More Speakers, Sponsors Confirmed for BEAD Implementation 2026
The BEAD Implementation Summit 2026 is set for March 18 at the National Press Club, from 12 Noon ET to 5 p.m. ET.
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2026 – Broadband Breakfast has announced an updated list of speakers for the BEAD Implementation Summit 2026, a conference scheduled to begin at 12 Noon ET and run until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The summit will convene government officials, broadband providers, financial institutions, and technology leaders as the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program enters its most consequential phase: Execution.
Registration is $295 In Person; $125 to Watch Online. (Breakfast Club Members pay $195 In Person; $25 to Watch Online.)
Webcast includes 2 months' membership in the Broadband Breakfast Club - unlimited replays.
BEAD Implementation 2026 Sponsors:
The keynote fireside chat, between Arielle Roth, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and Drew Clark, CEO of Broadband Breakfast, will be streamed live and freely available to the Broadband Community at CHAT.BroadbandBreakfast.com.
The event is sponsored by Tarana Wireless, CostQuest Associates, Comcast (each Gold Level Sponsors), and Lerman Senter (Silver Level Sponsor).
For media inquiries, sponsorship opportunities, please contact Marketing and Sales Director Quinn Nghiem at quinn@breakfast.media. For press passes, or questions about your registration, please contact Ari Bertenthal, Community Manager, at support@breakfast.media
Confirmed speakers and sponsors
In the Fireside Chat, Roth and Clark will address the federal policy landscape as BEAD deployments move from planning into construction.
A State Broadband Roundtable will bring together some of the country's most active state broadband leaders to compare what is working, what is slowing projects down, and where greater flexibility or federal clarity is still needed.
Confirmed participants include Andrew Butcher, President of the Maine Connectivity Authority; Christine Hallquist, Executive Director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board; Chandler Vaughan, Associate Director of the Virginia Office of Broadband; and Michael Baldino, Director and General Counsel of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute. The panel will be moderated by Jake Neenan, Reporter at Broadband Breakfast.
A panel on technology choices in BEAD deployment will examine how states are weighing tradeoffs between cost, performance, and long-term network value as awards move into high-cost and hard-to-serve areas. Confirmed panelists include Carl Guardino, Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy at Tarana Wireless, Chris Disher, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Cajun Broadband and Rick Cimerman, Vice President and External and State Affairs Lead at NCTA - The Internet and Television Association. The panel will be moderated by TRDaily Senior Editor Lynn Stanton.
Congressman Greg Landsman, who represents Ohio's First Congressional District, will also deliver a keynote address, bringing a legislative perspective on broadband deployment and program outcomes.
A panel on using remaining BEAD funds will examine how states are directing non-construction dollars toward planning, workforce development, and technical assistance. Confirmed panelists include Kathryn de Wit, Project Director of the Broadband Access Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts; Annmarie Lanesey, Founder and CEO of CanCode Communities; and Christian Hoefly, Senior Corporate Counsel for Policy Strategy at T-Mobile. Jimm Phillips, Associate Editor at Communications Daily, will moderate.
The summit will also feature a panel on capital constraints and BEAD financing, examining how lenders, investors, and providers are navigating rising build costs, supply-chain uncertainty, and compliance requirements. Confirmed panelists include Claude Aiken, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Legal Officer at Nextlink; Brian Allenby, Director of State Solutions at CostQuest; Steve Coran, Chair of the Broadband, Spectrum, and Communications Infrastructure practice group at Lerman Senter; and Evan Feinman, Vice President of Strategy and Emerging Markets at JSI. The panel will be moderated by independent journalist Nancy Scola.
Convening power of the BEAD Implementation Summit
After convening national leaders at last year's Speeding BEAD Summit and the inaugural BEAD Implementation Summit in 2023, Broadband Breakfast will again bring together government, industry, and finance as billions in BEAD funding move into construction.
BEAD Implementation 2026 will focus squarely on what happens after the awards: the deployment decisions, capital structures, and technology choices that will shape whether the program delivers on its promise. States and providers are now navigating permitting timelines, supply chain constraints, workforce availability, and long-term network sustainability — issues that will take center stage at the summit.
This summit brings decision-makers together to share what's working, examine emerging challenges, and align on priorities for the next phase of BEAD implementation.
BEAD Implementation 2026
Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 12 Noon ET-5 p.m. ET
The National Press Club
Broadband Breakfast
Member discussion