2018 Broadband Communities Summit April 30 - May 3 In Austin, Texas

Spring is the season for the Broadband Communities Summit. This year, attendees will be able to shake off the cold weather in Austin, Texas from April 30th - May 3rd at the Renaissance Hotel. The theme is FIBER: Putting Your Gigs To Work; online registration is open.

Organizers are still finalizing the agenda as they add interesting content to panels and workshops, but you can view it as it develops here

CLIC On It

Note that on the afternoon of day one, the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) will present a special preconference session. Their experts, including our Christopher Mitchell, will discuss the need for local authority as it relates to local broadband infrastructure. There will also be a discussion that looks into the public-private partnership between Westminster, Maryland, and Ting Internet, an arrangement that reveals shared risk and reward.

We will continue to help members of CLIC and our allies to be as effective as possible in opposing barriers to local Internet choice.  Emphasizing the positive, we will showcase successful local initiatives reflecting the benefits of local control for the community’s economic and broadband future. We will discuss the factual and legal arguments that work best in refuting the new wave of objections to community broadband and public-private partnerships. And we will finish with a deep dive into the experience of a small rural community that furnishes – an excellent example of how the public and private sectors working together can build a great community and an inclusive and advanced workforce. 

Variety

Christopher will be presenting at several other panels, including as part of the Economic Development Track Blue Ribbon Panel, which kicks off the economic development track on Tuesday, May 1st at 3.p.m. central time. 

As with every Broadband Communities Summit, there will be a wide range of topics and guests. Look for discussions on:

  • Electric Cooperatives
  • Open Access
  • IoT
  • MDUs
  • Rural Broadband
  • Healthcare
  • Smart Policies to Encourage Deployment
  • Legal Issues that Affect Broadband Deployment
  • 5G
  • Telecommuting

Many Voices, Many Thoughts

Speakers are still being added to the list, but in addition to Christopher, you can expect to run into some favorites such as:

  • Deb Socia from Next Century Cities
  • Will Aycock from the city of Wilson, North Carolina
  • Joanne Hovis from CTC Technology & Energy
  • Jim Baller from Baller Stokes & Lide, PC
  • Lev Gonick from DigitalC
  • Nicol Turner-Lee from the Brookings Institution

Here’s the list of speakers that continues to grow. Check out the agenda and register for the event. See you there!