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

Mississippi is the 42nd most connected State in the nation. Sally Doty, Director of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi, and Quinn Jordan, Executive Director of the Mississippi Broadband Association, are working to change lives in Mississippi with fiber. Sally and Quinn will share the actions underway to catapult the State from the back of the pack to leaders in connectivity and economic development.

Presenters:
Sally Doty, Director, Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi
Quinn Jordan, Executive Director, Mississippi Broadband Association

Power Utilities built fiber networks early to support the critical services they provide. Join the panel to hear about how utilities have used fiber in the past and their plans to serve their communities in the future. In this Fiber for Breakfast, FBA President and CEO, Gary Bolton, will lead a panel discussion diving into the challenges and opportunities that Power Utilities see during this tumultuous time of broadband growth.

Webinar Panelists:

Pete Hoffswell, Superintendent of Broadband Services, Holland Board of Public Works
Katie Espeseth, Vice President of New Products, EPB
George Stegall, Connectivity Manager, Alabama Power

Traditionally, P3 has been synonymous with public-private partnerships, but when it comes to navigating the complex world of building broadband networks in 2023, Mears Broadband is redefining the term with a new P3 model and philosophy that focuses on people, partnerships, and preparation.

Mears Broadband President Trent Edwards will discuss Mears’ P3 model as it relates to solving key construction issues, including labor shortages, delays, and cost overruns, that new owner operators are facing as they look to build fiber broadband networks.

Presenter: Trent Edwards, President, Mears Broadband Division

Fiber Connect 2023 is all about disruption and the role fiber broadband plays in enabling markets, companies, and communities to evolve, create and alter market dynamics in new and exciting ways. This year, we’ve added six Operator Light Talks where leading network operators will detail how their networks allow customers to shift market paradigms, create opportunity, and underpin customer experience. During The State Broadband Summit, attendees will hear firsthand from broadband officers, state legislators, and county commissioners about their plans to leverage NTIA Bead funds to close the digital divide.

Webinar Presenters:

• Joseph “JJ” Jones, President, On Trac, Inc. and FBA Board Chair
• Rich Williams, Program Director, Fiber Connect Conference