Connected Oklahoma – Rural Broadband Summit 2024
Connected Oklahoma – Rural Broadband Summit will return this Fall! Mark your calendars for October 8-9, 2024. The conference will take place at the Embassy Suites – Oklahoma City Northwest. Don’t miss your chance to network with other rural broadband operators and hear from a great lineup of speakers on a variety of issues affecting the rural broadband industry. Registration is complimentary for stakeholders in the rural broadband industry.
Oklahoma has received nearly $1.4 billion in federal broadband funding. $372 million has been awarded through the Oklahoma Broadband Office, with the remaining expected to be awarded in 2024 and 2025.
The CBC unites 11 distribution electric cooperatives with fiber subsidiaries in the state of Oklahoma. Collectively, these cooperatives have reached the milestone of connecting 100,000-plus households in rural areas, a significant investment in the quality of life for rural Oklahomans and the statewide economy.
Agenda
| Tuesday, October 8, 2024 | |
|---|---|
| 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum Group Outing sponsored by Adtran |
| 10:00 a.m. - Noon | Vendor Setup |
| 11:00 a.m. - Noon | Technology Showcase by Centranet and Nokia |
| 1:00 - 1:05 p.m. | Welcome - Patrick Grace, CBC Chairman |
| 1:05 - 1:50 p.m. | Equity in Bits and Bytes- Closing the Affordability Divide - Edyn Rolls, Taylor Meriwether, Philip Powell, Brian Whitacre |
| 1:50 - 2:35 p.m. | Model for Middle Mile Networks in Rural America |
| 2:35 - 2:55 p.m. | Break |
| 2:55 - 3:40 p.m. | X Marks the Spot – Interagency Mapping Coordination |
| 3:40 - 4:25 p.m. | Impact of Middle Mile Networks in Affordability |
| 4:25 - 4:30 p.m. | Thank You |
| 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. | Welcome Reception sponsored by Calix |
| Wednesday, October 9, 2024 | |
|---|---|
| 7:15 - 8:00 am | Networking Breakfast sponsored by Graybar |
| 8:00 - 8:10 am | Welcome & Introduction |
| 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 |
| 9:30 - 10:00 am | Coffee Break |
| 10:00 - 10:45 am | The Future of USF |
| 10:45 - 11:30 am | BEAD Across States - Lane Bailey, Chandler Vaughan, Drew Lovelace, Rebecca Dilg |
| 11:30 - 11:55 am | Keynote #1 |
| 11:55-12:00 | Diamond Sponsor: Ervin Cable Construction LLC |
| 12:00 - 12:45 pm | Networking Lunch sponsored by Ervin Cable Construction LLC |
| 12:45 - 1:15 pm | Dessert |
| 1:15 - 1:40 pm | Keynote |
| 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 America is Powered by Rural Operators |
| 3:45 - 4:30 pm | The Hunger Games – Broadband stands between Humankind and Starvation |
| 4:30 - 4:35 pm | Closing Remarks |
Speakers
VP of Strategic Partnerships
Dycom Industries, Inc.
Senior Principal, Distribution Automation
NRECA
Director of the Public Utility Division and Consumer Services
Oklahoma Corporation Commission
Associate Director
Virginia Office of Broadband
CEO
Canadian Valley Electric Cooperative and CVEC Fiber
Broadband Specialist
U.S. Dept. of Commerce/NTIA
Farmer and inventor,
CamdenCastle
CEO,
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association
Director
Utah Broadband Center
General Manager
United Fiber
Broadband Grants Program Manager
The Arkansas State Broadband Office
Acting Division Chief
NTIA
General Manager
Pioneer Telephone Cooperative
Tribal Leader
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Executive Director
Oklahoma Broadband Office
Technology and Digital Accessibility Officer
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Director
NRECA Broadband
Professor and Jean & Patsy Neustadt Chair,
Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University
Broadband Program Manager
Kansas Office of Broadband Development
Tribal Council
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Broadband Funding Analyst
Calix
VP of Business & Technology Strategies,
Centranet
Co-founder/Leader
Accord
Acting Director
New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion
Deputy Director
Louisiana Broadband and Connectivity office
Manager of Fiber Services
Tombigbee Fiber, LLC
Executive Director
American Association of Public Broadband
Federal Program Officer
NTIA
Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications and Professor of Telecommunications,
Bellisario College of Communications, Penn State
Federal Program Officer
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Director of Broadband Strategy
Oklahoma Broadband Office
Diamond Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Hosts
