Broadband Breakfast on October 8, 2025 - The Next Wave of Applications: Do Gigabit Speeds Matter?

Full Event Video:

As next-generation tools – like artificial intelligence – become more deeply intertwined with daily life, providers and regulators alike must grapple with the question: Can our internet infrastructure support these tools? For a long time, gigabit speeds have been a luxury needed by few. Are they – or are they not – emerging as a digital necessity? What role will edge computing play in the march toward higher bandwidth?

Panelists

• Jimmy Schaeffler, Chairman and CSO, The Carmel Group
• Bob Whitman, Vice President of Market and Product Strategy, Corning Optical Communications
• Dr. Glenn Ricart, Founder and CTO, US Ignite
• Dr. William Lehr, Research Affiliate, MIT
• Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Industry Experts Debate Need for Gigabit Internet Speeds as Deployment Accelerates

Industry experts debate whether gigabit internet deployment has outpaced actual consumer demand.

Broadband BreakfastBroadband Breakfast

Panelist resources

How to Find New Light Bulbs for the Internet Age: Parallels Between Electricity and Fiber-optics

Editor’s Note: Several months ago, Drew Clark’s column from the Deseret News of Salt Lake City, Utah, touched upon some of the important parallels between the most prominent infrastructure investment of the 20th Century - electricity – and the emerging essential fiber-optic infrastructure of the 21st Century. With increased discussion about the significant of the applications that run Gigabit Networks, including the upcoming Broadband Communities Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, it is reprint

Broadband BreakfastDrew Clark

Jimmy Schaeffler is the chairman and chief service officer of The Carmel Group, based in Scottsdale, Ariz. For more than three decades, he has researched, analyzed, and written about telecom, especially pay TV, broadcast, and new digital media, on both the software and hardware sides of the business.

Bob Whitman is Vice President of Market and Product Strategy at Corning Optical Communications. With over 25 years’ experience in optical fiber network architecture, product development and carrier engagement, Bob has developed commercial and technical expertise in all aspects of optical communications. Prior to joining Corning in 1997 Bob served as a Nuclear Power Engineering Officer in the US Navy.

Dr. Glenn Ricart is Founder and Chief Technology Officer of US Ignite, a NonProfit in Washington DC focusing on supporting leading edge connected communities since 2012. He is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Utah's Kahlert (cow-lert) School of Computing. Dr. Ricart is a Pioneer Member of the Internet Hall of Fame for creating the first Internet Exchange Point.

Dr. William Lehr is a telecommunications and Internet industry economist and consultant with over thirty years of experience. He regularly advises senior industry executives and policymakers in the U.S. and abroad on the market, industry, and policy implications of events relevant to the Internet ecosystem. He is a research affiliate in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, engaged in a number of multidisciplinary research projects focused on the economics and regulatory policy of the Internet infrastructure industries.

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.