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

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

2:45 PM - 3:15 PM ET

Location: Osceola Ballroom (Ballroom / Level 2)

Moderator(s)

Kathryn de Wit (she/her/hers)

Project Director, Broadband Access Initiative
The Pew Charitable Trusts, District of Columbia, United States

Panelist(s)

Loren Rapp

Senior Product Manager
Sumitomo Electric Lightwave
Seth Arndorfer

CEO
Dakota Carrier Network, North Dakota, United States
David Eckard

Vice President of North American Market Development
Nokia

As operators lean into the largest fiber expansion period in U.S. history, each will be challenged with how it maintains, manages and upgrades existing footprints, while at the same time entering new markets and all the education, permitting, planning, and coordination required to take fiber further. This panel of network operation experts will discuss this challenge and how each is working within its company, or with its customers, to ensure each step is in the right direction.