Broadband Breakfast on August 6, 2025 - Live From Mountain Connect 2025

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Join Broadband Breakfast Live Online and other guests attending Mountain Connect 2025 in Denver for a discussion about this year's conference. This year marks the Colorado-based conference's 11th year as an independent broadband event, and Broadband Breakfast has covered the event regularly in the past. The theme of this year's event is "A New Decade - A New Beginning." Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights from the forefront of America's broadband buildout. The discussion will take place at Broadband Breakfast's regular 12 Noon ET time, which is 10 a.m. MT.

Panelists

• Dr. Christopher Ali, Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications and Professor of Telecommunications, Penn State University
• Carl Guardino, Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy, Tarana Wireless
• Roger Timmerman, Executive Director, UTOPIA Fiber
• Cameron Marx, Reporter, Broadband Breakfast
• Tory Richtmyer, Vice President of Customer Success & New Product Introduction, JSI
• Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Dr. Christopher Ali is the Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications and Professor of Telecommunications at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University. He holds a PhD in Communication Studies from the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of the book Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity (MIT Press, 2021), and has testified before the Senate Commerce Committee regarding rural broadband funding programs.

Carl Guardino serves as the Vice President of Government Affairs & Policy at Tarana. After three decades in CEO and senior officer roles, including 24 years as CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Carl came to Tarana after leading global government affairs for Bloom Energy. Carl also serves as Chair of the CA Transportation Commission, which annually programs and allocates nearly $15 billion in transportation improvements throughout the state. Through his past leadership roles, Carl has led and co-led 19 statewide, regional, and countywide ballot initiatives, winning 18 out of 19 campaigns. Carl and his wife Leslee have also created 4 charity/community runs, which have raised and donated more than $12 million to regional non-profits helping families in need. Carl graduated from San Jose State University, where he is a Distinguished Alumnus.

Roger Timmerman has served as Executive Director of UTOPIA Fiber since 2016, bringing over 20 years of experience in telecommunications and information technology leadership. A recognized expert in network architecture and broadband infrastructure, Roger has led efforts to design and deploy open-access fiber networks that serve communities across the western United States. His previous roles include Vice President of Engineering at Vivint Wireless, Chief Technology Officer at UTOPIA Fiber, Network Engineer at iProvo, and Network Product Manager at Brigham Young University. He holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Information Technology from Brigham Young University.

Broadband Breakfast Reporter Cameron Marx studied economics and mathematics at BYU. He is passionate about the impact that broadband access and tech policy has on people’s lives, particularly their economic well-being. For Broadband Breakfast, he has written on topics ranging from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, the budget reconciliation measure, Senate confirmation, and NG9-1-1.

Tory Richtmyer is the Vice President – Customer Success and New Products at JSI. He has been active in the Communications and Broadband Industry since 1999, spending time in Software, GIS, and Business Development before becoming Vice President. Tory is a member of several National & State Organizations. He sits on several elected Associate Member Committees. He has presented and moderated on many topics and panels with many of them focused on new technologies or emerging trends.

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 tool to collect and verify broadband data left unpublished by the Federal Communications Commission. As CEO and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media community 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.