BEAD Implementation Summit

BEAD Implementation 2026

A Conference at the National Press Club on Wednesday, March 18, 2026

$245 Early Bird Rate

Join the BEAD Implementation Summit at the National Press Club

Wednesday, March 18, 12 Noon ET - 5 p.m. ET

Following last year’s Speeding BEAD Summit, and the inaugural BEAD Implementation Summit in 2023, Broadband Breakfast convenes the broadband community again as the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program enters its most consequential phase. With billions in awards underway, BEAD Implementation 2026 centers on deployment, capital, and technology choices shaping whether projects are delivered on time and at scale.

$245 Early Bird Rate

Keynote at 12 Noon ET:

Arielle Roth, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Arielle Roth was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information on July 30, 2025. In this role, she serves as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Executive Branch agency principally responsible for advising the President on communications, broadband, and internet policy. Prior to joining NTIA, Roth spent nearly a decade shaping federal communications and broadband policy, holding senior roles on Capitol Hill and at the Federal Communications Commission. She most recently served as Policy Director for Telecommunications on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation under Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Tex, and previously as Legislative Counsel to former Senator Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

Panel 1: State Broadband Roundtable

As BEAD shifts from planning to execution, state broadband offices are confronting a new set of challenges that vary widely by geography and market conditions. This roundtable brings state leaders together to compare what is working, what is slowing projects down, and where greater flexibility or clarity is still needed.

Andrew Butcher, President, Maine Connectivity Authority
Christine Hallquist, Executive Director, Vermont Community Broadband Board
Chandler Vaughan, Associate Director, Virginia Office of Broadband
Michael Baldino, Director and General Counsel, Massachusetts Broadband Institute
Other panelists have been invited
Jake Neenan (moderator), Reporter, Broadband Breakfast

Panel 2: Technology Choices in BEAD Deployment

With awards moving into high-cost and hard-to-serve areas, states are increasingly forced to make difficult technology decisions under real-world constraints. This panel explores how states weigh tradeoffs between cost, performance, and long-term value, and what flexibility exists within BEAD rules when ideal solutions prove impractical.

Carl Guardino, Vice President of Government Affairs & Policy, Tarana Wireless
Other panelists have been invited
Lynn Stanton (moderator), Senior Editor, TRDaily

Keynote:

Congressman Greg Landsman, Representative for Ohio's First Congressional District

Greg Landsman serves as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s First Congressional District, and he calls Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio home. Greg is a former teacher and son of teachers. Before joining Congress in 2023, Greg led a ballot measure to make Cincinnati the first city in America to provide two years of quality preschool. He also served five years on Cincinnati City Council, where he led efforts to strengthen core services – from public safety to paving roads. Greg serves as co-chair of the bipartisan What Works Caucus, co-founder of the Lowering Costs Caucus, and holds a leadership role in the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, where he works across the aisle to deliver real results. Greg earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio University and a master’s in theology from Harvard.

Panel 3: Using Remaining BEAD Funds

Successful BEAD builds depend on more than construction dollars alone. This panel examines how states are using funds to support planning, workforce, technical assistance and potential priorities for remaining BEAD funds.

Kathryn de Wit, Project Director, Broadband Access Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Annmarie Lanesey, Founder & CEO, CanCode Communities
Other panelists have been invited
Jimm Phillips (moderator), Associate Editor, Communications Daily

Panel 4: Capital Constraints on Financing BEAD

As construction begins, BEAD projects are colliding with a more complex and costly market environment. Rising build costs and supply-chain uncertainty are reshaping project economics and financing strategies. This panel examines how lenders, investors, and providers are navigating compliance, matching requirements, and how cost pressures are influencing which projects move forward, on what terms, and on what timelines.

Claude Aiken, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Legal Officer, Nextlink
Other panelists have been invited
Nancy Scola (moderator), Independent Journalist

Speaker Bios

Panel 1: State Broadband Roundtable

How we connect to each other matters - now more than ever. In that spirit Andrew Butcher is enthused about leading the Maine Connectivity Authority, which is charged with facilitating universal access to affordable high-speed internet in Maine towards a more prosperous, digitally equitable future. Originally from Colorado with deep roots in Maine and formative growth in Pittsburgh PA - Andrew is compelled by the opportunity to build the foundation of our future through investments in our digital infrastructure enabling innovation and resilience in our urban, rural, and natural systems.

Christine Hallquist is an executive innovator and leader with vast experience driving operational technology, business development, renewable energy and utility transformation. She has pioneered new technologies including fiber-optic communications; led some of most innovative US firms. Served as CEO, CIO, and expert advisor to C-suite on business and technology strategy development. Advised global corporations in business process improvement and is among the first in U.S. to adopt lean manufacturing.

Chandler Vaughan is the Associate Director in the Virginia Office of Broadband. In the Office of Broadband, Chandler leads development under plans and programs for the $1.5 billion investment in both broadband deployment and broadband adoption programs under the BEAD Program. Before BEAD, Chandler played a key role in scaling a $50 million dollar broadband expansion program to accommodate a $700 million investment of American Rescue Plan Act funding in 2021. During his time in the Virginia Broadband Office, over 210,000 homes and business have received broadband access through network construction, with tens of thousands more homes included in projects that are already underway.

Michael Baldino was named Director and General Counsel of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) in January 2019. MBI serves as the central broadband office for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. During his tenure at MBI, Michael has overseen state-funded Last Mile grants that have expanded broadband connectivity in rural communities in Massachusetts. During the Covid-19 pandemic MBI supported community Wi-Fi hotspots and digital equity pilot projects. MBI also established the Mass Internet Connect program that helped unemployed job seekers reenter the workforce during the pandemic by providing access to affordable internet service, devices, and digital literacy resources.

Reporter Jake Neenan, who covers broadband infrastructure and broadband funding, is a recent graduate of the Columbia Journalism School. Previously he reported on state prison conditions in New York.

Panel 2: Technology Choices in BEAD Deployment

Carl Guardino serves as the vice president of government affairs and public policy at Tarana. After three decades in CEO and senior officer roles, including 24 years as CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Carl led global government affairs for Bloom Energy. He also serves as Vice Chair of the CA Transportation Commission, which annually programs and allocates nearly $10 billion in transportation improvements throughout the state.

Lynn Stanton is a senior editor at Wolters Kluwer’s TR Daily, where she currently covers policy issues affecting broadband and Internet services. She has reported on issues ranging from universal service to the section 230 safe harbor since the 1996 Telecommunications Act. She has a BA from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree from the University of Virginia.

Panel 3: Using Remaining BEAD Funds

Kathryn de Wit directs Pew’s broadband access initiative, which works with national and state leaders to accelerate progress to universal broadband access. In addition to working with policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to improve policy outcomes, de Wit’s work also includes addressing research gaps and bringing together stakeholders for data-driven discussions about how to ensure that every American benefits from universal connectivity.

Annmarie Lanesey is the Founder & CEO of CanCode Communities, leading nationally recognized efforts to expand digital and economic opportunity and build an AI-ready workforce. A statewide policy advocate working at the intersection of technology, public policy, and economic mobility, she is shifting mindsets about who can succeed in a tech career. She has scaled Can Code’s programming across New York and Massachusetts, with trainees now participating in 10 states, helping thousands gain the skills, devices, and confidence needed to thrive in today’s digital and AI economy.

Jimm Phillips, Associate Editor, covers telecommunications policymaking in Congress for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2012 after stints at the Washington Post and the American Independent News Network. Phillips is a Maryland native who graduated from American University. You can follow him on Twitter: @JLPhillipsDC

Panel 4: Capital Constraints on Financing BEAD

Claude Aiken serves as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Legal Officer at Nextlink Internet, where he leads strategic market development, legal affairs, and government relations in support of the company's mission to close the digital divide. He brings more than 14 years of telecom expertise to the role, including four years as President and CEO of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA), where he grew membership by more than 300 organizations and championed policy changes worth billions of dollars to the industry.

Nancy Scola is a veteran Washington D.C.-based reporter and journalist whose work often focuses on the intersections of technology, economics, politics, and policy for publications like New York, Wired, The Information, Washingtonian, and The Atlantic. She is a contributing writer at POLITICO Magazine.
Nancy also teaches about the history, theory, and practice of journalism, including as a lecturer at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.