Broadband Breakfast to Release Middle Mile Report Ahead of Special Connect (X) Session
The May 10 Connect (X) session will discuss the Middle Mile Program and the key role of state broadband offices.
WASHINGTON, May 5, 2023 — Broadband Breakfast’s exclusive report for the month of May will focus on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Middle Mile Program, in connection with Broadband Breakfast’s upcoming session on Wednesday, May 10 at the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s Connect (X) conference in New Orleans.
The report, which will be released on Monday, May 8 to members of the Broadband Breakfast Club, will review the rules of the program, the criteria on which projects will be evaluated, the details of the Buy America waiver and the perspectives of trade associations as the NTIA gears up to announce winners by the end of June.
On May 10, Broadband Breakfast will host a special lunch session – Broadband Breakfast for Lunch at Connect (X) – discussing the $1 billion dollar Middle Mile program, its impact on last-mile deployment efforts and the role of state broadband offices in this program.
The Middle Mile program comes earlier than the much larger $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
The timely event will explore how the entities that have applied for Middle Mile funding plan to utilize it, if granted. It will also discuss additional funding through state broadband programs for Middle Mile deployments. It will consider the impact of commercial fiber deployments upon wireless infrastructure along Middle Mile routes. And, finally, it will address how these projects — and the expanded deployment capabilities they create — will impact the last-mile efforts funded by BEAD.
The panel will be moderated by Broadband Breakfast Editor and Publisher Drew Clark, and feature ConnectLA Executive Director Veneeth Iyengar, who leads broadband efforts for the state of Louisiana, the first state to be awarded an IIJA planning grant and American Rescue Plan funding. Under Iyengar’s direction, Louisiana also became the top state in the nation for per capita adoption of the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Several other experts will join the panel, including Tilson CEO Joshua Broder — who brings more than 16 years of experience in telecommunications infrastructure design, development and deployment — as well as Paul Challoner, vice president for network product solutions at Ericsson, Melissa Newman, vice president for government affairs at the Telecommunications Industry Association and Drew Colbow, director of operational strategy at Crown Castle.
More information about the event, the panelists and registration can be found on the Connect (X) website. Those who register for Broadband Breakfast for Lunch at Connect (X) will also receive one complimentary month of access to the Breakfast Club.
