Coming: Broadband Communities Summit 2022

As states and local governments look to leverage the flood of federal funds for the creation of ubiquitous high speed Internet access, an upcoming conference promises to be packed with practical insights from leading broadband experts on how to maximize the moment.

The Broadband Communities Summit 2022, which will once again be held in Houston, Texas at the downtown Marriott Marquis from May 2nd through May 5th, is an annual four-day event. Expected to draw over 1,200 participants, this year’s theme will be “Fiber: The Lifeblood of the New Economy.” It will be organized around a multitrack agenda, numerous workshops, and showcase an exhibit hall with dozens of vendors – all of which provides attendees with valuable networking opportunities with broadband systems operators.

The agenda will offer a variety of key features, including:

  • Expanded program addressing the booming multifamily housing segment 
  • Exclusive closed-door sharing session in owners' forums 
  • Insight into evolving business models 
  • Special hot topic clusters grouped around central themes, including financing opportunities and partnership models 
  • Expert advice and strategies for using broadband to create jobs and attract and keep businesses 
  • Legal strategies symposium

The opening day of the summit kicks off with several workshops, including a Broadband Breakfast mini-conference that focuses on both private and public financing; a workshop on the “flavors of open access (networks)” moderated by our own Christopher Mitchell and UTOPIA Fiber’s Chief Marketing Officer Kim McKinley; and a workshop on how the public and private sectors can work together to develop successful broadband partnerships, presented by the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) President Jim Baller, CTC Energy and Technology President Joanne Hovis, Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance Angela Siefer, and Fiber Broadband Association President and CEO Gary Bolton.

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Day 2 of the summit will feature a keynote address from Texas Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher as well as presentations from top representatives of the federal agencies in charge of allocating funds from the Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

After that, the next two days of the summit turns the spotlight to addressing the connectivity needs of residents in multi-family housing, offering numerous workshops on everything from managed Wi-Fi to closing the fiber gap in the small buildings market.

See the full agenda here. And you can register for the event here.