The following transcript has been edited for length and readability. Listen to the entire discussion here on The Broadband Bunch. The Broadband Bunch is sponsored by ETI Software.
Brad Hine:
Hello everyone in broadband land. Welcome to another episode of The Broadband Bunch. I’m your host, Brad Hine, bringing you stories, stats, and samples from the world of broadband. Today we are spotlighting an annual event that occurs every summer around this time. For the last 22 years, the Fiber Broadband Association has held its annual broadband conference for the growing community of enthusiasts. And this year is no different. Industry operators, vendors, government liaisons, both federal and state levels, investors, and stakeholders will all gather the third week in August at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida.
With me today, I have the two gentlemen responsible for spearheading the conference effort. Richard Williams, president of Connect2 Communications and Fiber Connect Conference program director, Joseph, JJ, Jones, president of OnTrack and current chairman of the FBA Board and former chair of Fiber Connect. Gentlemen, welcome to the Bunch.
Richard Williams:
Thank you.
Joseph Jones:
Thanks, Brad. Thanks for having us. This has become a fun tradition.
Navigating the Challenges and Excitement of Fiber Connect Planning
Brad Hine:
Agreed. And it’s so fun to have you guys on frequently and to be able to talk about this in sequence year-to-year. I first wanted to talk a little bit about what you guys do in your day-to-day, just to set up this, to give our listeners just an idea of what you guys are putting into it year after year if both of you could comment on that.
Richard Williams:
I’ve got to be honest with you. When Gary, JJ, and I talked about me and my team starting to help out with the program at Fiber Connect, I really didn’t anticipate just how consuming it was. But it’s been a lot of fun, and it’s been really interesting. Working with JJ, Gary, and Evan Freeman, who’s this year’s conference chair, to really scope out what conversations we want to have, who are the people we want to have at the conference, and how we expand the remit of FBA to touch more broadly on the impact of fiber to communities and people and industries. Yeah, that’s been really interesting to put the strategy behind that and then we brainstorm ideas and then create wish lists of speakers and then start knocking on doors.
The thing that I’m so excited about for this show is we had a whole lot of ideas that we wanted to try this year. We got really aggressive with the programming. Knock on wood, it’s all worked. So day-to-day it’s a lot of emails, a lot of phone calls, a lot of prep work with speakers, and making sure everyone understands the intention. It’s a lot of back and forth between JJ and me and Evan and Gary to fine-tune things, address issues that come up, or help people understand some of the processes involved. So it’s an intellectual journey every day.
The Energizing Force Behind Fiber Connect’s Evolution
Brad Hine:
Well, you said consuming. Consuming in a great way.
Richard Williams:
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it’s one of those jobs where you have an idea. You wake up in the middle of the night, and you have an idea. And you’re like, “Oh, I’ve got to write that down.” And sometimes I have it, and then I forget it. So it’s one of those things that keeps you up because you’re like, “We should do this.” There have been elements to this program that we added in May of this year that we did not think about. We did it, and we’re going to do it. So it’s always exciting when you can be involved with something that’s so iterative, timely, and market-focused.
Brad Hine:
Wonderful. And JJ, you’ve been involved in the conference also for many years.
How Rich Williams and the Connect2 Team Elevated Fiber Connect
Joseph Jones:
Yeah. For me, Brad, today, I’m to the point now with Rich leading this where I’m actually just signing off on a lot of things. Rich and Evan will bring things, and we think about this, kind of bouncing ideas. I feel like I’m more signing off and Rich, Evan, and the team are doing the heavy lifting.
Brad and I were involved with the conference a long time ago and did that together. Back then we were hoping if we got 1,000 or 1,200 attendees, that would be a home run for us. And it was very manageable with the CEO, president of Fiber Broadband, and our conference committee. And we were able to manage that. But just through our growth and Gary coming on board, Rich was the obvious choice to help us take us to this next level.
I am going to brag on Rich and his team at Connect2, because between them and our partners over at MMS, with David, they have really elevated our conference and our whole planning process to a different level. And we have been seeing the fruit of all of that labor for the last couple of years. And Rich just continues to come up with great strategies and plans for our conferences. So his group is doing the heavy lifting. I feel like I get to have more of a backseat, watching things unfold. But it is fun working together with Rich. He and I get to do videos together and talk weekly on all things conference, and so I just couldn’t be more pleased with the progress that we’ve all made together.
A Spectacular Growth in Fiber Connect’s Attendance
Brad Hine:
That’s wonderful. And I’ll agree with you. Kudos to Rich for all that. My first year was probably 2007 or 2008. I think it was in Nashville in 2008. And the way it’s grown since then has really just been miraculous. Speaking of Nashville, maybe just take a quick step back and talk about last year’s turnout and attendance, and we’ll move forward into this year. What were the final attendance numbers for Nashville last year?
Joseph Jones:
Yeah, we hit 3,075 attendees which was just incredible. If you look at our ’21 numbers, we hit 2,000. So coming out of COVID, we thought, man, this is going to be great. There’s just the excitement and the buzz of people getting back to in-person events. And so we hit 2,000 attendees in ’21. We were expecting maybe a 200 to 300 jump in attendance for ’22, but we were just blown away. We went pretty much 2,000 to 3,000, and with that had over 600 network operators. So they made up 20% of our attendees. Last year we were just blown away by the reception of having that many attendees, and we just continued to see the momentum going forward for this year.
Aiming High with Over 4,000 Expected Attendees
Brad Hine:
Amen. And clearly, in the landscape of broadband this year, we have our news of the BEAD funding. And they just made state allocation announcements. So that really puts the conference in an amazing situation, and actually perfectly scheduled, a month or so after all these announcements. What can we expect this year from things like attendance and exhibitors, things like that?
Joseph Jones:
Well, we’re expecting over 4,000 attendees this year.
Brad Hine:
Man.
Joseph Jones:
We’re dreaming big. We think it’s going to happen. If you look at some of our numbers, at registration numbers year to date from now, from the last couple of years, we’re blowing those away. And so we think we’re going to have 4,000 attendees. Rich and his team have put together over 280 speakers. We’ve got over 175 exhibitors. Rich, I’ve lost count of the number of sessions we’ve got.
Richard Williams:
Me too.
Responding to Feedback
Joseph Jones:
Yeah. I know we’re in the hundreds when you add everything up together with pre-conference and the summits. But it’s just been pretty incredible, just what we’re planning for this year.
Richard Williams:
And I think one of the things that we did after 2022 was we listened to the feedback. When we started this process, like in early conversations for 2022, I just said, “Let’s do this. Let’s not do a conference that you see everywhere, where you set up panels, but really becomes a format for vendors or for people to talk about their company or talk about product. And you really never have those interesting conversations.”
So in 2022, we had a real focus and some pushback, but everyone got in line. And everyone really saw the benefit of having market-driven conversations at the conference. We tend to test things in the pre-conference workshop, and then introduce them into the main conference, where we can see that there’s appetite for that conversation.
And so this year, one of the feedback items we got is that people wanted to see more technical content. And so as we start talking about the agenda, we’ll talk about how we address that. We expanded our breakout sessions from six tracks to seven. We went from three pre-conference workshops to five. We’ve added partners to bring in new audiences. So we want to make sure that anyone who’s involved in the fiber broadband ecosystem can find something to do or learn, engage, network, or explore at Fiber Connect ’23. So that was our goal.
Fiber Connect ’23 Explores Entertainment, Innovation, and Beyond
And one of the things that we decided on the theme is… And we did this, JJ, back in March of 2022.
We were doing our outreach for a keynote. I wanted to have two demand drivers for 2022, and we had Facebook and we had TiVo. And that was great, but we weren’t getting a response from the Netflix of the world, the Hulus of the world. And if you look at an industry that has been completely transformed by the power of the network, it’s entertainment. From the way that the content is developed, distributed, shared, and compensated, it all changed.
And if these companies want to continue to deliver content that is going to grow in terms of what’s required, is going to start to include elements of VR and AR, which means symmetrical bandwidth is really important. They have to have a voice in the network, or a voice in the type of network the structure has put in place.
And so this year we wanted to really shine a light on the role that the network has in creating innovation and enabling disruption. And entertainment is just the icing on the cake. We think it’s going to happen to precision agriculture and to telehealth. There are so many industries that we think are going to be revolutionized because of the power of the network. And once that fiber network is everywhere, the barrier to everything goes down.
A Comprehensive Overview of Conference Days and Sessions
Brad Hine:
Amazing. That’s great. Having spent several years on the conference planning committee, getting involved with sessions that we need and in the flow of everything, looking at the agenda just this year, there truly is something for everyone. And I love that we’re starting to break out into tracks and different pieces of the industry.
So maybe let’s just jump right into it. I know we have had a conference format in the past. I know you’ve probably edited some of that. And the agenda and the approach this year, as you said, was much more aggressive. Maybe we jump into day-by-day and explain to the listeners what they’ll see starting on that pre-conference day on Sunday.
Richard Williams:
Sure. So we have our standard FBA Broadband Starter Kit, which is always very popular. That’s a great place for Munis and community broadband operators, tribal organizations that are just getting into the fiber business to go and learn a really good baseline of information about the best practices and what they need to do, and what need to consider as they launch broadband services.
Exploring Key Topics from Middle Mile Challenges to Community Broadband Initiatives
And then, again, as we look at starting to introduce conversations to the conference, we’ve got a pre-conference workshop on Middle Mile that I’m really excited about, that we’re partnering with Omdia on. So it’s five sessions on the issues and challenges, everything from great applications to the impact of the edge on Middle Mile in fiber. We’ve got one on sustainability about the ecological impact of fiber. We’re partnering with Omdia on that one. Great sessions about how fiber broadband helps make other industries greener, internal corporate sustainability programs, the impact of durability and sustainability, and everything from the deployment to the management of networks.
And then we have two other programs that really focus more on the community level. We have one focused on the rise in community broadband operators. That one focused on munis, co-ops, and utilities. Evan Freeman, who’s our conference chair, is the chair of that pre-conference workshop.
And then as we talked about earlier, bringing new people to the conversation, we’ve partnered with the National Association of Counties. We are creating a pre-conference workshop that is chock-full of local commissioners talking about the issues, the challenges, and the concerns they have, and what they’re trying to accomplish with better broadband in their communities, which is going to be instrumental as operators try to understand the challenges of permitting and rights of way and all the… When you’re building networks across county, city, and state lines, there’s lots to navigate. So I think this is going to be a really informative pre-conference workshop, and we’re just thrilled that the National Association of Counties wanted to partner with us and has spent a good deal of effort and time to help get their membership there.
Connecting with State Broadband Offices
Brad Hine:
Wonderful, wonderful. I know you’re rounding out the week and adding some more things because of the BEAD funding, I’m assuming. And a lot of the state broadband offices that are getting involved. I see mention of a “Meet Your State Broadband Office”, which will give some face-to-face time for some of the operators, vendors, and other attendees, as well as the State Broadband Summit happening on Wednesday. Can you talk a little bit about those focus sessions new to the programming?
Joseph Jones:
Yeah, so we’ve invited all 50 states, their state broadband directors, and their offices to come and participate. And we’ve got several commitments so far. We’re still waiting on a few more, but an opportunity for an open forum for those operators that represent in different states to go meet their folks, get to know them more and start establishing some relationships and partnerships if they haven’t already. So we’re excited because that’s brand new this year, and we felt like the timing is right just with BEAD, because now the fun begins, right?
Brad Hine:
Right. Right, right.
Gaining Insights into State Broadband Initiatives and Strategies
Joseph Jones:
With the announcements for the states. So we’re excited about that. And then also on Wednesday, the State Broadband Summit. We wanted to have a program that really focused on what the state broadband offices are going through, and what some of their planning looks like. And so there’s going to be a panel on the five-year plan, a creating coalitions panel, panels on state broadband policy, one on broadband funding options. And so really focusing from Tuesday afternoon with the broadband office, and then the summit on Wednesday, just a great opportunity for the operators to hear from the states on what to expect, what’s next, and really what I would call true inside baseball information that they’re going to share on Wednesday.
Richard Williams:
So if you’ve made your plans to leave Tuesday after the expo closes, change your plan.
Joseph Jones:
Yes.
A Dedicated Forum for Industry Leaders
Brad Hine:
Thank you for that. I know as soon as the expo closes in the past, we’ve seen folks vacate. But you have a whole show planned on Wednesday all the way through the evening. I know we also have made mention of a C-suite forum or a C-level forum that you guys are putting together that week too. When is that happening?
Joseph Jones:
Yeah, so that’s on Monday. And Brad, the whole focus and reason behind that, it started last year at the luncheon, but we wanted to create an environment for a lot of C-level folks. All of us have been attending Fiber Connect and have been part of the association for years. But what we’ve learned is we haven’t had a heavy presence and involvement from C-Suite folks. It’s been folks underneath them that have been serving on committees, attending the events, and they’re going back to their bosses and talking about the excitement of Fiber Broadband Association and Fiber Connect. And so we want that C-Suite team to really be engaged, have an environment where it’s just dedicated to them, where they can have an opportunity to network with each other, but also give them some great industry content.
A Comprehensive Forum on Fiber Broadband Advancements
And so we created a little forum. We’ll have a lunch for the C-suite folks that we will invite all our keynote speakers to attend. But there’s going to be an NTIA update with Courtney Dozer, a panel on culture change and opportunity that’s going to be moderated by Kim McKinley at Utopia Fiber. Catherine DeWitt is going to join us, going to talk about federal funding options. And then former mayor of Chattanooga, Andy Burke. He played a big role in what EPB is doing. He is now with USDA. We are going to have a fireside chat with him and Evan Freeman.
So this is just a great opportunity. It was really neat to see Rich just take this concept and turn it into what it is and what we’re hoping it’s going to be just a great opportunity for some C-level folks just to be indoctrinated into what all things Fiber Broadband Association of Fiber Connect are about and just what’s going on in the industry. And Rich, you’ve just done a great job of putting this together, and I think it’s going to be beneficial for us.
The Introduction of Light Talks at Fiber Connect ’23
Richard Williams:
Well, thank you. We were trying to find ways, as JJ mentioned, to showcase the power and the opportunities that FBA affords its members. Sometimes that can get lost in an organization, and we just want to find opportunities for the executives, the highest levels of our companies to understand the opportunities the FBA creates that maybe they don’t find in a typical organization, and allow them to spend time with the people that are providing the funding, that are going to advance these networks with putting them in the same room with the people that are going to build these networks. We just think there’s some good things that can come out of that.
Brad Hine:
Well, it sure is smart to include C-levels in that and get everybody together. A lot of expertise in that room and a lot of experience. And speaking of experience, I know you guys mentioned to me you’re going to have a TED Talks-like portion of the conference called Light Talks. And actually, I have to mention your YouTube channel really quickly. I actually saw a preview of it on your YouTube channel, very well done.
Richard Williams:
Do you like our little fireside chats?
Brad Hine:
It’s brilliant.
How Fiber Networks Drive Innovation and Disruption
Joseph Jones:
We made a lightsaber into the video too.
Brad Hine:
Yes. It speaks to all of us Gen-Xers out there, the lightsaber as you’re presenting your new conference track with Light Talks. So maybe talk a little bit about the Light Talks that you’re introducing now.
Richard Williams:
Absolutely. So the Light Talks is the idea of… It goes back to really supporting the theme of the conference with what fiber disrupts next. And so we have five operators that are going to talk about how their networks are enabling disruption and innovation in their market. So these aren’t necessarily talks about their networks. They talk about what their networks are enabling their customers to do. So we’ve got Chris Sambar, President of AT&T. We’ve got Gaurab Juneja, President of Consumer Consolidated Communications; Jim Ingraham, VP of strategic research from EPB; Dinni Jain, CEO of Google Fiber; and Derek Kelly, Vice President of Market Development from Lumos Fiber. So a range of different carrier types, carrier designs, and carrier scales, but all talking about the power of fiber broadband in terms of what their customers and communities are able to do.
Innovation Takes Center Stage
Brad Hine:
Got it. Got it. And similar to the Light Talks, and I guess more hands-on, we have your proof-of-concept program. I think that’s a carryover from last year; is that correct?
Richard Williams:
It is, it is. And so last year we had six. This year I think we’re going to have seven or eight. It’s center stage on the Expo floor, and it’s really an opportunity for companies to come together and show where fiber goes next. And we’ve got some exciting ones planned. We’re looking forward to seeing that on the show floor. I know it was popular last year. Again, it’s trying to find something for everyone. So just sorting the standard boost isn’t your thing but if you want to see innovation in action, stop by.
The New Technology Deep Dive Program at Fiber Connect
Brad Hine:
That’s great. I have to mention something that’s near and dear to my heart. You just said innovation, the technology deep dives. I could find myself immersed in what I think that sounds like. So explain a little bit to our audience and listeners how we’re going to start to peel those onion skins back with the technology deep dives.
Richard Williams:
Absolutely. And that goes to listening for more technical content. We’ve long had a partnership with the Broadband Forum. And in the past, they’ve been part of the pre-conference workshops. But to really bring those technical detailed discussions into the conference proper, we have created a new program called the Technology Deep Dive. It’s curated by the broadband forum, and it’s a combination of our members and their members. We have four, 90-minute sessions that take place on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. They are focused on fiber access technology deep dives, enabled connected users, the Middle Mile, and a distribution network deep dive.
We’ve got great technologists on the panel, just really diving into as deep as you can go on the technology. Where it’s going next; what needs to happen; how the standards need to evolve. So if you’re an engineer or you’re a system architect or a scientist, you’ll find content for you at Fiber Connect this year.
Empowering Communities Through Inclusion and Equity in Broadband Access
Brad Hine:
Nice, nice. So a bit of a segue into some of those panelists and speakers, can you share some of the speakers and some of those major themes or hot topics they’ll be speaking on here at Fiber Connect?
Richard Williams:
Do you want to talk about the general sessions or the breakouts? We have so much content, I just don’t know where to start.
Brad Hine:
Wow. Well, I know I mentioned, or we spoke briefly about digital diversity and just a fabulous session that we see growing there. Tell us a little bit about Angela’s session that she’ll be giving.
Richard Williams:
Yeah, so Angela Thi Bennett, who’s the digital equity director for NTIA is going to do a fireside chat with Katie Espeseth from EPB, and really dive into what we consider the value that diversity equity inclusion does in terms of creating opportunity and better understanding your potential customer set, understanding what they need, how they need by listening and having a more inclusive workforce yourself. The more opinions, insights you can have, and perspectives you can have should help shape how you go to market, especially as you start to reach people with broadband who have never had it before. So there’s a whole level of education and digital literacy that needs to be addressed, and we’re going to really dive into that.
Bridging the Gap Between Operators and Marginalized Groups for Inclusive Broadband Access
Brad Hine:
And there’s a quote that comes from Angela that I know you and I have spoken about before. The industry is always talking about rural operators. They really have to have a seat at the broadband table to have their voice heard. Angela’s quote kind of spins that around in a slightly different way. Angela says, “We need to go to their table.” Talk a little bit about that perspective that Angela has, turning the table on that a little bit.
Richard Williams:
Well, she meets with local leaders, activists, and marginalized groups regularly to understand what their needs are. And I think what she’s saying is that operators need to understand the responsibility they have in terms of serving these communities. And she sees this as a generational opportunity to impact communities and lives.
We had our first call about her potentially doing this keynote, I think it was back in October of last year. We were talking about the OpTIC Path Program that the FBA has and its growth and how we’re in 38 states right now and looking to go to all 50 plus territories, and how we’re working with local community colleges, and working with prisons for reform, and veterans’ organizations. And she stopped and said, “Well, I want to work with you guys to make sure those graduates get jobs.”
Broadband’s Transformative Impact on Communities Beyond Connectivity
If we can get those graduates of the OpTIC Path Program employed, then their economic situation will change. They have a better opportunity. There’s more community pride, and then the people around them start to see things changing because of the choices they’re making and the opportunities they have. So you see this ripple effect that having broadband has not only in times of the service delivered but the opportunity to be part of delivering and creating that service.
So she sees this very holistically from an impact of not only the operator being able to deliver services, but the operator being able to include the community and the ability to deliver those services. JJ, is that fair?
Joseph Jones:
Yeah, it’s fair. We’re really excited about this session, and I think it’s just the beginning of some more things we’re going to do down the road.
Eric Beightel to Keynote on Streamlining Fiber Permitting
Richard Williams:
And I previously unannounced an unposted keynote, which I’m very excited about. So everyone understands as we are… I think the operators are looking to deploy services. And we talked a little bit about this before, that when they’re looking deploy services across state lines, county lines, state lines, really understanding the concerns and challenges at the local level of permitting is going to be a big issue over the next five years as operators look to deliver services. And I’m really excited to announce that executive director, Eric Beightel, of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, and it’s an appointment by President Biden, is going to be doing the opening keynote at Fiber Connect this year.
Brad Hine:
Wow. Wow. That’s a fabulous addition. Way to go, Richard.
Joseph Jones:
Yeah.
Building Connections at Fiber Connect
Brad Hine:
That’s neat. Very cool. Well, in terms of this conference coming up, I’m curious on a personal level, what are you guys looking forward to the most about what you’re going to encounter at this conference?
Joseph Jones:
For me, Brad, I always get excited when I get to meet first-time attendees. I hear their excitement and all the events when you talk to them, and they’re just not talking about the total number of people in attendance. They’re talking about the sessions, the networking, the expo hall. It’s just so fun to see their eyes light up when you start to get to talking to them about like, “Hey, this is my first one. I’ve had colleagues come and attend, but this is the first time I’ve ever been able to, and I’ve heard great things about it.”
Hearing about it is one thing. Seeing the excitement from your team coming back from it is also one thing, but actually being there and living it out those three to four days, that’s where it makes a difference in people. And what you usually see is once they come for the first time, they’re always coming back. And so along the same lines of that, we’re really trying to set up some events for first-time attendees, to get to know each other. We have different categories of that.
Discovering the Fiber Broadband Ecosystem at Fiber Connect
But when I look forward to the events, to me, one of the special things is just meeting new time attendees and letting them see, because we all have our heads down, whatever role we serve, whatever company we work for that’s in the space, a lot of times we have our head down. And what we’re focusing on is whether I’m on the fulfillment side when the installation drops. My head is down and working on the fulfillment side. But when you get to the conference, you see the entire ecosystem of fiber broadband, and you see the big picture, you’re like, man, I am a part of something bigger than myself when I come to these things. And so that’s the thing I look forward to the most.
Richard Williams:
I think for me it’s watching the connections that happen there and the conversations. This is not like I’m trying to listen to everyone’s conversations on my own, but I could just spend a lot of time in the green room at the general sessions. And then I talked to all the speakers before and after the panels. And just listening to the ideas that come as people share information and meet for the first time.
I remember being in the green room last year in the general session, and we had an event administrator and the USDA assistant secretary, who had never met. And I heard them say, “We need to get together,” and they exchanged addresses and they put a meeting on their calendar. They had ideas they expressed on stage that they wanted to take further when they got back to their jobs. So seeing those connections, because the network is all about connections, and so if we can do that at Fiber Connect, it shows the scope and the breadth of the network. It goes beyond just infrastructure. And to me, that’s what’s so exciting.
Happy Hours, Camaraderie, and Industry Collaboration at Fiber Connect
Brad Hine:
I totally agree with what both of you said. Being there from a couple of perspectives as a vendor and actually as a contributor on the conference planning side, I’ll tell you, I find the social sections, that happy hour that happens right after the sessions are closing down at the end of the day, just like you said, Richard. Some of the most productive hours of the day after you’ve consumed all the contents and you’re wrangling with the knowledge you just learned. And then you jump into a room with a bunch of folks where you can have pertinent conversations relevant to where the industry is going. And I just love those moments and the fellowship that happens and then the relationships that come out of that. It’s been huge for me.
And as you said so eloquently, it’s about broadband networking and people are there to do the same, network with each other, learn more, figure out how to be on each other’s team, and help everyone succeed.
Joseph Jones:
Yeah. Yeah, for sure.
Fiber Connect Website and YouTube Channel for the Latest Updates
Brad Hine:
As we wind down another Fiber Connect Conference preview episode, can you two share how listeners can get more info on the conference in the next few weeks?
Joseph Jones:
Yeah. You go to our website. That would be the best source right now, which is FiberConnect.FiberBroadband.org. We have a very detailed website. There is still time to register. So let me say that now. Get the plug, and go register now. Brad, we are, I guess, six weeks out. And the Gaylord Palm Resort is actually officially sold out. But the good thing is we’ve got a couple of overflow hotels that are maybe a mile and a half away, and so it’s probably the fastest sellout we’ve ever had of the hotel. But go sign up today. Don’t be discouraged that the Gaylord Palms is sold out. There are still tons of overflow hotels in the area, so go register now.
But the website is, I think, the best place to continue to find information. Also, keep an eye out for the Fiber Broadband Association’s YouTube channel as new videos drop each week with Rich and me on all things Fiber Connect. So I plugged our fireside chats in there too, Rich, for us.
A Toast to Fiber Connect 2023
Richard Williams:
I was tickled. We were somewhere, and someone goes, “Wait a minute, you’re…” It was at one of the regional meetings. Regional meetings are the way we have events throughout the year, and someone came and said, “Wait, you’re the guy from the fireside chats.” I’m like, “What? Oh, okay. You actually watched our fireside chats.”
Joseph Jones:
Yeah. Now Brad said he did it, so at least we got two people.
Richard Williams:
There you go.
Brad Hine:
I’m a fan. I’m a fan. Well, gentlemen, I very much look forward to seeing you in Orlando in a few weeks. I wish you guys the best. I’ll raise a glass and toast you while we’re there. I know it’s going to be a fabulous conference. And this is going to wrap up another episode of the Broadband Bunch. Thanks to Richard and JJ for joining us. And to everyone out there and all our listeners, have a great day.
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