The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) this week announced the agenda for its annual Fiber Connect 2023 (Aug. 20-23) event, to be held August 20-23 at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Per Fiber Broadband Association, who expects Fiber Connect 2023 to be its "largest, most successful event ever," this year’s conference theme is “What Fiber Disrupts Next,” showcasing "how fiber technology is a catalyst for change and fundamental for innovation in diverse markets, including gaming, streaming entertainment, internet of things, precision agriculture, healthcare, machine learning, and augmented reality," as reckoned by FBA.
Joseph Jones “JJ,” Fiber Broadband Association board chair and president at On Trac, Inc., remarked:
“Fiber Connect 2023 is all about disruption and the role fiber broadband plays in enabling markets, companies, and communities to alter dynamics in new ways. Our conference committee has curated a wealth of new content that will be presented by the thought leaders responsible for investing, deploying, and operating the fiber broadband networks that will connect every community and eliminate the digital divide.”
According to a press release, Fiber Connect 2023 will feature over 225 speakers presenting sessions and topics that are top of mind for everyone across the fiber broadband industry, including federal and state broadband policy, fiber deployment best practices, and workforce development. New elements to this year’s agenda include events and talks for Fiber Meet Ups, The C-Suite Forum, The State Broadband Summit at Fiber Connect 2023, and Technology Deep Dives, presented in partnership with The Broadband Forum.
Also new to 2023 are the event's "Operator Light Talks," a series of six 18-minute, Ted Talk-style keynotes presented by executives from AT&T, epb, Frontier Communications, Google Fiber, Lumos Fiber, and Ting Internet. These sessions will explore how these operators are leveraging fiber networks to create market disruption, including advances in Quantum computing, digital equity, 5G, community engagement, and customer experience.
Keynote details
Fiber Connect 2023 general sessions and keynotes will be presented on Monday and Tuesday of the event, covering some of the most important issues the fiber broadband industry is currently facing. The thought leaders that will present these sessions include the following:
- Federal, Policy & Regulatory executives from U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Treasury, USDA Rural Development, and the White House Council on Native American Affairs at the Department of the Interior.
- State Broadband and Legislature representatives from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, ConnectLA, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, Kansas Department of Commerce, and Missouri House of Representatives.
- Executives from operators and local service providers, including Accord, Centranet, epb, Lumos Networks, New Lisbon Holdings, and Ting Internet.
- Industry experts from Broadband Money, Mattey Consulting, MyTRA Consulting, NATE, Needham & Company, Pew Charitable Trusts, and RVA LLC Market Research and Consulting.
- Technology providers, including Adtran, AFL, Calix, DZS, Nokia, and Plume.
Fiber Connect 2023 will also host five pre-conference workshops on Sunday, August 20, to explore emerging topics impacting the industry or topics that are new to the Fiber Connect event, including Fiber Broadband Toolkit, The Ecology of Fiber Broadband, Tower Talks, and Community Broadband.
Meanwhile, a total of 42 breakout sessions, which focus on market drivers and opportunities, will be divided into seven tracks. New content this year includes tracks focused on marketing tactics, fiber financials, in-home experience, 5G and fiber, supply chain and manufacturing, and a track curated by Cablefax and ACA Connects designed to discuss the role of fiber broadband in cable operators’ future plans.
Finally, as previously noted at CI&M, the Fiber Broadband Association's Proof of Concept demonstrations will return to Fiber Connect 2023, as well as the FBA OpTIC Path Train the Trainer program.
Gary Bolton, president and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association, commented:
“Fiber Connect 2022 was the largest event in our association’s history, and we already know our 2023 event will surpass the success we saw last year. We have a bigger exhibition hall, expect more than 4,000 attendees, and have added several new programs to the agenda. Our future is 100% technology dependent and the choice states and communities make as they evaluate the right infrastructure to take their community forward will have a generational impact. During Fiber Connect 2023, we will explore fiber’s unique ability to close the digital equity gap and showcase fiber’s unmatched ability to deliver innovation, create disruption, and so much more.”
Register for Fiber Connect 2023.
The following recent episode of FBA's "Fiber for Breakfast" video series investigates how fiber to the home (FTTH) technology is impacting the lives of those in low income and minority categories, in terms of education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and job quality. The session also examines ways fiber outlay is helping to lower U.S. carbon emissions, while enabling new migration trends to more rural areas and improving personal productivity.For more news, projects, and profiles in the ICT cabling and connectivity sphere, subscribe to the CI&M newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.