#broadbandlive
Broadband Breakfast Live Online Event Series on ‘Tools for Broadband Deployment’ on Enhancing Rural America
This series explores the way that geospatial data and asset management are shaping the future of rural network delivery and performance. In simple and concrete terms, the series will teach how market-leading fiber builders are using digital tools to map, analyze, manage and deploy new networks – with a focus on rural success stories.

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place every Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. You can find links to the posts for a particular event in the “Tools for Broadband Deployment” series on this post. You can also PARTICIPATE in the current Broadband Breakfast Live Online event. REGISTER HERE.
WASHINGTON, November 22, 2020 – Broadband Breakfast detailed its updated agenda and timeline for its newest Broadband Breakfast Live Online webcast series, “Tools for Broadband Deployment.”
This series explores the way that geospatial data and asset management are shaping the future of rural network delivery and performance. In simple and concrete terms, the series will teach how market-leading fiber builders are using digital tools to map, analyze, manage and deploy new networks – with a focus on rural success stories.
See “At Launch of #BroadbandLive Series on ‘Tools for Broadband Deployment’, Panelists Tout Symmetrical Fiber,” Broadband Breakfast, November 4, 2020
“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated just how important high-speed symmetrical broadband is to America’s education, telemedicine, economic prospects and civic connectedness,” said Broadband Breakfast Editor and Publisher Drew Clark. “Rural America needs better broadband now more than ever, and there continues to be a strong prospect for broadband as a component of infrastructure deployment in the next Congress.”
“This new ‘Tools for Broadband Deployment’ series will probe what fiber-builders need to know to get their projects planned, prepped, deployed and built in record time,” said Clark. Broadband Breakfast Live Online’s “Tools for Broadband Deployment” is sponsored by Render Networks and ADTRAN.
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday. The schedule and registration pages are itemized below.
Broadband Breakfast has been running Broadband Breakfast Live Online since March 13, 2020. The high-quality programming is available for FREE and takes place every Wednesday at 12 Noon ET.
Spurred on by the coronavirus virus, the Washington-based Broadband Breakfast media community launched the series to address the impact of broadband on solving the problems caused by the pandemic, including discussions about the digital divide, teleworking, distance learning, telemedicine, and network capacity.
Broadband Breakfast has also hosted additional Broadband Breakfast Live Online events focusing on Section 230: Separating Fact From Fiction in sponsorship with the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a series of events on Digital Infrastructure Investment in sponsorship with SiFi Networks and UTOPIA Fiber, its “Champions of Broadband” series featuring conversations with individuals who have devoted their careers to better broadband, and “A No-Nonsense Guide to 5G” sponsored by Samsung Electronics America.
Events in “Tools for Broadband Deployment” series, which is sponsored by ADTRAN and Render Networks, include:
- Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 12 Noon ET — “Tools for Broadband Deployment: Preparing for Success”
- Are you ready for rural deployment? The United States is currently in the midst of multiple, significant efforts pushing for Better Broadband for Rural America. Think of the big picture opportunity.
- Wednesday, November 25, 2020, 12 Noon ET — “Tools for Broadband Deployment: Connecting Providers and Customers Faster”
- Case studies of network-building with an all-digital workflow. How fiber-builders are finding success in construction management, workflow processes and on-the-fly changes. In a phrase: Think workflow and business systems.
- Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 12 Noon ET — “Tools for Broadband Deployment: RDOF and Other Rural Broadband Deployments”
- The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the Connect America Fund and other rural deployments: How new awardees are laying the future for managing their deployments. Think managing your budget.
- Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 12 Noon ET — “Tools for Broadband Deployment: Mapping the Rural Broadband Buildout”
- Mapping broadband assets is only the first step. This session will explore how end-to-end data is showing that successful rural fiber networks begin with the end in the mind. Think broadband mapping.
- Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 12 Noon ET — “Tools for Broadband: Fueling the Fire of Rural Innovation”
- We’ll showcase how broadband deployment is accelerating the digital future for rural America at a time of COVID-19. Think success.
“Tools for Broadband Deployment” is sponsored by:
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
#broadbandlive
State Broadband Heads Address BEAD Implementation Focuses
Broadband leaders touched on letter of credit requirements, subgrant timelines, and speed test data.

WASHINGTON, September 20, 2023 – Three state broadband leaders highlighted at a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event Wednesday key points of focus ahead of their implementation of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
The BEAD program allocates $42.5 billion to states for expanding broadband infrastructure. States are in the process of releasing their initial proposals for administering the program – due to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration by December 27 – and hearing public comments.
The conversation was a preview of some topics up for discussion with state broadband heads, BEAD and other federal grant program officials, and service providers at the Broadband Breakfast BEAD Implementation Summit Thursday. Registration is open for in-person and virtual attendance.
Subgrantee selection timeline
States will have one year from the approval of their initial proposals to award subgrants under the program and submit their final proposals to the NTIA. Those awards have to be allocated via a bidding process.
Getting that done will be difficult, said Jim Stritzinger, the head of South Carolina’s broadband office.
“It’s really, really hard to deploy $551 million in 12 months,” he said. “And other states have much larger allocations than ours, I don’t know how they’re going to do it.”
Brian Newby of the North Dakota Broadband Program, echoed the concern.
“I am concerned that there will be locations that just won’t be bid on,” he said, and a second round of bidding to hit those areas would be difficult to fit in before the deadline.
Stritzinger noted that state offices are permitted under NTIA rules to negotiate directly with providers to BEAD-supported infrastructure in areas missed by the bidding process, rather than open a second round, which could save time, he said.
Letters of credit
BEAD requires grant recipients to get letters of credit from banks for 25 percent of the funds they receive to undertake projects. The requirement has been flagged by the industry as potentially blocking smaller providers from being able to accept grants.
The requirement still applies to publicly owned entities, Vermont broadband director Christine Hallquist noted. That will be a problem in Vermont, she said, where some communications infrastructure is owned by coalitions of towns.
“Municipalities just do not have that kind of money,” she said.
Speed test data
The broadband heads also noted the importance of reliable locations in speed test data. When speed tests are run in computer browsers, as opposed to direct measurements from equipment or from GPS-enabled devices like smartphones, they have less precise locations attached to them.
“You could very easily see a bunch of speed tests stacking up on a single dot in the center of a zip code,” Stritzinger said. “You have to be careful about that.”
Hallquist emphasized collecting speed data from different points along a network’s infrastructure to pinpoint where speed loss is happening.
“We want to help people address all of the issues that are a part of that stream of data,” she said.
Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 – Preview of BEAD Implementation Summit
Ahead of the Broadband Breakfast BEAD’s Implementation Summit on September 21, this free live online event will offer a sneak peek into what the summit has in store. It will set the stage for the upcoming panels, including a roundtable with state broadband officers, a discussion of past broadband efforts, the role of public-private partnerships and a town hall session on problems still to tackle. Tune in to see what’s in store at the BEAD Implementation Summit in Washington on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
Panelists
- Brian Newby, Director, North Dakota Broadband Program Director
- Jim Stritzinger, Director, South Carolina Broadband Office
- Christine Hallquist, Executive Director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Register for the BEAD Implementation Summit on September 21, 2023.
Brian Newby leads the North Dakota State Broadband Office, targeting broadband for all in North Dakota by administering more than $175 million in federal grants. Formerly served as the State Election Director at the North Dakota Secretary of State; previously was the Executive Director for U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a federal government agency, and Election Commissioner for Johnson County, the largest jurisdiction in Kansas and in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Before elections, worked as director of strategy for Sprint’s $10 billion Global Markets Group.
As part of the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff, Jim Stritzingerserves as Director of the Broadband Office which was formed in July 2021. He manages a full-time team of five and is directly responsible for ensuring the rapid deployment of broadband infrastructure statewide and overseeing $1 billion in state and federal grant investments.
Christine Hallquist is the Executive Director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board. Their mission is to connect every Vermont address to fiber, make it affordable and maximize positive social impact. Christine was the former CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative.
Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing campaign for broadband data. As Editor and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media company advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.
Register for the BEAD Implementation Summit on September 21, 2023.
#broadbandlive
Broadband Breakfast on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 – Broadband Deployment from India, Australia, South Africa
What can the United States learn from fascinating broadband deployments in the Global South?

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.
Wednesday, October 25 – International Examples of Broadband Deployment – India, Australia, South Africa
As the United States channels unprecedented investments into broadband expansion, the nation’s counterparts worldwide are also ramping up their deployment efforts. In India, nearly 900 million out of its 1.4 billion population have adopted broadband services as of December 2022. Meanwhile, Australia said it’s on track to deliver broadband download speeds of at least 500 megabits per second to 90 percent of its homes and businesses by 2025. Across the ocean, South Africa is also making great strides in broadband buildouts. What lies behind such rapid expansion in those countries? How do they compare to the U.S.’s initiative under the bipartisan infrastructure law?
Panelists
- Panelists have been invited
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
#broadbandlive
Broadband Breakfast on October 11, 2023 – Spectrum Sharing: How Promising and How Real Is It?
Some see potential in advancing 5G technology while others worry about connectivity performance

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.
Wednesday, October 11 – Spectrum Sharing: How Promising and How Real Is It?
The practice of spectrum sharing, where multiple operators coexist within the same bandwidth, is often lauded as a solution to the limited availability of spectrum. Some view it as a promising avenue for advancing 5G technology and beyond, potentially with the aid of artificial intelligence. However, critics contend that crowding may hinder and degrade connectivity performance. In light of the FCC’s recent plans to open up more spectrum for commercial use, what lies ahead for spectrum management and licensing? How can regulators strike a balance between expanding sharing opportunities and ensuring optimal connectivity?
Panelists
- Panelists have been invited
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
-
#broadbandlive4 weeks ago
Broadband Breakfast on September 13, 2023 – AT&T and BlackRock’s Gigapower Joint Venture
-
Broadband Roundup4 weeks ago
AT&T Launches New Fixed Wireless Service, Lawsuits Over Lead Cables, $27M for Rural South Dakota Broadband
-
Broadband Roundup4 weeks ago
Push for More ACP Funding, Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force, Great Plains Communications’ Indiana Expansion
-
Funding4 weeks ago
Do Not Overlook Other Broadband Programs, say Experts
-
Funding4 weeks ago
Precursors to BEAD Implementation: A Deep Dive Into Prior Broadband Programs
-
Community Broadband2 weeks ago
Rural Broadband Provider Touts Cooperative and Coalition-based Models
-
Artificial Intelligence4 weeks ago
U.S. Chip Export Restrictions Will be ‘Huge Roadblock’ for Chinese AI Competitiveness: Expert
-
Funding4 weeks ago
Virginia and Louisiana Each Release BEAD Implementation Plans, Volume Two