Connected Oklahoma – Cooperative Broadband Coalition

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