CBC hosts second annual Connected Oklahoma – Rural Broadband Summit
More than 200 guests and speakers from 30 states and Canada attended the Cooperative Broadband Coalition’s second annual Connected Oklahoma – Rural Broadband Summit in Oklahoma City on October 8-9, 2024. The CBC brought together rural network operators, public officials, tribal nations, speakers and vendors to discuss opportunities to better serve broadband in rural areas.
The Oklahoma Broadband Office Executive Director Mike Sanders attended and was among the prestigious group of speakers. “Nineteen out of every 20 unserved and underserved homes in Oklahoma are outside of Oklahoma City and Tulsa,” Sanders said. “Without the hard work of organizations in this room, serving rural Oklahoma would not get done.”
The Oklahoma Broadband Office administers federal grant programs to ensure reliable and affordable, high-speed internet is available to all Oklahomans.
“To date, the governing board has awarded half a billion dollars to service providers to perform the work,” Sanders said. “We have over $750 million dollars that will go out next year.”
In addition to Mike Sanders, attendees heard from Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association; Gigi Sohn, Executive Director of the American Association of Public Broadband; Sarah Bleau, Director of the Middle Mile Program for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; Christopher Ali, Professor of Telecommunications at Penn State; and many others.
Directors of the Arkansas, Virginia, New Mexico and Kansas broadband offices provided updates on how their states are deploying Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding. Some topics discussed included: smart grids and broadband, the Universal Service Fund, middle mile, rural innovation and interagency mapping coordination.
The CBC unites 11 electric cooperatives with fiber subsidiaries in the state of Oklahoma. Collectively, these cooperatives have built more than 22,000 miles of fiber and serve 300,000 Oklahomans in rural areas. This is a significant achievement and investment in the quality of life for rural Oklahoma and the state’s economy. Visit cooperativebroadband.coop for more information.
Agenda
| Tuesday, October 8, 2024 | |
|---|---|
| 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum Group Outing sponsored by Adtran Sign up! |
| 10:00 a.m. - Noon | Vendor Setup |
| Noon - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:00 - 1:05 p.m. | Welcome - Patrick Grace, CBC Chairman |
| 1:05 - 1:45 p.m. | Equity in Bits and Bytes- Closing the Affordability Divide - Edyn Rolls, Taylor Meriwether, Philip Powell, Brian Whitacre, Shapur Izadiyar* |
| 1:45 - 2:25 p.m. | Model for Middle Mile Networks in Rural America - James Tanneberger, Mike Erhart, Matt Fennell, Trey Hall* |
| 2:25 - 2:45 p.m. | Break |
| 2:45 - 3:25 p.m. | X Marks the Spot – Interagency Mapping Coordination - Margaret Gutierrez, Andrew Orosco, Kenneth Akini, Robert Griffin* |
| 3:25 - 4:00 p.m. | Broadband Projects and Environmental and Historical Considerations - Amanda Pereira, Lynda Ozan, Mark Prather* |
| 4:00 - 4:40 p.m. | Impact of Middle Mile Networks in Affordability - Jerry Haver, Rebecca Dilg, Clark Scott*, Justin Forte |
| 4:40 - 4:45 p.m. | Thank You - Juli Orme |
| 4:45 - 6:30 p.m. | Welcome Reception sponsored by Calix |
| * denotes moderator | |
| Wednesday, October 9, 2024 | |
|---|---|
| 7:15 - 8:00 am | Networking Breakfast sponsored by Graybar |
| 8:00 - 8:10 am | Welcome & Introduction - Gary Highley |
| 8:10 - 8:15 am | Diamond Sponsor: Calix |
| 8:15 – 8:45 am | State of Broadband in Oklahoma – Mike Sanders |
| 8:45-9:30 am | Smart Grids and Broadband - Ravindra Singh, Brandon Northcut, Nick Shumaker, Carl Meyerhoefer* |
| 9:30 - 10:00 am | Coffee Break sponsored by Fujitsu |
| 10:00 - 10:45 am | The Future of USF - Mark Argenbright*, Blake Callaham, Shirley Boomfield |
| 10:45 - 11:30 am | BEAD Across States - Lane Bailey, Chandler Vaughan, Drew Lovelace, Joshua Edgar, Bill Valentino* |
| 11:30 - 11:55 am | Life in the Last Mile: Lessons from the Digital Divide - Christopher Ali |
| 11:55 a.m. - Noon | Diamond Sponsor: Ervin Cable Construction LLC |
| Noon - 12:45 pm | Networking Lunch sponsored by Ervin Cable Construction LLC |
| 12:45 - 1:15 pm | Dessert sponsored by CableSouth Construction |
| 1:15 - 1:40 pm | Fireside Chat - Importance of Middle Mile in Connecting Rural America - Sachin Gupta, Sarah Bleau |
| 1:40 - 2:30 pm | Formula for Success: Rural and Community based Operators - Shirley Bloomfield, Gigi Sohn, Christopher Ali*, Cliff Johnson |
| 2:30 - 3:00 pm | Coffee Break sponsored by XKL |
| 3:00 - 3:45 pm | Rural Innovation Engine - Robert Green, David Eckard*, Shane Burgess, Cameron Kilton |
| 3:45 - 4:30 pm | The Hunger Games – Broadband stands between Humankind and Starvation - Anthony Dillard, Brian Arnall, Josh Snow, Neil Mylet, Holly Ruser* |
| 4:30 - 4:35 pm | Closing Remarks - Gary Highley |
| *denotes moderator | |
Speakers
Broadband Funding Analyst
Calix
Tribal Leader
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Executive Director
Oklahoma Broadband Office
CEO
Oklahoma Electric Cooperative and OEC Fiber
Broadband Program Manager
Kansas Office of Broadband Development
Director
Utah Broadband Center
Director of Network Engineering
Centranet
Director of the Public Utility Division and Consumer Services
Oklahoma Corporation Commission
CTO
Nextlink
Director
NRECA Broadband
Professor and Jean & Patsy Neustadt Chair,
Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University
Senior Principal, Distribution Automation
NRECA
CEO
Cookson Hills & CooksonHills Connect
Manager of Engineering
Northern Oklahoma Electric Cooperative and BOLT Fiber
Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications and Professor of Telecommunications,
Bellisario College of Communications, Penn State
VP of Technology
MidSouth Electric Cooperative
CEO
INDATEL Services
SVP of Business Development
Conexon
Manager of System Engineering
Oklahoma Electric Cooperative
Executive Director
American Association of Public Broadband
Director of Broadband Strategy
Oklahoma Broadband Office
CEO,
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association
Tribal Council
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Director, Global Business Development, Optical Solutions
Adtran
Senior Consultant, Business Development
Ciena
CEO
Accord Telecommunications Collaborative
Regional Broadband Utility Sales Leader
Graybar
Professor
Oklahoma State University
Acting Division Chief
NTIA
General Manager
Pioneer Telephone Cooperative
Deputy State Historic Preservation Office
State of Oklahoma
Technology and Digital Accessibility Officer
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
CEO
Canadian Valley Electric Cooperative & CVEC Fiber
VP of Strategic Partnerships
Dycom Industries, Inc.
Broadband Grants Program Manager
The Arkansas State Broadband Office
Broadband Specialist
U.S. Dept. of Commerce/NTIA
Co-founder/Leader
Accord
Federal Program Officer
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Federal Program Officer
NTIA
VP of Broadband Partners
Nokia
Manager of Fiber Services
Tombigbee Fiber, LLC
President
Trace Fiber Networks
Associate Director
Virginia Office of Broadband
Environmental Program Officer
NTIA's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth
VP of Business & Technology Strategies,
Centranet
President of Fiber & Technology
Centranet
Acting Director
New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion
Diamond Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
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