Demand Drivers and Capacity Questions at Regional Fiber Connect Workshop

As the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) wrapped up its seven-part Regional Fiber Connect Workshop series in Kansas City on November 11, the focus of the day was on the demand drivers that create the need for higher capacity infrastructure. Speakers discussed everything from smart homes to artificial intelligence to public safety services, diving deep into not only the capacity requirements but latency concerns, energy needs, and what happens when communities don’t have access to the potential fiber can underpin. 

The crowd of over 320 attendees shared insights, networked over Kansas City barbeque and strong coffee, and helped frame the challenges ahead and possibilities to unlock. 

Of course, innovation without a positive economic impact doesn’t really deliver a benefit to the bargain when planning the future prosperity of U.S. communities. To help frame the impacts of fiber connectivity, and its lack within communities that will be relegated to bargain technologies, Jeremy Hill, assistant vice president and regional executive at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, explained the challenges of balancing labor supply and demand and the role productivity plays in economic growth, citing research that mapped the economic impact of fiber connectivity, as well as AI’s role in increasing efficiencies and reducing labor costs in the region.