Security is the top of mind for business decision-makers as sophisticated cybersecurity attacks can disrupt the entire business. The Futurum Group and Dell collaborated on a survey to better understand the threats that organizations must address and develop better security strategies. Today organizations must prioritize cybersecurity investment to prevent business disruption and protect business outcomes. As such, strengthening the overall security posture requires organizations to give fiber technology and capabilities topmost consideration since they deliver robust and unique security capabilities and benefits to any organization.

Guest Presenter: Ron Westfall, Research Director, The Futurum Group

While much of the attention of the industry is on the BEAD program, the NTIA has already allocated $930 million of the Middle Mile Infrastructure fund, and construction on these Middle Mile Networks will be beginning soon. But what, specifically, do we mean by the Middle Mile Network. This session of Fiber for Breakfast examines the Middle Mile Network from its definition to practical aspects of connecting broadband access networks to the Internet.

We will survey:

• The NTIA’s definition of Middle Mile Infrastructure,
• The common understanding of Middle Mile Networks as the connection between access networks and the Internet,
• The requirements that Middle Mile Networks must meet,
• How the introduction of IP functionality into access networks affects Middle Mile Networks, and
• How the introduction of 100 Mb/s capacity for all lines served by a central office causes the data traffic aggregated onto the Middle Mile Network to mushroom into terabits/sec of traffic.

As access networks are transformed to provide the requisite capacity to meet federal requirements, the Middle Mile Networks will need to be transformed, too.

Guest Presenter: Rick Talbot, Principal Analyst, ACG

John Gabriel, Senior Advisor at the Center for Employment Opportunities, will address the deeply rooted biases and misconceptions that often keep those with past criminal records locked out of the workforce. This webinar will provide attendees with a general overview of the criminal legal system, how to incorporate transferable skills earned in nontraditional places of employment into a resume, and how to utilize fair chance hiring principles to build the business case on why hiring people with past convictions is good for business. This session will be interactive, hands-on, and community members will walk away with the knowledge to incorporate into practice.

Guest Presenter: John C Gabriel, Senior Advisor – External Affairs, Center for Employment Opportunities

The U.S. does not rank near the top 10 countries in broadband speeds or availability, so $100B in new U.S. Federal subsidies is set to close the Digital Divide and make broadband ubiquitous to the 20% of homes that need access. A decade-long investment cycle will likely transform the fiber access industry as it competes for capital with new cable, wireless, and satellite technologies. Further, new broadband operators, such as municipalities and electric power co-ops, are joining the frenzy with traditional telco and cable providers. But somehow, 2023 started with a “thud” for some suppliers. What happened? How do investors think about the opportunity for operators and suppliers now?

Guest Presenter: Ryan Koontz, Managing Director, Needham & Co

By 2028 the North American PON equipment market is forecast to reach $6.4bn, a 25% CAGR from 2021. Next-gen PON will support FTTH, enterprise services, xHaul transport, smart city applications, aggregation, and private networks. The diversity of subscriber types and applications are creating new opportunities for the ecosystem, leading to an expanding supply of OLT vendor solutions. This means more choice for North American operators. 25G PON is here today, 50G PON is coming soon, and there are development efforts around 100G and 200G PON. The ecosystem, from component vendors to operators, is focusing on sustainability, and PON is delivering amazing results. This brief presentation will provide an overview of the fiber access equipment and vendor market with a focus on North America.

Presenter: Julie Kunstler, Chief Analyst, Broadband Access Intelligence Service, Omdia – Informa Tech

A nonprofit launched in 2012, US Ignite collaborates with smart communities and research testbeds to drive high-impact solutions to their toughest challenges. Operating like a high-tech startup, our organization delivers timely results by applying technical expertise, stakeholder engagement, and targeted tools. US Ignite works tirelessly to ensure our programs are effective and reach the communities that need them the most.

Local governments need to improve their quality of life and ensure economic development in their communities, particularly during a time of rapid technological change. As a trusted partner, US Ignite brings this entire ecosystem together, successfully pairing financial investment with technical and organizational expertise. Through the public-private partnership (P3) programs we run, US Ignite is a catalyst for communications network advancement, and for innovation in smart city services that are powered by a new generation of technologies.

Presenter: Nick Maynard PhD, Co-founder and CEO, US Ignite

A key ingredient to successfully deploying a high-speed internet or fiber project is to collaborate with local governments. Counties are on the front lines of ensuring their residents receive access to quality, high-speed internet services that will allow residents to thrive. Learn from the National Association of Counties, or NACo, on how counties across the country are mobilizing to deploy high-speed internet to their communities in anticipation of historic infrastructure investment funding in broadband infrastructure and affordability measures. Understand the county and local government’s role in high-speed internet as well – where a local government can serve a variety of roles including policymaker, partner, funder, data aggregator and community convener among other roles.

Webinar Presenter: Seamus Dowdall, Associate Legislative Director for Telecommunications & Technology, National Association of Counties (NACo)

The fiber broadband revolution we are seeing today, building fiber all the way to each home and business, hasn’t happened by accident. It is occurring because of the distinct visions and needs of a wide variety of Internet service providers.

Michael Render with RVA will briefly review the unprecedented North American fiber broadband forecast for the next five years and beyond, and then discuss what is driving about 1,300 entities including small telcos, large telcos, municipalities, municipal utilities, private competitive providers, cable companies, MSOs, rural electric cooperatives, land developers, and tribes…. to all contribute to the fiber movement in their own way. Finally, when applying for government BEAD funding, some of the likely sales arguments of large versus small providers will be highlighted.

Presenter: Michael Render, CEO & Principal Analyst, RVA LLC

As fiber networks progress and fuel our nation’s broadband revolution, the use and acceptance of bend-insensitive fiber, 200-micron fiber, and high-density small-diameter cables enable world-class networks to be deployed.

Greg Williams, Director of Sales for Strategic Accounts of Prysmian, a large-scale global optical fiber and fiber cable manufacturer in North America, operating manufacturing plants in NC, SC, TN, and Mexico, will discuss these three trends taking place in the world of fiber cable and their progression.

Presenter: Greg Williams, Director of Sales, Prysmian Group

The industry is on the cusp of delivering ubiquitous gigabit connectivity to all Americans. It has been repeatedly said that this is a once-in-a-lifetime investment and operators, communities, and state broadband officials are focused on ensuring that the investments made today will pay dividends for future generations. The fiber access network that is currently being deployed is the ideal vehicle to support not just the current requirements of users but meeting any future demands of the next killer application. This talk will explore the fundamental technologies that enable operators to create these future-proof networks by leveraging new advances from our researchers in Bell Labs and from our key technology partners.

Presenter: David Eckard, Vice President of the Broadband Partners, Nokia

Internet Exchanges and peering have been critical components to the Internet ecosystem since the dawn of the Internet. However, many rural broadband operators have little to no knowledge of how Internet Exchanges work and how they may benefit them to reduce costs and improve their subscriber’s experience. This presentation strives to provide rural broadband operators with a high-level understanding of how Internet Exchanges and peering work, how to access them, the economics that drives their value, and what alternatives are available in the market.

Presenter: Offir Schwartz, Founder & CEO, Capcon Networks

Our industry faces a tremendous moment of opportunity to connect the unconnected and deliver access to transformative applications – and fiber networks are at the center of it all. Meeting this moment calls for a new commitment to innovation in the passive optical network in four key areas – the S4 model:

Speed: From broadband networks to the data center, operators must build faster, to stay ahead of surging bandwidth demand and meet required timelines for government-supported projects.

Size: Space is increasingly at a premium, whether in the field, a central office or a spine-to-leaf link inside a data center. Maximizing fiber density is critical.

Simplicity: Skilled labor in the field remains scarce; operators need solutions to help them scale with fewer resources and minimize errors.

Sustainability: Network architects need optical solutions with a reduced carbon footprint to meet their aggressive environmental targets and build a more sustainable world.

O’Day will discuss how delivering the promise of Internet for All will require sustained commitment to innovation in all four S’s from the entire industry ecosystem — operators, standards bodies, installers, and equipment manufacturers. He will also share some of Corning’s newest innovations in each of these areas.

Presenter: Michael O’Day, Chief Technology Officer, Corning Optical Communications