According to the Michigan High Speed Internet Office, as of 2023, 730,000 Michigan households face barriers related to affordability, adoption, device access, digital literacy, or a combination thereof. Taken together, this means that approximately 30 percent of Michigan households struggle with some form of the digital divide. Michigan’s digital equity strategy recognizes a fundamental complexity: no single organization can comprehensively address regional digital empowerment needs, and that success can only be achieved through collaboration. Jon Willow, co-founder of the Community Broadband Action Network (CBAN) has closely observed these challenges faced by diverse Michigan community-based entities. She has applied her deep expertise in coalition research and project management and obtained a fellowship at Michigan State University (MSU) to investigate AI’s role in enhancing community-based coalition effectiveness in solving Michigan’s digital divide. During this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Jon joins FBA CEO Gary Bolton to discuss the methodologies and insights of her newly released research report and how the use of AI tools can offer a stronger, connected collaboration across multiple agencies and organizations.

With Special Guest:
• Jon Willow, Co-Founder, Board Chair, Digital Equity Practice Leader, Community Broadband Action Network (CBAN)

Read the full Fiber for Breakfast summary article here!

According to Dell’Oro Group, the Broadband Access and Home Networking market is changing dramatically as firms rapidly introduce new technologies to enable next-generation services. In their latest press release from January 2025, broadband equipment spending is expected to peak at $19.2B in 2028 driven by ongoing DOCSIS 4.0 and rural broadband expansions.
During this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Jeff Heynen, Vice President Dell’Oro Group joins President and CEO Gary Bolton to discuss the latest research on the PON and Cable Broadband markets, focused on where 2024 finished and where the North American broadband industry is headed in 2025 and beyond. Jeff will cover GPON, XGS-PON, 25G-PON, as well as where cable operators stand with DOCSIS 4.0, next-generation amplifier, and Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) deployments.

Presented by:

Jeff Heynen, Vice President, Broadband Access and Home Networking Dell’Oro Group

Read the full Fiber for Breakfast summary article here!

In January 2025, Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order establishing the Digital Infrastructure Group (DIG). This interagency partnership is designed to enhance collaboration among Maryland State and county entities to streamline the coordinated development of broadband infrastructure and drive significant financial efficiencies. The group will further eliminate silos and redundancies by adopting a shared broadband infrastructure model, the first of its kind in the nation. Working alongside Maryland’s Department of Information Technology (DoIT), the state will benefit from a centralized planning body that will share resources to accomplish state priorities while also helping the state’s infrastructure reach last-mile underserved areas like the Eastern Shore that have historically had low internet coverage. During this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Eric Bathras, DoIT’s Chief Technology Officer for Infrastructure joins FBA CEO Gary Bolton to discuss what Maryland is doing to help educate other states and private service providers on how to partner, organize, plan and deliver around middle and last mile broadband and digital infrastructure expansion.

With Special Guest:

Eric Bathras, Chief Technology Officer, Maryland Department of Information Technology

Read the full Fiber for Breakfast summary article here!

The Utilities Technology Council (UTC) is a global association focused on the intersection of telecommunications and utility infrastructure. Many of the goals of UTC and its members are similar to those of FBA and its members. With UTC and FBA working together, we can help our members improve their businesses and communities through the effective use of telecommunications and technology systems.

On this week’s episode for Fiber for Breakfast, Gary welcomes Rusty Williams, President and CEO of Utilities Technology Council, to discuss UTC and the benefits of partnering with FBA.

With Special Guest:

Rusty Williams, President and CEO, Utilities Technology Council

Read the full Fiber for Breakfast summary article here!

Hawaiian Telcom currently operates a market-leading fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network, offering the state’s fastest internet speeds of up to 3 Gigabits per second (Gbps) symmetrical (both upload and download). This network already reaches over 400,000 homes and businesses, representing 60% of the state, with plans to connect the remaining 40% by the end of 2026.

In collaboration with federal, state, and county leaders, Hawaiian Telcom announced a historic initiative to position Hawai‘i as the first fully-fiber enabled state in the nation by 2026. This transformative $1.7 billion public and private investment aims to meet the rapidly evolving technology needs of families and businesses across the state, ensuring Hawaiʻi remains at the forefront of broadband innovation.

With Special Guest:

Su Shin, President, Hawaiian Telcom

Read the full Fiber for Breakfast summary article here!

With the acceleration of models, data and applications, AI is enabling fiber networks, fed by huge growth in data centers and the middle mile. During this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Peter Cresse, President at Entropy, Inc., talks with FBA CEO Gary Bolton to discuss Entropy’s latest analysis on how AI is transforming the fiber landscape from data centers, across the fiber network, and into the new AI Fiber Home.

With Special Guest:
• Peter Cresse, President, Entropy, Inc.

Read the full Fiber for Breakfast summary article here!

As the new administration sets its policy agenda, broadband expansion emerges as a critical priority for economic growth, digital equity, and national competitiveness. While fiber broadband remains the gold standard for high-speed, scalable connectivity, the administration is expected to adopt a technology-neutral approach that includes fixed wireless access (FWA), low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and cable network upgrades to quickly and cost-effectively reach underserved communities. Key initiatives focus on expanding rural broadband infrastructure, promoting affordability programs, and fostering competition to drive innovation. But will a diverse mix of broadband solutions be the answer to solving the digital divide?

During this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Ajit Pai, Partner, Searchlight Capital joins FBA CEO Gary Bolton to discuss the possibilities and challenges this new administration faces, how the funding and deployment might roll out and what he sees happening competitively to the fiber broadband landscape.

With Special Guest:

Ajit Pai, Partner, Searchlight Capital

Read the full Fiber for Breakfast summary article here!

Wolfe Research, LLC, the top ranked independent, sell-side equity research firm recently analyzed broadband subscriber growth in 3Q24. Last quarter, industry residential broadband net adds were much better than expected across their cable & telco coverage. After broadband growth fell from 2.5M in ‘22 and ‘23 to under 1.5M (est) for ‘24, do stronger 3Q results signal better broadband growth in ’25? Wolfe does see improvement to 2.0M in ’25 but isn’t extrapolating Q3’s trends as a signal of a return to historical growth rates. Wolfe is cautious about false signals in 3Q relating to household formation, immigration, and adjustments to subscriber reporting relating to ACP. And what about the bigger industry questions relating to saturation, rural expansion, fixed/mobile substitution, FWA, Fiber, and LEO satellites?

During this episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Peter Supino, a Sr. Analyst & Managing Director at Wolfe Research who was highly ranked in Institutional Investor’s 2024 investor poll, joins FBA CEO, Gary Bolton, to discuss the current broadband market, the challenges, and how providers can take advantage of new opportunities.

With Special Guest:

Peter Supino, Senior Analyst & Managing Director, Wolfe Research

This week, Jennifer Kent, Vice President of Research at Parks Associates, joins Fiber for Breakfast to share the latest trends and innovations driving the smart home market. Attendees will learn about emerging trends, the competitive landscape, and how advancements in smart home technology intersect with high-speed connectivity to shape consumer demand. Join this week’s episode to gain valuable insights into opportunities for collaboration and growth as fiber networks become the backbone of next-generation smart home ecosystems.

With Special Guest:

• Jennifer Kent, Vice President, Research, Parks Associates

Achieving universal broadband coverage is only possible with reliable, data driven, and truth tested maps. The Center for Geospatial Information Technology at Virginia Tech and the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development have a years long partnership that has built a model broadband availability map before the national version was published, secured an additional ~$250 million in funding under the BEAD program for Virginia, and fact checked national availability data to help Virginia achieve truly universal coverage under BEAD and beyond.

This week on Fiber for Breakfast, Gary is joined by Chandler Vaughan, Associate Director of the Virginia Office of Broadband, and Brandon Herndon, Director of the Center for Geospatial Information Technology at Virginia Tech, who will discuss this important partnership.

With Special Guests:

• Chandler Vaughan, Associate Director, Virginia Office of Broadband
• Brandon Herndon, Director, Center for Geospatial Information Technology at Virginia Tech

Join Gary Bolton for this week’s episode featuring Annie Stroud, Broadband Director Generation West Virginia. Drawing upon her experience with fiber deployment in West Virginia, Annie will discuss the complexities of deploying broadband in rural areas and, specifically, the challenges related to pole attachment that are delaying broadband expansion in the state. She will share how organizations like Generation WV are helping to close the digital divide by addressing these issues and ensuring that federal and state funding – like the $1.2 billion allocated under the BEAD program -effectively connects unserved communities. The conversation will also touch on innovative approaches, such as state task forces and rapid response mediation teams, to overcome regulatory and logistical barriers, minimize delays, and control costs when connecting rural areas.

With Special Guest:

Annie Stroud, Broadband Program Director, Generation West Virginia

Louisiana’s broadband office understands the first mover advantage. It was the first state to be federally approved for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, first to receive funding from the American Rescue Plan and first in the country in how well the state is executing broadband programs. Its efforts will help ISPs establish broadband networks to 67,000 locations with $176M through the GUMBO grant program; it will connect 140,000 locations with $1.356B from the BEAD program; and it will deliver internet service to more than 175,000 homes and small businesses in rural Louisiana with $342M through the FCC’s RDOF. It is also helping local economies and job markets, with an estimated 5,000 jobs created for construction and maintenance of new broadband networks throughout the state. With 95.4% of its BEAD unserved and underserved locations to be served with fiber broadband projects, the broadband office is ensuring its communities have the capacity to thrive.

This week on Fiber for Breakfast, Gary welcomes Veneeth Iyengar, the Executive Director of Louisiana’s broadband initiative, ConnectLA, who will discuss the state’s broadband efforts and the first mover advantage. You won’t want to miss it.

With Special Guest:

Veneeth Iyengar, Executive Director, ConnectLA