Lighting Up Nashville with Fiber Connect 2025

Preparations are well underway for Fiber Connect 2025, to be held in Nashville, Tenn., on June 1-4, 2025. This year’s event is expected to draw over 5,000 people to the Gaylord Opryland to learn more about the state of today’s fiber industry through its multiple pre-conference workshops, general session keynote presentations, operator Light Talks, afternoon breakout sessions, exhibitors, expo hall theater presentations, and much more, including Hot Wings on stage. 

Fiber Connect Conference Program Director Rich Williams and FBA Board Member and EPB Vice President of Government & Community Relations Evann Freeman provided an initial preview of Fiber Connect 2025 on the December 25, 2024, Fiber for Breakfast podcast, discussing what attendees can expect and hinting at some to-be-announced surprises in the works.

“We’re really excited about the lineup of events,” said Freeman. “The theme of Fiber Connect 2025 this year is ‘Light it Up.’ We’re highlighting lighting up networks throughout our country. This year is an important year with the states getting their BEAD funding and a lot of [network] construction projects already underway will be completed and [others] started.” 

Fiber Connect 2025 will kick off on Sunday, June 1, 2025, with pre-conference workshops including the FBA’s long-running Broadband Starter Toolkit packed full of lessons learned, tips, and tricks for people and organizations just entering the broadband market. Confirmed and newly added pre-conference workshops are the “Brand Economics and How Brand Impacts Fiber” and “AI Impacts on Telecom.”

The Fiber Broadband Toolkit, a long-running favorite of attendees planning to build a fiber network or just getting started, provides a comprehensive view of the fiber deployment process and provides the insights and strategies new network operators need to bring connectivity to their communities. The half-day workshop addresses how to navigate legal and regulatory policies, explore funding options, and launch end-user installations. Industry leaders will demystify the complexities of deployment and share actionable solutions to ensure attendees will be ready to succeed in building the connected future. 

“The goal of [the Brand Economics workshop] is to help operators and vendors and the ecosystem understand the role brand equity and brand knowledge plays as you introduce new service and might be serving people for the first time who’ve never considered broadband,” said Williams. “And understanding how that could affect how your brand is perceived, and how you launch and manage services in those areas.” 

Brand Economics delves into the intersection of branding and financial performance, as industry experts provide actionable insights on establishing your brand in new markets, creating value with high-impact service launches, strengthening partnerships to enhance brand recognition, and how to leverage customer experience to drive success.

Operator Wisdom and Flaming Palates 

Fiber Connect starts in earnest on Monday, with the first operator Light Talks. A total of six operator Light Talks are scheduled during the June 2 to 4 main stage general sessions. Charlene Gavel, President and CEO, SaskTel, leading off the discussions. Other service providers that will take the stage and share their knowledge and insights include CJ Ehrenreich, Vice President of Construction and Customer Operations, Ting Internet; Ron Beerman, Chief Network Officer, Alta Fiber; Suzy Hayes, President and CEO, C Spire; Clayton Dowell, President and CEO, Bristol Tennessee Essential Services; and Jonathan Restivo, Chief Development Officer, Cityside Fiber. 

The discussions will be far from bland, with some executives being put on the spot on the main stage with some scorching food (and likely some milk) involved. 

“Sean Evans, of the ‘Hot Ones’ YouTube series, is going to be hosting a fiber broadband hot seat with two lucky guests,” said Williams. “They’re going to dive deep into issues and challenges associated with building extreme fiber broadband. As guests answer the questions, they’ll be eating increasingly hot wings.”

General session panel discussions include “Bringing Fiber to the Most Remote Locations on Earth,” “Expanding Fiber’s Reach,” “Creating the Ultimate Smart Home,” “Architecting for Growth.” Through this group of main stage presentations, network operators and industry experts will share their experience in overcoming significant deployment challenges and obstacles; discuss fiber’s ability to provide new services, technologies, and applications; explore the Smart Home evolution from home appliances to security systems; and explore the workforce, governmental, and network infrastructures needed to scale when adding millions of rural, suburban, and urban households to fiber networks over the next five years.

Wednesday, June 4, will mark the second State Broadband Summit, a gathering of state broadband officers from around the country who have begun the process of delivering fiber. They are leveraging BEAD funding as well as other federal and state programs to best serve their communities and cities by delivering the best broadband possible. 

The Summit will include panel discussions on how fiber delivers increased economic impact and opportunities by delivering higher household incomes, new job opportunities, and new business development along with higher home prices; the mayors of Charlottsville, Va., Danbury, Conn., and Adams County, Colo., sharing their perspectives on deploying fiber broadband and its impacts on their communities; and a discussion on the many challenges of fiber construction.

Breaking Out Beyond the Main Stage

Numerous information and education sessions will take place at afternoon breakout sessions and on the expo hall floor. Among the breakout highlights are Tuesday’s Broadband Policy Symposium discussing the latest perspectives from Capitol Hill on legislative and policy efforts aimed at closing the digital divide and addressing challenges in unserved and underserved communities.  

Tuesday will also showcase the Overbuilder Toolkit track. As fiber providers will find themselves in competition with established telco and coax incumbents, new operators will have to carefully evaluate their value proposition by offering more than just a fast pipe. Other sessions examine the growing open access network model where multiple service providers share the same physical infrastructure and discuss adoption challenges in crowded markets with multiple high-speed broadband options available. 

On the expo hall, the Smart Home Open House track will highlight how firms are putting broadband and fiber into every part of the residence to ensure the best experience, applications, and services leveraging the full potential of fiber, and the economic advantages fiber brings to households and home values. 

Among the social and networking highlights for this year’s Fiber Connect include the “Backyard BBQ Welcome Reception” on Sunday evening, the second annual Amplify Award Luncheon on Monday, FBA’s Live Karaoke Dive Bar on Monday evening, and the Women in Fiber luncheon on Tuesday. 

“We try to have something for everyone at Fiber Connect,” said Williams. “No matter what your role is, what your level is, whether you’re a veteran or brand new to the industry, you’ll find things tailor-made for you.”