her/hers) – UTOPIA Fiber

Panelist: Sarah Davis – Fidium Fiber

Panelist: Christine Marion – NIVO, Inspired by Digicom

Toolkit

5:10 PM - 5:15 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Host: Quinn Jordan

Toolkit

1:30 PM - 5:15 PM ET
LATAM

1:30 PM - 5:10 PM ET

LATAM

1:30 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Welcome and Introduction

Host: Edna Pruess – Fiber Broadband Association

1:40 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Addressing the Gaps in Broadband Delivery

LATAM

2:40 PM - 3:30 PM ET

Neutral Host and Open Access Business Models Best Practices

LATAM

3:40 PM - 4:30 PM ET

Fiber to the Data Center and Edge Compute

LATAM

4:40 PM - 5:10 PM ET

Economic Impact as Communities Get Online

LATAM

5:10 PM - 5:15 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Host: Edna Pruess – Fiber Broadband Association

1:30 PM - 5:15 PM ET
Marketing & Customer Experience

1:30 PM - 5:15 PM ET

Marketing & Customer Experience

1:30 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Welcome and Introduction

Host: Max Hahn – Fiber Broadband Association

Marketing

1:40 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Marketing Metrics That Matter: The Numbers Every CMO Should Track

Moderator: Shapur Izadiyar – Calix

Panelist: Linda Richardson – CMO Architect

Panelist: Shiloh Vance – INDATEL Services

Panelist: Kim McKinley – TAK Communications

Panelist: Kim Smithers (she/her/hers) – IQFiber

Marketing

2:30 PM - 2:40 PM ET

Break

Marketing

2:40 PM - 3:30 PM ET

The Power of Local

Moderator: Nicole McDonald – Harry Marketing

Panelist: Mitchell Shook – Advanced Stream

Panelist: Jess George – GFiber

Panelist: Joseph Tierney (he/him/his) – Lantech Communications LLC

Panelist: Nicole Paterson (she/her/hers) – Execulink Telecom

Marketing

3:30 PM - 3:40 PM ET

Break

Marketing

3:40 PM - 4:30 PM ET

Driving Subscriber Growth: Marketing Strategies for Fiber Expansion

Moderator: Derek Kelly – Lumos

Panelist: Jeff Auman – TruVista Fiber

Panelist: Meghan Woodlief – Fidium

Panelist: Maggie Basgall – Nex-Tech

Panelist: Ashley Gustafson – GoNetSpeed

Marketing

4:30 PM - 4:40 PM ET

Break

Marketing

4:40 PM - 5:10 PM ET

Winning Customer Loyalty: Proven Strategies to Reduce Churn in Broadband

Moderator: Katherine Songster – Harry Marketing

Panelist: Jessica Tuatonga (she/her/hers) – Utopia Fiber

Panelist: Stacey Thomas – TEC

Panelist: Mary Savery – Savery Solutions

Panelist: Dan Siemon (he/him/his) – Preseem (Aterlo Networks Inc)

Marketing

5:10 PM - 5:15 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Host: Max Hahn – Fiber Broadband Association

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM ET
New Member & First Time Attendee Meet Up

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM ET

New Member & First Time Attendee Meet Up

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM ET
Opening Reception

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM ET

Opening Reception

9:00 PM - 10:30 PM ET
Fiber Under Forty Meet Up

9:00 PM - 10:30 PM ET

Fiber Under Forty Meet Up

Monday, May 18, 2026
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM ET
LATAM Breakfast Meet Up

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM ET

LATAM Breakfast Meet Up

8:00 AM - 12:05 PM ET
General Session: Kickoff and Community

8:00 AM - 8:05 AM ET

Welcome to Fiber Connect

Speaker: Jessica Koch – CBSOregon

8:05 AM - 8:10 AM ET

Welcome to Florida/Orlando

8:10 AM - 8:30 AM ET

State of the Association and Board/Committee Chair Recognition

Speaker: Gary Bolton – FBA

8:30 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Chairwoman's Award

Speaker: Ash Brown – Adtran

8:40 AM - 8:45 AM ET

Keynote Introduction (Platinum Sponsor)

8:45 AM - 9:10 AM ET

Opening Keynote

9:10 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Operator Light Talk

Speaker: Shazia Sobani – Telus

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM ET

Coming to Americas: Connecting Communities from Tip to Tip

Moderator: Juanita Clark – Digital Council Africa

Panelist: Kalai Kalaichelvan – PomeGran

Panelist: Greg Wilson (he/him/his) – Ripple Fiber

Panelist: Wanda Perez – Liberty of Puerto Rico & USVI

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM ET

Back to the Future: Early Gig Network Providers

Moderator: Robert Conger – Adtran

Panelist: Katie Espeseth (she/her/hers) – EPB

Panelist: Conley Freeman – C Spire

Panelist: Jenna Wandres – GFiber

10:30 AM - 10:50 AM ET

Operator Light Talk: Taking Rural Vitality Light Years Ahead

Speaker: Claude Aiken (he/him/his) – NextLink Internet

10:50 AM - 11:20 AM ET

Tomorrowland: Building Smart Communities

Moderator: Roger Timmerman – UTOPIA Fiber

Panelist: Teresa McGaughey (she/her/hers) – Calix

Panelist: Todd Heyne – ALLO Fiber

Panelist: Derek Kelly – Lumos

Panelist: Paul Fleming – Wecom Fiber

11:20 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Fiber Family Feud Preliminaries

12:00 PM - 12:05 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Speaker: Jessica Koch – CBSOregon

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET
Women of Fiber Connect Lunch
Speaker: Abby Rogers – YMCA of the USA
Speaker: Ramsey Alwin – National Council on Aging

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET

Women of Fiber Connect Lunch

Speaker: Abby Rogers – YMCA of the USA

Speaker: Ramsey Alwin – National Council on Aging

12:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET
Expo Hall Open

12:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET

Expo Hall Open

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM ET
Breakout Sessions

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Building Fiber Connectivity to Support AI

Moderator: Roger Entner – Recon Analytics

Panelist: Pete Bley – Ciena

Panelist: Joe W. Baeumel – KGPCo

Panelist: David Eckard – Nokia

Panelist: Jordan Gross – Lumen

Data Center

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Construction Considerations with New and Existing Builds

Moderator: Mike Render – RVA LLC

Panelist: Josh Summit – Shentel/GloFiber

Panelist: Patrick Thibeault – The Broadband Group

Panelist: Adam Kersnowski – AirWorks Solutions Inc

Panelist: Brandon Hines – Velox

Outside Plant Considerations

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Creating a Framework for Operational Simplicity and Service Scale

Moderator: Heather Moyer (she/her/hers) – HNM Systems

Panelist: Hani Elmalky – GFiber

Panelist: Mik Cox – Plume

Panelist: Katherine Latham – Talman Consultants, LLC

Panelist: Bill Brungardt (he/him/his) – BHC Engineering

Service Provider Ecosystem

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Engineering Best Practices

Speaker: Scott Casey – Spatial Business Systems

Speaker: Alli Bone – Horrocks

FBA Research Read Out

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Identifying Gaps in Existing Network Footprints

Moderator: Ron Westfall – HyperFRAME Research

Panelist: Patrick Mulhearn – Ripple Fiber

Panelist: Paul Breakman (he/him/his) – Adtran

Panelist: Lauren Marcucci (she/her/hers) – BHC

Panelist: Chandler Vaughan (he/him/his) – Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development

Deployment Best Practices

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Key Factors in Driving Subscriber Growth and Reducing Churn

Moderator: John Fletcher (he/him/his) – S&P Global

Panelist: Kevin Bush – Surf Internet

Panelist: Teresa McGaughey (she/her/hers) – Calix

Panelist: Josh Orlowitz – Bonfire

Panelist: Ned Brody – Actifai

Fiber Economics

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Local Advocacy and Legislative Partnerships in Rural Deployments

Moderator: Colby Humphrey – The Pew Charitable Trusts

Panelist: Mitch Hibbard (he/him/his) – Peñasco Valley Telephone Cooperative, Inc.

Panelist: Evan Feinman – Feinman Strategic Network

Panelist: Joanne Hovis (she/her/hers) – CTC Technology & Energy

Panelist: Kevin Czaicki – Millennium

Local Considerations

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Scaling the Open Access Model

Moderator: Jaimie Lenderman (she/her/hers) – Omdia

Panelist: Jeff Erwin – UTOPIA Fiber

Panelist: Jason Jenkins – Silverlight Fiber Networks

Panelist: Jeff Gasper – Southern Tier Network

Panelist: Adam Puckett (he/him/his) – COS Systems

Open Access

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Common Construction Roadblocks and How to Avoid Them

Moderator: Hayden Beeson – ISE Magazine

Panelist: Jeffrey Beavers – National Electrical Contractors Association

Panelist: Luiz Fuschini – Nedia Fiber

Panelist: Chris Brooks (he/him/his) – GoNetspeed

Panelist: Jason Moore – RouteThis

Outside Plant Considerations

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Connecting Technology Innovation to Real-World Business Outcomes

Moderator: Brad J. Randall (he/him/his) – Total Telecom

Panelist: Meaghan Kappel (she/her/hers) – PwC

Panelist: Ashley Travers (she/her/hers) – KGPco

Panelist: George Stegall – Kinetic Ventures

Panelist: Anis Khemakhem – Clearfield

Fiber Economics

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Edge Compute and Digital Transformation Across Sectors

Moderator: Sean P. Buckley (he/him/his) – Lightwave/Broadband Tech Report

Panelist: Jesse Martin – Dura-Line

Panelist: Stephen Rose – Render Networks

Panelist: Rob Worden – Vision Net

Panelist: David Tanis – AFL

Data Center

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Improving Project Efficiency through Collaboration, Clarity, and Proactive Engagement

Moderator: Colby Humphrey – The Pew Charitable Trusts

Panelist: Laura Kocher – Great Plains Communications

Panelist: Amanda Griffith (she/her/hers) – 123NET

Panelist: Louis Panzer (he/him/his) – NC811.org

Panelist: Collin Rose – DayStarr Communications

Local Considerations

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Leveraging Federal Programs to Scale Connectivity

Moderator: Craig Corbin – Broadband Universe

Panelist: HeidiJoy Harnegie – MaxxSouth

Panelist: Joe Jensen – Corning

Panelist: Jade Piros de Carvalho – Socket Fiber

Panelist: Loren Brace – UtiliSource, LLC

Deployment Best Practices

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Local Permitting for Local Fiber Network Projects

FBA Research Read Out

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Permitting Best Practices (Local Permitting for Local Fiber Network Projects: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly)

Speaker: Eddie D. Lowe (he/him/his) – Corning

FBA Research Read Out

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Public/Private Partnerships and Open Access Networks

Moderator: Ryan Koontz – Needham & Company

Panelist: Natasha Eyler – NoaNet

Panelist: Pete Hoffswell – Holland Board of Public Works

Panelist: Mitchell Shook – Advanced Stream

Panelist: Amanda Molina – JSI

Open Access

1:50 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Teamwork Dreamwork: Know What You Need

Moderator: Jack S. Burton – BSP

Panelist: David Freytag – TEC

Panelist: Rick Perkins – GOCare

Panelist: Jordan Roberts – Unico

Panelist: Marc Campagna – gaiia

Service Provider Ecosystem

1:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET
Smart Community Expo Theater

1:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET

Smart Community Expo Theater

1:00 PM - 1:40 PM ET

Developing Anchor Institutions

Moderator: Butch Brock (he/him/his) – Dragonfly Internet

Panelist: Laura King – Utopia Fiber

Panelist: Zach McLemore – CVEC Fiber

1:45 PM - 2:00 PM ET

Sponsor Demo

2:10 PM - 2:50 PM ET

Public Safety Services and Fiber

Moderator: Keely Portway – Fibre Systems

Panelist: David Workman – Gateway Fiber

Panelist: Nicole Cottle – Utopia Fiber

3:00 PM - 3:15 PM ET

Sponsor Demo

3:30 PM - 4:10 PM ET

Community Economics and Fiber Broadband

Moderator: Kimberly Maki – Broadband Library Magazine

Panelist: Donald Ray (he/him/his) – BAM Broadband

Panelist: Kim Smithers (she/her/hers) – IQFiber

4:15 PM - 4:30 PM ET

Sponsor Demo

2:30 PM - 5:30 PM ET
The C-Suite Forum

2:30 PM - 5:30 PM ET

The C-Suite Forum

2:30 PM - 2:35 PM ET

Welcome

Speaker: Gary Bolton – FBA

2:35 PM - 2:40 PM ET

Sponsor Welcome

2:40 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Keynote: Market Valuation and the Impact of AI Infrastructure

Speaker: Ryan Koontz – Needham & Company

3:00 PM - 3:15 PM ET

European View and Update

Speaker: Vincent Garnier – FTTH Council Europe

3:15 PM - 3:40 PM ET

Fireside Chat: Quantum's Leap Light Years Ahead

Moderator: Gary Bolton – FBA

Panelist: Jacky Wu – Brightspeed

3:40 PM - 4:10 PM ET

Public Safety: Fighting Fire with Fiber

Moderator: Bobbie J. Gilbert – Ripple Fiber

Panelist: Todd Way (he/him/his) – Douglas Fast Net

Panelist: Jason Thune – Hawaiian Telcom

4:10 PM - 4:35 PM ET

Fireside Chat: Lucky LEO and What Comes Next

Moderator: Kathryn de Wit (she/her/hers) – The Pew Charitable Trusts

Panelist: Christopher Ali, PhD (he/him/his) – Penn State University

4:35 PM - 4:40 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Speaker: Gary Bolton – FBA

4:40 PM - 5:30 PM ET

Networking Reception

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET
Network Demands: Dream a Little Stream

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET

Network Demands: Dream a Little Stream

3:00 PM - 3:05 PM ET

Welcome

Host: Quinn Jordan

3:05 PM - 3:25 PM ET

Sponsor Keynote

3:25 PM - 3:55 PM ET

Fireside Chat

Moderator: Craig Corbin – Broadband Universe

Panelist: Bill Routt – TiVo

3:55 PM - 4:30 PM ET

Panel: Game On! Latency, Jitter, and the Gamer Life

Moderator: Alzbeta Fellenbaum (she/her/hers) – Omdia

Panelist: Antwon Alsobrook – eCommunity Holdings

Panelist: Alex King (he/him/his) – Blue Ridge Mountain EMC

Panelist: Scott Sampson – Blueprint Broadband

Panelist: Ari Schnitzer – Fidium Fiber

Streaming

4:30 PM - 4:55 PM ET

Fireside Chat: Game On!: Building Brighter Futures

Panelist: Tali Kulbeda – Brightspeed

4:55 PM - 5:00 PM ET

Closing Remarks

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET
Precision Agriculture: Seeding Broadband Futures

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET

Precision Agriculture: Seeding Broadband Futures

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM ET
Women of Fiber Connect Meet Up

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM ET

Women of Fiber Connect Meet Up

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM ET
Canadian Breakfast Meet Up

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM ET

Canadian Breakfast Meet Up

7:30 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Expo Hall Open

7:30 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Expo Hall Open

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET
Breakout Sessions

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Actionable Blueprints for Practical, Scalable, and Repeatable MDU Deployment Plans

Moderator: Craig Corbin – Broadband Universe

Panelist: Mark Evans – Fidium Fiber

Panelist: Roger Vaughn – Hexatronic

Panelist: Mark Boxer – Lightera

Panelist: Hy Huynh – Harmonic

MDU

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Broadband Business from the Ground Up

Moderator: Roger Entner – Recon Analytics

Panelist: Ben Elkins – Airbeam & Utah Broadband

Panelist: Chris Stebner – NEO Connect

Panelist: Kristin Jimenez – TAK Broadband

Panelist: John George – Lightera

Deployment Best Practices

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Creating Strong Financial Foundations that Support Service Expansion to Remote and Harder-to-Reach Communities

Panelist: Alex King (he/him/his) – Blue Ridge Mountain EMC

Panelist: James Taylor – Red Buffalo Thunder Consulting

Panelist: Jim Zou – Adtran

Panelist: Jessica Koch – CBSOregon

Moderator: Revati Prasad – Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Network Expansion

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Delivering Affordable, Reliable Fiber-based Connectivity to Rural Tribal Communities

Moderator: Chez Oxendine – Tribal Business News

Panelist: Andrew Metcalfe – Native Network, Inc

Panelist: Robert Griffin – Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Panelist: Alice Sanchez – Cisco

Panelist: Angela Diahkah – Jemez Pueblo Tribal Network

Tribal Broadband

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Maintaining Deployment Standards Across Diverse Regions

Moderator: Jim Carroll – Converge! Digest

Panelist: Joe Kunz – GFiber

Panelist: Mike Vermeer – Panduit

Panelist: Jason Fuller – CHR Solutions

Panelist: Deb Rand – Kinetic Ventures

Outside Plant Considerations

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Marketing Strategies to Boost Loyalty and Reduce Churn

Moderator: James Krstolich – Ideatek

Panelist: Jennifer Alexander – Circet USA

Panelist: Dara Leslie – GloFiber

Panelist: Glenn Paul – Innovative Systems

Panelist: Dustin Schlaefli (he/him/his) – Nex-Tech

Marketing

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Rural Collaboration, Infrastructure Planning, and Sustaining Affordable, High-performance Middle Mile Broadband

Moderator: Kimberly Maki – Broadband Library Magazine

Panelist: Jim Meyers – NM Fiber Network

Panelist: Casey Lide – Keller & Heckman

Panelist: Jen Wade – RSM US LLP

Panelist: Eric Bathras – Maryland Department of Information Technology

Middle Mile

8:00 AM - 8:40 AM ET

Underappreciated Need to Enable AI and Data Center Growth

Speaker: Mike Render – RVA LLC

FBA Research Read Out

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

A Symbiotic Future: AI for Networks and Networks for AI

Speaker: Sachin Gupta – Centranet

FBA Research Read Out

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Balancing Speed, Cost, Quality and Community Collaboration

Moderator: Ron Westfall – HyperFRAME Research

Panelist: Tom Perrone – GoNetSpeed

Panelist: David Hicks – Render Networks

Panelist: Amanda Hofer – JSI

Panelist: Jeremiah Sloan – Vetro Fiber Map

Deployment Best Practices

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Connecting Marketing Investments to Adoption Goals and Revenue Growth

Moderator: Amber Rodriguez – Surf Internet

Panelist: Jill Marx (she/her/hers) – Fort Collins Connexion

Panelist: Lindsay Randazzo – Innovative Systems

Panelist: Tiffany Hess – Race Communications

Panelist: Curtis Dean (he/him/his) – Community Broadband Action Network

Marketing

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Identifying and Overcoming Network Expansion Roadblocks

Moderator: Jeff Heynen (he/him/his) – Dell'Oro Group

Panelist: Andrew Wright – 3-GIS

Panelist: Ryan B. Elswick (he/him/his) – FiberWise Networks

Panelist: Donald Ray (he/him/his) – BAM Broadband

Panelist: Brian S. Schrand (he/him/his) – Clearfield

Outside Plant Considerations

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Rural and Regional Infrastructure Challenges: Key Factors to Keep Top of Mind

Moderator: Jaimie Lenderman (she/her/hers) – Omdia

Panelist: Aaron Weimer – Wiring The Future Networks

Panelist: Justin Suhr – Great Plains Communications

Panelist: Beni Blell (he/him/his) – Emtelle

Panelist: James Koursaris – Praxedo

Network Expansion

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Transforming the MDU Connectivity Model

Moderator: Jeff Baumgartner – Light Reading

Panelist: Adam Bell – Internet Subway

Panelist: Kevin Bourg – Corning

Panelist: Mike White – TAK Broadband

Panelist: Matthew Brice – Prysmian

MDU

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Unlocking New Middle Mile Opportunities for ISPs and Community Networks

Moderator: Tommy Clift (he/they) – Broadband Nation

Panelist: Lori Adams (she/her/hers) – Nokia

Panelist: Tom Vito – MPV Group, LLC

Panelist: Roger Timmerman – UTOPIA Fiber

Panelist: Robin Olds – Cisco Systems

Middle Mile

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Working as a Sovereign Entity with Federal, State, and County Agencies and Suppliers

Moderator: Tzeitel Buchanan (she/her/hers) – Lumen

Panelist: David B. Fein (he/him/his) – Chumash Enterprises

Panelist: Josh Snow – Trace Fiber Network

Panelist: Claudia Tarbell (she/her/hers) – Calix

Panelist: Wayne Sekaquaptewa – Hopi Telecommunications

Tribal Broadband

8:30 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Smart Community Expo Theater

8:30 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Smart Community Expo Theater

8:30 AM - 9:10 AM ET

MDUs & Campus Environments

Moderator: Alzbeta Fellenbaum (she/her/hers) – Omdia

9:15 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Sponsor Demo

9:40 AM - 10:20 AM ET

Connected Communities, Connected Care

Panelist: Michael D. Soileau (he/him/his) – LFT Fiber

Panelist: Tracy Doaks (she/her/hers) – MCNC

10:25 AM - 10:40 AM ET

Sponsor Demo

10:50 AM - 11:30 AM ET

Emerging Smart City Technologies

Moderator: Jeff Heynen (he/him/his) – Dell'Oro Group

Panelist: Strider G. Denison – Cityside Fiber

11:35 AM - 11:50 AM ET

Sponsor Demo

10:00 AM - 11:45 AM ET
Telehealth & Broadband Summit: Byte a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

10:00 AM - 11:45 AM ET

Telehealth & Broadband Summit: Byte a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

10:00 AM - 10:05 AM ET

Welcome

Host: Jessica Koch – CBSOregon

10:05 AM - 10:25 AM ET

Sponsor Keynote

Telehealth

10:25 AM - 10:50 AM ET

Fireside Chat

Moderator: Jimmy Todd – Nex-Tech

Panelist: Kevin Faughnder (he/him/his) – Norton County Hospital

Telehealth

10:50 AM - 11:20 AM ET

Panel: Fiber Diagnosis: Accessing Better Healthcare Options in America

Panelist: Ash Brown – Adtran

Panelist: Bo Coughlin – eNCore

Panelist: Sarah Sullivan (she/her/hers) – The Broadband Council

Telehealth

11:20 AM - 11:45 AM ET

Fireside Chat: Deploying Medical Grade Broadband

Moderator: Tracy Doaks (she/her/hers) – MCNC

Panelist: Pamela Sherwood (she/her/hers) – Brightspeed

Panelist: John Graham – North Carolina Telehealth Network Association

Telehealth

11:45 AM - 11:50 AM ET

Closing Remarks

Host: Jessica Koch – CBSOregon

Telehealth

10:00 AM - 11:45 AM ET
Up Next in Broadband: Hyperscale Data Center and the Evolving Edge

10:00 AM - 11:45 AM ET

Up Next in Broadband: Hyperscale Data Center and the Evolving Edge

10:00 AM - 10:05 AM ET

Welcome

Host: Evann Freeman (he/him/his) – EPB

10:05 AM - 10:25 AM ET

Sponsor Keynote

10:25 AM - 10:50 AM ET

Fireside Chat: A Data Center Without Connectivity is an Expensive Warehouse

Moderator: Matt Vincent – Data Center Frontier

Speaker: Jeff Wabik – DC BLOX

10:50 AM - 11:20 AM ET

Panel: Data Center Innovations

Moderator: Peter Cresse – Entropy, Inc.

Speaker: Jason Eichenholz – Relativity Networks

Speaker: Augustin Marty – IQGeo

Speaker: Brent Legg – Connected Nation / IXP.us

Speaker: Ryan Punt – SDN Communications

HDC Edge

11:20 AM - 11:45 AM ET

The Future of Fiber Infrastructure in the AI Era

Speaker: Michael Dargue (he/him/his) – Cartesian

11:45 AM - 11:50 AM ET

Closing Remarks

Host: Evann Freeman (he/him/his) – EPB

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Broadband Policy Upload: Sustainable, Scalable Policy

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Broadband Policy Upload: Sustainable, Scalable Policy

10:00 AM - 10:05 AM ET

Welcome

Host: Marissa Mitrovich (she/her/hers) – FBA

Policy

10:05 AM - 10:30 AM ET

Keynote: Hyperscale Data Center Impact on Broadband Infrastructure Policy

Moderator: Tinae Bluitt – FBA

Keynote Speaker: Dan Diorio – Data Center Coalition

Policy

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM ET

Fireside Chat: Autonomous Vehicles and the Information Super Highway

Moderator: Lukas Pietrzak – FBA

Panelist: Alex Poirot – beep, inc.

Policy

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM ET

Panel: Policy Imperatives Impacting Telehealth, Precision Ag, and Aging

Moderator: David Avery – Uniti

Panelist: Autumn Lankford Higgins – American Farm Bureau Federation

Panelist: Sara Raza – University of Washington School of Law

Panelist: Ramsey Alwin – National Council on Aging

Policy

11:30 AM - 11:55 AM ET

Fireide Chat: Cybersecurity's New Frontier As New Communities are Connected

Moderator: Jeanne Le Delaizir – FBA

Panelist: Sascha Meinrath, Ph.D. – Penn State University

Policy

11:55 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Host: Marissa Mitrovich (she/her/hers) – FBA

Policy

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET
Market Focus: How Fiber Fits in Funding Valuations

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET

Market Focus: How Fiber Fits in Funding Valuations _{(not open to the public)}

Moderator: Jim Stegeman (he/him/his) – CostQuest

Panelist: Jon Wilkins – Quadra Partners

Panelist: Danny Fuchs – HR&A Advisors

Executive Experience

1:00 PM - 4:55 PM ET
General Session: Momentum and Scale

1:00 PM - 1:05 PM ET

Welcome to Fiber Connect Day 2

Speaker: Gary Bolton – FBA

1:05 PM - 1:20 PM ET

Chairwomans Remarks

Speaker: Ash Brown – Adtran

1:20 PM - 1:25 PM ET

Keynote Introduction (Platinum Sponsor)

1:25 PM - 1:50 PM ET

Keynote 2

1:50 PM - 2:20 PM ET

Panel: Fast and Furious: Accelerating Network Deployments

Moderator: Scott Jackson – Graybar

Speaker: Bob Whitman – Corning Optical Communications

Speaker: Bo Gresham – DYCOM

Speaker: Tommy Taylor – Buckeye Broadband

Speaker: Scott Layman – mStreet Fiber

2:20 PM - 2:40 PM ET

Operator Light Talk

2:40 PM - 3:10 PM ET

Panel: Groundhog Day: Managing Network Expansion and Established Network Footprints

Moderator: Kathryn de Wit (she/her/hers) – The Pew Charitable Trusts

Speaker: Michael Berry – Foam Internet

Speaker: Loren Rapp – Sumitomo Electric Lightwave

Speaker: Seth Arndorfer – Dakota Carrier Network

Speaker: David Eckard – Nokia

3:10 PM - 3:30 PM ET

Operator Light Talk

Speaker: Allyson Mitchell – Mohawk Networks

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM ET

Live Fiber for Breakfast

Moderator: Gary Bolton – FBA

Speaker: Josh Kim – Starfront Observatories

4:00 PM - 4:20 PM ET

Operator Light Talk

Speaker: Scott R. Hendrix (he/him/his) – Tombigbee Fiber

4:20 PM - 4:50 PM ET

Fiber Family Feud Finals

4:50 PM - 4:55 PM ET

Closing Remarks

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET
Precision Agriculture: Seeding Broadband Futures

3:00 PM - 3:05 PM ET

Welcome

Host: Quinn Jordan

Precision Agriculture

3:05 PM - 3:25 PM ET

Sponsor Keynote

Precision Agriculture

3:25 PM - 3:55 PM ET

Fireside Chat

Moderator: Curtis Dean (he/him/his) – Community Broadband Action Network

Panelist: John Greene – USDA Rural Development

Precision Agriculture

3:55 PM - 4:30 PM ET

Fiber to the Last Acre – Providing Farms with a High-Capacity Edge

Moderator: Pete Pizzutillo – VETRO

Panelist: Josh Etheridge – EPC

Panelist: Chris Crowe – t3 Broadband

Panelist: Luiz Fuschini – Nedia Fiber

Precision Agriculture

4:30 PM - 4:55 PM ET

Fireside Chat

Panelist: Autumn Lankford Higgins – American Farm Bureau Federation

Precision Agriculture

4:55 PM - 5:00 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Host: Quinn Jordan

Precision Agriculture

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET
Tribal Meet Up

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET

Tribal Meet Up

Wednesday, May 20, 2026
8:00 AM - 11:55 AM ET
General Session: AI and the Emerging Tech Infrastructure Summit

8:00 AM - 8:05 AM ET

Welcome to Fiber Connect Day 3

8:05 AM - 8:35 AM ET

Keynote 3

Speaker: Michio Kaku

8:35 AM - 8:50 AM ET

Keynote Fireside Chat with Dr. Kaku

8:50 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Panel: Interconnect Insights on the Photonics Enabling AI Factory Scale and Multi-Data Center Future

Moderator: James Kelly – Open Compute Project Foundation

Panelist: Sherwin Cabatic – NTT Devices America

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM ET

Fireside Chat: TBD

Panelist: Scott Charter – Oracle

10:00 AM - 10:40 AM ET

Panel: Reading Player One: Capacity and Energy Requirements to Scale AI

Moderator: Brian Washburn – Omdia

Panelist: Sachin Gupta – Centranet

Panelist: Sean Baillie – Fidium Fiber

Panelist: Joshua Turiano – Blue Stream Fiber

10:40 AM - 11:10 AM ET

Fireside Chat: TBD

Moderator: Geno Flori – Lumen

11:10 AM - 11:45 AM ET

Panel: To Infinity and Beyond: AI, Quantum, and Telecom

Moderator: Gary Bolton – FBA

Panelist: Eric Adolphe – Forward Edge-AI

11:45 AM - 11:50 AM ET

Closing Remarks

Speaker: Jessica Koch – CBSOregon