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2025 Fiber Connect
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Tracy Doaks, President and CEO of MCNC, manages 4,500 miles of middle mile fiber infrastructure that connects educational and healthcare facilities throughout North Carolina. Under her leadership, MCNC focuses on protected connectivity through cyber practices while preparing their network for emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing.
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Gary Bolton, President of Fiber Broadband Association, Jaimie Lenderman, Research Manager at Omdia, and Jeff Heynen, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group, led discussions at Fiber Connect 2025 in Nashville, where the event celebrated graduating over 1,000 fiber optic technicians and showcased industry advancements. The conference highlighted the industry’s dedication to expansion through AI and quantum networking solutions, while setting the stage for its 2026 edition in Orlando.
Sachin Gupta, Chair of the Middle Mile Working Group at Fiber Broadband Association, leads a discussion on the organization’s white paper addressing middle mile infrastructure needs in rural America. The analysis shows current last-mile networks are built on outdated bandwidth requirements, highlighting the necessity for new middle mile deployment to support 100 Mbps symmetric connections for modern households.
Robert Conger, SVP of Technology and Strategy at Adtran, explains how the company connects optical core to customer premises through solutions ranging from Wi-Fi 7 to 50G PON and 800G transport speeds. He highlights their approach to combining network data from multiple sources to enable intelligent decision-making and simplified management, particularly beneficial for rural broadband providers seeking efficient operations.
Carlos Peña, Product Manager II at Amphenol, demonstrates the company’s turnkey solutions for accelerating fiber deployments through comprehensive offerings like wall-mounted enclosures and connectivity products at Fiber Connect in Nashville. He explains that their solutions help service providers efficiently deliver connectivity to every unit within buildings, going beyond just reaching living units.
Trey Peppers, Owner of Blitz Broadband, has led the company’s expansion from basic fiber services to comprehensive construction and maintenance operations across the southeastern United States. The company’s strategic growth includes plans for long-haul fiber deployment and middle mile infrastructure development, with a focus on meeting increasing data center connectivity demands from Georgia to Texas.
Dustin Heath, Director of Customer Success at CHR Solutions, showcases the company’s comprehensive suite of tools for broadband providers, including engineering operations, feasibility studies, and construction management solutions. The company’s advanced technology stack, featuring the Omnia 360 platform, drone fleets, and GIS capabilities, enables faster engineering processes and enhanced cybersecurity protection for service providers nationwide.
Anis Khemakhem, Chief Marketing Officer at Clearfield, discusses the company’s labor-efficient modular products and new tools at Fiber Connect 2025 in Nashville. The company’s initiatives include training programs and 3D help tools through a partnership with Built, offering installers easy access to product information and installation guidance via mobile devices.
Johannes Maassen, President of Collaborative Synergy, discusses his company’s efforts to improve make-ready applications for ISPs and power companies at Fiber Connect 2025. His insights address the challenges of understaffed utility companies and varying application requirements, showing how early planning creates better outcomes in engineering and construction phases.
Kara Mullaley, Market Development Manager for Carrier Networks at Corning, outlines the company’s $500 million investment in global fiber and cable capacity since 2020 at Fiber Connect in Nashville. Her presentation showcases how Corning’s connectivity solutions have helped connect over 100 million homes worldwide while enabling faster, more cost-effective installations.
Stephen Farnsworth, CRO of GAIA Telecom, outlines the company’s approach to modernizing subscriber experiences for fiber network operators at the 2025 Fiber Connect conference. The company has successfully partnered with over 35 ISPs in the past year, focusing on optimizing subscriber acquisition and management through their OSSBSS software solutions.
Kajsa Arvidsson, Chief Marketing Officer at Genexis, showcases the company’s dedication to open networking solutions through interoperability demonstrations with multiple OLT vendors and their rapid Fiber Twist installation system. The Swedish-Dutch company develops network terminations and Wi-Fi gateways with European-based software development, helping to expand connectivity to homes worldwide.
Kevin Mitchell, Marketing & Partnerships at GoCare, demonstrates how their digital experience platform enables broadband operators to enhance customer communications through multiple digital channels. The platform integrates with service providers’ systems to deliver proactive messaging that reduces call volumes while improving operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Martin Boss, COO of Manning Technology Services, highlights the critical role of continuous field training for contractors handling residential installations and service work. He focuses on community education about installation practices while stressing that ongoing field training, beyond initial employee onboarding, is essential for enhancing service delivery and job performance.
Tracy Doaks, President and CEO of MCNC, manages 4,500 miles of middle mile fiber infrastructure that connects educational and healthcare facilities throughout North Carolina. Under her leadership, MCNC focuses on protected connectivity through cyber practices while preparing their network for emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing.
Stefaan Vanhastel, Head of Marketing & Innovation at Nokia, explains that fiber technology delivers the most cost-effective multi-gigabit capacity solution with long-term scalability for subscribers. His insights reveal that Nokia’s North American XGS-PON shipments have reached 95%, with 25G solutions gaining market momentum and advanced trials of 50G and 100G technologies showing promising results for both residential and business applications.
Stephen Rose, CEO of Render Networks, explains that fiber network rollouts frequently exceed budgets by 40-60% due to poor project visibility and tracking capabilities. Speaking from Nashville, he outlines how Render Networks solves these issues through real-time deployment monitoring and user-friendly tools that drive field worker adoption.
Jenni Dettman, VP of Marketing at RouteThis, discusses strategies for enhancing customer experience and support in the fiber industry at Fiber Connect 2025. She highlights how RouteThis enables service providers to optimize whole-home deployments through improved technician tools and self-installation processes, leading to better customer retention.
Trent Edwards, President of Broadband Solutions at Tak Communications, showcased the company’s end-to-end solution capabilities at Fiber Connect. His presentation detailed how Tak Communications functions as a revenue-generating contractor by providing comprehensive services from door-to-door sales to engineering, construction, and fulfillment.
Roger Timmerman, Executive Director of Utopia Fiber, led the early completion of a fiber network in Bountiful City that connects 16,500 households with 10-gigabit services through an open access system supporting 19 competing providers. As a publicly-owned organization, Utopia Fiber continues expanding its community-owned network model through partnerships in Yellowstone Fiber, Boseman, and California’s rural areas.
Peter Cresse, Executive at USI, showcases how artificial intelligence integration with fiber networks enhances performance across data centers, middle mile, and access networks. USI‘s platform enables collaboration between humans and machines to improve end-to-end quality of experience through intelligent network management.
Geoff Burke, SVP of Marketing at Zhone, outlines the company’s return to the telecommunications market following its acquisition of DZS’s assets, bringing with it the complete product portfolio . The revival of the Zhone brand connects back to its original 1999 Oakland roots while maintaining strong customer relationships and building on its 25-year industry presence.