Be sure to check back after the event to find presentation slides and recordings.
Legend
| Multifamily Track | Digital Infrastructure Investment |
| Editor’s Choice Track | CLIC Program |
| Economic Development Track | Break |
| Rural Broadband Track |
September 22-24, 2020
Virtual on the vFair platform
Summit 2020 ~ We’re Going Virtual!
September 22-24, 2020
NOTICE: Please beware of shameless scammers sending fake emails stating that Broadband Communities Summit 2020 has been postponed and offering to sell you the list of registered participants. THE ONLY WAY TO GET OUR REGISTRANTS’ NAMES IS FROM US.
* * * * * PLEASE NOTE ALL TIMES ARE CENTRAL TIME (CST) * * * * *
Tuesday, September 22 |
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| 10:00am – 10:10am | Official Welcome and Introduction Panelist: Barbara DeGarmo CEO, Broadband Communities |
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| 10:20am – 11:10am | GENERAL SESSION Hear, here! Our Experts Get Us Up to Speed on Broadband Matters Moderator: Jim Baller – President, Baller Stokes & Lide, PC Panelists: Nicol Turner-Lee – Fellow, Governance Studies, Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution Jon Sallet – Senior Fellow, Benton Institute for Broadband and Society Dr. Christopher Ali, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Media Studies, University of Virginia Lev Gonick – Chief Information Officer, Arizona State University |
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 The Multifamily Program is Presented in Partnership with the NMHC |
 CLIC Super Session On Partnerships: Broadband Partnerships and Federal and State Incentives: A Force Multiplier 11:20am – 3:00pm |
Digital Infrastructure Investment for the 2020s A Broadband Breakfast Mini-Conference at the Broadband Communities Summit |
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| 11:20am – 12:15pm | GENERAL SESSION Great Communities Stunning examples of living the vida broadband in high-speed connected communities. Moderator: Stephen Mayo – President, Inteleconnect Panelists: Cullasaja Sid Nurkin – Former President, Cullasaja HOA Ryan Sherby – Business Development, BalsamWest Ten Thousand by Crescent Heights Terry Koosed – President, Bel Air Internet Assembly Yards Eric Pinckney – Project Executive, Commercial Real Estate, Integral |
Session 1: Models for Successful Public-Private and Public-Public Partnerships 11:20am – 12:15pm Broadband partnership is an idea whose time has come. All across the country, there are localities, states, and companies working together innovatively to solve broadband challenges in win-win ways. This includes public-private, public-public, and private-private partnerships of many kinds. In this session, we will explore a range of different models for partnerships, based on practical experience, and learn how to develop the partnership that best meets your community’s needs. Moderator: Jim Baller – President, CLIC Panelists: Dorothy Baunach – CEO, DigitalC, Cleveland Ohio Michele Kohler – Business Development Manager/Network Investment, FACEBOOK, Seattle, WA Scott Shapiro – Consultant to MetroNet, Former Innovations Officer, Lexington, KY Brad Moline – President, Allo Communications |
11:20 am – 1:30 pm Topic 4: Shared Infrastructure and Small Cell Deployments |
| 12:15pm – 1:00pm | Break | ||
| 1:00pm – 2:35pm | GENERAL SESSION Telecom Town Hall Last fall’s NMHC OPTECH Town Hall was a great success, providing a fast-paced and interactive scan of the world of telecom. Continuing the conversation, NMHC is bringing the Town Hall to the Broadband Communities Summit. It will include an update on recent policy actions in Washington, DC, as well as the latest offerings from telecom providers, and will get you up to speed fast and prepare you for the rest of the Summit's MDU content. Hear from the people in the know on the hottest telecom topics, including how the pandemic has shifted resources plus the need for always-on connectivity. Come get the information you need to make your 2020 and 2021 telecom plans. Facilitators: Gail Corder – National Ancillary Services Manager, Fairfield Residential Kevin Donnelly – Vice President, Government Affairs, NMHC Regulatory Update From Washington Moderator: Kevin Donnelly – Vice President, Government Affairs, NMHC Panelist: Matt Ames – Attorney, Hubacher, Ames & Taylor |
Session 2: Identifying and Selecting your Partner 1:00pm – 2:00pm One of the critical elements of a partnership strategy is a process to identify and select the right partners. This session will answer such questions as: How should you go about this? What kinds of process can help to identify companies that will work with you to meet your goals? And what kinds of characteristics should you seek – or avoid? Moderator: Catharine Rice – Project Director, CLIC Panelists: Monica Webb – Director of Market Development, Ting Internet, Ontario, CN Ben Moncrief – Sr. VP – Strategic Relations, C-Spire David Finn – Director of Corporate Development, Google Fiber, Seattle, WA Bryon Horn – Chief Information Officer, Information Services Department, City of Fresno, California |
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| Telecom Provider Update #1 on COVID’s Impact, Innovation & Speed A look at providers' ways of grappling with COVID's impact on multifamily owners and residents who have found their homes turned into round-the-clock offices, schools and entertainment hubs. Moderator: Linda Willey – Director of Ancillary Services, Camden Panelists: Melissa Morales – Vice President of Operations, Boingo Wireless Matt Wootton – General Manager – ACC, AT&T Katelyn Buckley – Director of MDU Sales, Verizon Enhanced Communities Trends in 21st Century Telecom A lightning-round preview of the many exciting new trends that will be covered more extensively at the Summit. Moderator: Steve Sadler – Director, Multifamily Development, RealPage, Inc. Panelists: Tom Stender – President, InfiniSys Henry Pye – Vice President, Residential Technology Services, RealPage, Inc. Ian Davis – Telecommunications Attorney: Founding Partner, Davis Craig, PLLC |
Session 3: Broadband P3s and Federal and State Incentives: A Force Multiplier 2:00pm – 3:00pm New sources of state and federal broadband funding also create new opportunities for public/private and other partnerships. For example, a community can collaborate with a private broadband ISP to apply for state and federal grant funds, enabling the community to share with the state and federal governments – and the private sector – the considerable cost of solving its broadband challenges. The current environment of new, robust broadband funding creates new opportunity for such collaboration in a range of communities. In this session, some of the architects of successful partnerships will share their strategies, lessons learned, and guidance for other communities. Moderator: Joanne Hovis – CEO, CLIC Panelists: Kenrick Gordon – Director, Governor’s Office of Rural Broadband, State of Maryland Charlotte Bewersdorff – Vice President, Community Engagement, MERIT Network Lisa Youngers – Executive Director, Fiber Broadband Association Darrell Maynard – CEO, Eastern Telephone & Technologies |
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| Telecom Provider Update #2 on Future Proofing & COVID’s Impact A look at the takeaways of COVID's lessons when it comes to future proofing properties. Moderator: Cheryl Jordan – Sr. Director Telecommunications, Operations & Investment Services, AvalonBay Communities, Inc. Panelists: Vickie Rodgers – Vice President, MDU & New Build Strategy and Operations, Cox Communications Dave Spence – Senior Director, XFINITY Communities Sarah Jordan – Director Consumer Sales, CenturyLink Chris Pitts – Director MDU Sales Operations, Spectrum Community Solutions A Look Ahead to OPTECH Panelist: Racquel Madlala – Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing, NMHC Telecom Provider Update #3 on Disruption in Telecom & COVID’s Role Even in the pre-COVID world, the "disruptive" providers – smaller, independent and wireless providers – were increasingly key to helping families, especially in rural and low-income communities, gain access to the internet. Here's a look at how disrupters have responded to the added challenge of the pandemic. Moderator: Julianne Goodfellow – Senior Director, Government Affairs, NMHC Panelists: Virginia Lam Abrams – Sr. Vice President, External Affairs and Strategic Advancement, Starry Erik Spring – Senior Director, Multifamily, WaveG Dan Terheggen – CEO, Consolidated Smart Systems Closing: Gail Corder – National Ancillary Services Manager, Fairfield Residential |
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| 2:40pm – 3:30pm |
GENERAL SESSION
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| 3:40pm – 4:30pm | GENERAL SESSION Roadmap to Creating a Gigabit City City Utilities of Springfield, Mo., has laid the foundation for residents and businesses to truly benefit from living in a gigabit city. With an investment of $120 million, 113,000 households will be connected to high-speed broadband services through the selection and lease of excess fiber to qualified internet service providers. Project leaders whose forward-thinking collaboration across planning, design, engineering and construction significantly raised the potential of success will be on hand to give specifics and to answer questions so you can follow their path to your own gigabit community. Moderator: Heather Burnett Gold – CEO, HBG Strategies Panelists: Jeff Bertholdi – Director, SpringNet Patrick Thibeault – CTO & Sr. Vice President, The Broadband Group Sam Pratt – CEO, Render Networks Matt Brungardt – Principal, BHC Rhodes Paul Sulisz – CEO, Biarri Networks |
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Wednesday, September 23 |
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| MULTIFAMILY TRACK |
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRACK |
EDITOR'S CHOICE TRACK |
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| 10:00am – 10:50am | Supporting Infrastructure A discussion with some of the major providers of high-speed Internet and video services on how owners/developers can better prepare their properties for 21st century telecom/data services. Topics include services being delivered, what infrastructure they require, and what owners need to know and prepare for, all looked at through the lens of both retail and bulk services. Moderator: Tom Stender – President, InfiniSys Panelists: Michael Mancini – Director, Sales Engineering, XFINITY Communities Jeff Johnson – Director of Consumer Sales, CenturyLink Eric Small – Vice President, AT&T Fiber Build Jeff McElhiney – Student Housing Technology Manager, Peak Campus |
Regional and State Broadband Initiatives Many states have taken action to speed deployment of broadband to unserved and underserved communities through programs that include financial incentives, legislative initiatives, partnerships with utilities, and other creative tools. This panel will include experts from the field reporting on the successes (and the challenges) of these state programs. Moderator: Elin Katz – Managing Director, Utilities & Associate General Counsel, Tilson Technology Management State Panelists: Anna Read – Officer, Broadband Research Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts Ben Blink – Policy Advisor, Transportation & Technology Innovation, Office of Governor Doug Ducey, State of Arizona Regional Panelists: Jory Wolf – Vice President of Digital Innovation, Magellan Advisors John Leary – Information Technology Manager, Westfield Gas + Electric |
Future View: The Next Wave of Fiber/5G Applications to Make Your Jaw Drop While fiber networks prepare to handle more streaming, gaming, telehealth, and other exciting applications, developers and providers are working hard to unveil the next wave of future applications that will revolutionize just about every internet-enabled device, especially mobile. And who better to reveal what’s being developed than a senior solutions architect at Amazon Web Services? Get ahead of the curve at this fascinating, future-focused conversation. Moderator: Bob Knight – Executive Vice President & COO, Harrison Edwards Panelist: Jonathan Solomon – Sr. Partner Solutions Architect, Telecommunicators, Media & Entertainment, Amazon Web Services |
| 11:00am – 11:50am | Smart Apartment / IoT A discussion on implementing smart apartment and IoT solutions from the basics of self-managed solutions to more extensive third party managed solutions and covering a wide variety of Internet connected devices both in the unit and throughout the building. Moderator: Henry Pye – Vice President, Residential Technology Services, RealPage, Inc. Panelists: Mitch Karren – Chief Product Officer, SmartRent Ryan Buchert – CTO, STRATIS IoT, Inc. & BuLogics, Inc. |
Transforming Telehealth The COVID-19 crisis has caused telehealth visits to skyrocket over the past 6 months. It is no longer enough for telehealth networks to connect hospitals and clinics – consumers need telehealth connections at home as well. This raises the question whether our nation's telehealth networks are capable of handling this extraordinary surge in demand. President Trump issued an Executive Order on August 3 directing the government to improve the physical telehealth networks to address rural Americans' health needs during this crisis. These panelists will discuss how they are using broadband networks to implement successful remote and interactive healthcare solutions and what measures the government should take to promote telemedicine in both urban and rural markets. Moderator/Panelist: John Windhausen – Executive Director, Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition Panelists: Dr. Robert Wack, MD – Chief Medical Information Officer, Medical Director, Continuum of Care, Frederick (MD) Health; City Council President, Westminster, MD Matt McCullough – Associate Director, Utah Education & Telehealth Network Roberta Levy Schwartz, Ph.D., FACHE – Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, Houston Methodist Hospital |
RURAL BROADBAND TRACK Connecting the Middle Mile & Last Mile The interconnect between middle mile and last mile networks has become increasingly important in recent years, as last mile networks expand into rural America. Come review progress as the panel provide examples and optimal strategies for the middle mile – last mile interconnect. Moderator: Essam El-Beik – Consultant, Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology Panelists: Mark Wagner – CEO, ThinkBig Networks Dennis Kyle – Sr. VP, Zayo Greg Green – CEO, Fatbeam |
| 12:00pm – 12:50pm |  Cornerstone Awards LuncheonSponsored by Verizon Insights from a Tech Disruptor Keynoter: Ted Maulucci – President, SmartOne Solutions |
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| 12:50pm – 1:45pm | Break | ||
| 1:45pm – 2:35pm | Managed Wi-Fi What exactly is managed Wi-Fi? How is it deployed in both a retail and bulk environment? How does it benefit both residents and owners? Have questions? Our experts reveal the answers. Moderator: Steve Sadler – Director, Multifamily Development, RealPage, Inc. Panelists: Matt Paschick – Principal, National WiFi Sandy Jack – Director CRE/MDU, Ruckus/CommScope Melissa Morales – VP of Operations, Boingo Wireless Allen Cory White – CTO, WhiteSky Richard Sherwin – CEO, Spot On Networks, LLC |
The Great Reset: Community-Based Ecosystems in the COVID-19 Era We’ve known that work was changing - but none of us knew how quickly it could transform. In this era of “The Great Reset,” how can broadband-fueled community ecosystems help ensure that there will continue to be widespread access to meaningful, well-paid work? Has the workplace transformed forever? Can rural and urban communities become hubs for remote work? And how can entrepreneurship change the game? In this interactive session, three experts on the changing nature of work and communities will offer insights into programs that are working today to help ensure communities can continue to thrive. Moderator: Deb Socia – President & CEO, The Enterprise Center Panelists: Gary Bolles – Chair for the Future of Work, Singularity University Matt Dunne – Founder and Executive Director, Center on Rural Innovation |
Better Broadband Mapping for Rural America Much of the recent legislative focus on broadband mapping at the FCC and on Capitol Hill has been driven by concerns from constituents in rural areas who are considered "covered," when they are in fact living in a broadband desert. This session will consider recent controversies in broadband mapping, discuss the FCC’s Digital Opportunity Data Collection Report, and examine what particular communities are doing to map out broadband. Moderator: Drew Clark – Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast Panelists: Jack Lynch – Director of State Engagements, Education SuperHighway Glenn Fishbine – Chief Technology Officer, GEO Partners, LLC |
| 2:45pm – 3:35pm | MDU Legal Leaders 2:45pm – 4:15pm The top lawyers representing both MDU owners and providers will engage one another in spirited debate on both sides of key industry issues. Moderator: Linda Willey – Director of Ancillary Services, Camden Panelists: Sue Weiske – Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Charter Communications Ian Davis – Telecommunications Attorney: Founding Partner, Davis Craig, PLLC Art Hubacher – Managing Member, Hubacher Ames and Taylor, PLLC Dan Glivar – Partner, Holland and Hart LLP Jarius Treadway – Senior Attorney, CenturyLink Gregory Remus – Attorney, Verizon Enhanced Communities Lauren Brown – Assistant General Counsel, Comcast Cable |
More Muni Broadband Unfamiliar Success Stories This panel features municipal fiber networks that arrived at the retail-service-model using different methods and assets. Some were incremental, some had other muni utilities, and they used different strategies with contracted help. We'll talk about what worked, what didn't, and why these networks have been important and valuable investments for their communities. Moderator: Christopher Mitchell – Director, Community Broadband Networks, Institute for Local Self-Reliance Panelists: David Williams – Technology Services Director, Ponca City, OK Carole Monroe – Chair of the Board, Community Outreach, ValleyNet, Inc. Dwight W. Thomas, Jr. – Director, Broadband & IT Services, City of Mont Belvieu-MB Link Broadband Nathan Watkins – City Manager, City of Mont Belvieu |
Rural Success Stories What kind of a difference does broadband make when deployed in rural America? This session will explore numerous "success stories," and will examine what these rural communities have been able to do with their improved broadband. Come learn from them what you can do to enhance broadband adoption in your community. Moderator: Bill Gerski – Senior Vice President, Business Development, Tri-Co Connections Panelists: Paul Breakman – Vice President, Cooperative Business Solutions, Business & Technology Strategies, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Joseph Franell – President, Blue Mountain Networks & Eastern Oregon Telecom |
Thursday, September 24 |
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| MULTIFAMILY TRACK |
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRACK |
EDITOR'S CHOICE TRACK |
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| 10:00am – 10:50am | How MDU Owners and Service Providers Can Work With Consultants A growing proportion of business is conducted with a consultant or advisor representing the MDU. There are many new consulting groups in our market today, and they are attracting apartment owners and condos to have them manage their decision making. The question is, how can providers and MDU owners work effectively with consultants? How are they helping the industry? How can we win more share of this business? What are expectations, due diligence requirements, engineering needs, etc. to win these opportunities? Moderator: Bryan Rader – President, Upstream Network Panelists: Leo Delgado – President, Converged Services, Inc. Ken Crawford – CEO, MDU Consulting Group, LLC. Dick Price – CEO, Broadband Planning Dean Wolfe – Vice President of Technology and Vendor Relations, Choice Property Resources, Inc. |
The ‘Sausage Making’ of Fiber Financing – How it Really Works Consultants often say finding financing is the hardest step for any fiber project. Our panelists have made it through the financing process and are ready to share the stuff they went through in the “sausage making” process – including partnerships, property taxes and a mix of methods used to finance a coalition of multiple municipalities. Moderator: Doug Dawson – President, CCG Consulting Panelists: Chris Townson – CEO, DTC, Tennessee Ben Fineman – President & Co-Founder, Michigan Broadband Cooperative Leslie Nulty – CFO, Mansfield Community Fiber, Inc. |
Build Your Network as an Open and Automated Platform for Future Providers, Services and Revenue Fast internet is just one of a multitude of services that can be delivered on your fiber infrastructure. By building your network from the start with the ability to virtually slice every fiber for specific services and for specific providers – while also being able to price those slices separately – it will be possible to deliver all the services of the future on one shared infrastructure. Yes, this introduces a whole new level of complexity. And, yes, automation is crucial. But it is already being done today, and we’ll show you how! Moderator: Isak Finer – Chief Marketing Officer, COS Systems Panelists: Mircea Ciocan – Business Development Manager, Nokia Anthony Bednarczyk – Broadband Practice Leader, Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. Chris Walker – Telecommunications Director, NoaNet Jerrald Rector – Vice President, A2D |
| 11:00am – 11:50am | Bulk 101 for New Builds and Existing Community Conversions An insight into bulk agreements: information on benefits and challenges, operational considerations such as billing, how to convert an existing community with choice, and marketing. Moderator: Linda Willey – Director of Ancillary Services, Camden Presenter: Josh Lunsford – Director of Strategy, Multi-Family & New Build, Cox Communities Dave Spence – Senior Director, XFINITY Communities Lynn Dodson – Vice President, Sales, Spectrum Community Solutions |
Who Will Connect America’s Broadband? In this session, attendees will hear about the unique role that electric utilities will play in connecting consumers to broadband, particularly in those areas where incumbents do not believe their investments would be justified. This includes both rural communities and municipalities who are striving to ensure that their citizens are afforded the same level of internet services as their urban/suburban peers. We will review some of the challenges and some of the unique opportunities afforded by already possessing a wire to every premise. Moderator: Heather Gold – President & CEO, HBG Strategies Panelists: Matt Sayre – Managing Director, Onward Eugene Hank Blackwood – Chief Technology Services Officer, Dalton Utilities Phil Sharps – Manager, Technical Services, Clarksville Connected Utilities Sheryl Riggs – CEO, Utilities Technology Council |
Workshop: Zero Touch Provisioning of True Open Access Networks COS Systems has been automating service provisioning on fiber networks in Europe since 2008. In this workshop you will get to experience how this works and meet the engineers who made it possible. COS Systems is now introducing this functionality in North America in partnership with Nokia and you will also learn about their end-to-end electronics platform and architecture strategies for automated networks open to multiple service providers. Panelists: Isak Finer – Chief Marketing Officer, COS Systems Scott Lemke – Solutions Architect, Nokia Mircea Ciocan – Direct of Business Development, Nokia |
| 11:50am – 12:30pm | Break | ||
| 12:30pm – 1:20pm | 5G: What it Means to Us 5G is still such a great unknown. Come hear from high level presenters on what to expect and how to prepare. Moderator: Mike Smith – President, White Space Building Technology Advisors Panelists: Richard Sherwin – CEO, Spot On Networks, LLC Eric Fichtner – COO, Symphony Technologies Mike Weston – Executive Director, Verizon Enhanced Communities Mike Bonewitz – Chief Technology Officer, GigaMonster Lewis Roberts – Executive Director Product Strategy & Architecture, Cox Communications, Inc. |
Key Legal Issues Affecting Community Broadband Initiatives Our community broadband legal experts will provide an update and overview of the key legal and regulatory issues affecting community broadband projects, including the latest developments at Congress, the FCC, and in the states, federal broadband program compliance matters, practical issues involving the network owner and service provider relationship, and access to rights-of-way and poles by broadband providers. The session will conclude with an interactive discussion, with attendees invited to ask additional questions and share information with fellow participants. Panelists: Sean Stokes – Principal, Baller Stokes & Lide, PC Casey Lide – Principal, Baller Stokes & Lide, PC Nancy Werner – General Counsel, National Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors |
Marketing and Community Outreach: 30 Ideas in 30 Minutes Marketing matters and you'll get great advice from two of the savviest people in the broadband industry. They'll be dishing out practical, real-world suggestions for those starting and running fiber-broadband networks. Moderator/Panelist: Bob Knight – Executive Vice President & COO, Harrison Edwards Panelist: Kim McKinley – Chief Marketing Officer, Utopia Fiber |
| 1:30pm – 2:20pm | Sustainability, Building Management Systems Interested in operation savings your owners will really care about? Then get interested in – and informed about – building management systems. When it comes to managing a property for efficiency, comfort and longevity, a BMS works for multifamily as well as commercial buildings. Come find out more about these systems – and if one will work for you. Moderator: Mary Nitschke – Vice President of Sustainability, RealPage Panelists: Abhay Ambati – Senior VP of Technology Services, Logical Buildings James Walton – Vice President of Technology, ENTOUCH |
RURAL BROADBAND TRACK Apps for Rural America: Putting Better Broadband to Better Uses Broadband matters not because of the "feeds and speeds," but because of the uses to which it is put. These include telehealth, education, senior connected living and telecommuting. What do these apps mean for rural America? Do they work? Are there legislative, policy or business insurance hurdles to overcome as they are used more and more in rural areas? These are just a few of the questions, come hear the answers. Moderator: Drew Clark – Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast Panelists: Eric Ogle – General Manager, Trilight Virgil Turner – Regional Broadband Project Director,Region 10 League for Economic Assistance & Planning, Inc., City of Montrose, CO Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. – Executive Officer and Founder, Eduity, LLC; Senior Consultant, Magellan Advisors, LLC |
EDITOR'S CHOICE TRACK FTTP vs. Fixed Wireless vs. Hybrid Fiber/Fixed Wireless Sponsored by FINLEY Engineering There's more than one way to get connected, and if you're looking for advice on what's the best way for your community, this is the place. Straight from the front lines of getting us connected, our panelists weigh the pros of the technologies they champion and note the cons of the rest – all moderated by a researcher who's been conducting consumer broadband surveys for years and can share what users say. Moderator: Michael Render – Founder, RVA LLC Panelists: Nathan Stooke – CEO, Wisper Internet; Chairmen of the Board, WISPA Michael McGannon – Vice President, Wireless Engineering, Engineering Associates, LLC Carroll Faulkner – President and CEO, Digital Fields Brett Glass – Owner and Founder, Lariat |