2026 Showcase
Welcome to our Fiber Connect 2026 Video Showcase! We captured video snippets from thought leaders here at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, Florida. Check out their videos and get an in-depth view of the leading optical fiber business technology event organized by the Fiber Broadband Association.
Watch the videos below, and grab our latest research brief right from this page.
Thanks to our sponsors for supporting our site!
2026 Fiber Connect
Welcome to our Fiber Connect 2026 Video Showcase! We captured video snippets from thought leaders here at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, Florida. Check out their videos and get an in-depth view of the leading optical fiber business technology event organized by the Fiber Broadband Association.
Watch the videos below, and grab our latest research brief right from this page.
Thanks to our sponsors for supporting our site!
Sponsor Spotlight Clearfield
Optimism Returns at Fiber Connect 2026
Anis Khemakhem, Chief Commercial Officer at Clearfield, shares his optimism from Fiber Connect 2026 about the fiber industry's expansion beyond homes to machine connectivity, fueled by private investment and anticipated public funding, while highlighting his company's focus on solving supply chain and workforce challenges.
Sponsor Spotlight Connect Marketing, Connect2 Communications
Fiber Infrastructure Unlocks Community Growth
Rich Williams,President of Connect2 Communications, explores Fiber Connect's "light years ahead" theme, explaining how fiber deployment enables communities to serve anchor institutions, attract businesses, and retain young talent through remote work opportunities.
Sponsor Spotlight Dell'Oro Group
US Fiber Investment Surges in 2026
Jeff Heynen, Vice President at Dell'Oro Group, reports that 2026 marks a significant upward trend for US fiber infrastructure investment, driven by private operator expansion, cable operator HFC upgrades with fiber buildouts, and BEAD funding flowing to early-qualifying states like Louisiana, Nevada, and New Mexico.
Sponsor Spotlight EPB
EPB’s Commercial Quantum Network
Evann Freeman, Director of Government Relations at EPB, discusses how the Chattanooga municipal utility launched the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S. in 2023, partnering with the Department of Energy and Qubitekk to enable industry, academia, and government to test quantum technologies on a live network.
Sponsor Spotlight Fiber Broadband Association
Fiber Infrastructure Powers AI, Quantum & Future Tech
Lukas Pietrzak, Director of Public Policy for the Fiber Broadband Association, discusses how fiber infrastructure serves as the foundational fabric enabling AI, quantum computing, and advanced technologies while delivering the speed, latency, and reliability needed across all communities.
Sponsor Spotlight Fiber Broadband Association
Fiber Broadband's Next 25 Years: AI, Telehealth & Data Centers
Jessica Koch, Chair, FBA Conference Committee at the Fiber Broadband Association, introduces the "Light Years Ahead" theme for the 2026 conference celebrating 25 years of Fiber Connect.
Sponsor Spotlight Gaia
ISPs Can Activate Subscribers Faster with AI-Native OSS/BSS
Stephen Farnsworth, CRO of Gaia, explains how the ISP industry's main challenge has evolved from fiber infrastructure deployment to the speed of subscriber activation and billing, with many providers underestimating this operational hurdle until implementation timelines stretch to nine to eighteen months.
Sponsor Spotlight Genexis
Bringing Smart Home Solutions Through the Mail
Kajsa Arvidsson, Chief Marketing Officer at Genexis, discusses how the company delivers connectivity to homes through smart optical network terminators with open, interoperable solutions that enable customer self-installation.
Sponsor Spotlight GoCare
Breaking Down Data Silos
Mike Roddy, CEO of GoCare, explains how his company's customer experience platform consolidates data from billing, workforce management, network operations, and customer care into a unified system where AI analyzes conversations, outages, and service touchpoints to provide comprehensive insights beyond traditional digital channels.
Sponsor Spotlight Nokia
Why Universal Gigabit Access Is Essential for the AI Era
Stefaan Vanhastel, Head of Marketing & Innovation at Nokia, explains how universal gigabit connectivity is essential as AI becomes pervasive in daily life, with peak speeds necessary to ensure cloud-based AI agents respond as quickly as local applications and prevent new digital divides.
Sponsor Spotlight Omdia
M&A Trends, Supply Challenges & Network Future
Jaimie Lenderman, Research Manager & Principal Analyst at Omdia, reports from Fiber Connect 2026 that while BEAD funding discussions have diminished, the industry now focuses on access network viability and M&A activity driven by private equity interest, with operators facing decisions about acquiring or being acquired.
Sponsor Spotlight Render Networks
How Fiber Industry Jobs Are Being Reimagined with AI
Stephen Rose, CEO of Render Networks, discusses at Fiber Connect how AI-first workflows are being integrated across design, build, and construction processes, creating an entirely new class of jobs in back office and field operations.
Sponsor Spotlight RouteThis
Service Providers Are Investing in AI for Customer Experience
Conor Skipper, Director of Sales at RouteThis, attends Fiber Connect 2026 to explore how service providers are implementing AI in their operations, including voice AI applications for customer experience in tech support, billing, and marketing.
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Analysis by AvidThink
What we learned at Fiber Connect 2026
From the 25th-anniversary show in Orlando, five themes on where fiber broadband goes next.
Fiber's next customer is the machine
Clearfield sees growth expanding beyond homes to machine connectivity, Nokia argues universal gigabit is what keeps cloud AI agents as responsive as local apps, and the Fiber Broadband Association now positions fiber as the foundational fabric for AI and quantum — a bigger claim than broadband ever made.
Investment turns up — with or without BEAD
Dell'Oro calls 2026 a significant upward inflection for US fiber investment, driven by private operator expansion and cable's HFC-to-fiber upgrades, with BEAD dollars flowing to early-qualifying states. Omdia notes the BEAD conversation has faded while private-equity-driven M&A forces operators to decide: acquire or be acquired.
The bottleneck moved from construction to operations
Gaia reports the ISP challenge has shifted from deploying fiber to activating and billing subscribers fast — a problem providers underestimate until implementations stretch to 9–18 months. GoCare unifies billing, workforce, network, and care data; RouteThis brings voice AI to support, billing, and marketing.
AI enters the build itself
Render Networks is integrating AI-first workflows across design, build, and construction — and creating a new class of back-office and field jobs in the process. The efficiency race in fiber deployment is now a software race.
The payoff compounds beyond internet access
EPB's Chattanooga utility runs the first commercially available quantum network in the US on municipal fiber, and community builders report fiber anchoring institutions, attracting businesses, and retaining young talent through remote work. Fiber's return on investment increasingly shows up outside the broadband bill.
Highlights from industry thought leaders
Video interviews
Optimism Returns at Fiber Connect 2026
- Fiber's growth is expanding beyond homes to machine connectivity
- Private investment plus anticipated public funding drives the outlook
- Clearfield is focused on solving supply chain and workforce challenges
Abstract
Anis Khemakhem, Chief Commercial Officer at Clearfield, shares his optimism from Fiber Connect 2026 about the fiber industry's expansion beyond homes to machine connectivity, fueled by private investment and anticipated public funding, while highlighting his company's focus on solving supply chain and workforce challenges.
Fiber Infrastructure Unlocks Community Growth
- Fiber deployment helps communities serve anchor institutions and attract businesses
- Remote work enabled by fiber helps communities retain young talent
Abstract
Rich Williams,President of Connect2 Communications, explores Fiber Connect's "light years ahead" theme, explaining how fiber deployment enables communities to serve anchor institutions, attract businesses, and retain young talent through remote work opportunities.
US Fiber Investment Surges in 2026
- 2026 marks a significant upward trend for US fiber infrastructure investment
- Growth driven by private operator expansion and cable operator HFC-to-fiber upgrades
- BEAD funding is flowing to early-qualifying states like Louisiana, Nevada, and New Mexico
Abstract
Jeff Heynen, Vice President at Dell'Oro Group, reports that 2026 marks a significant upward trend for US fiber infrastructure investment, driven by private operator expansion, cable operator HFC upgrades with fiber buildouts, and BEAD funding flowing to early-qualifying states like Louisiana, Nevada, and New Mexico.
EPB’s Commercial Quantum Network
- EPB launched the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S. in 2023
- Chattanooga municipal utility partnered with the Department of Energy and Qubitekk
- The network lets industry, academia, and government test quantum tech on a live network
Abstract
Evann Freeman, Director of Government Relations at EPB, discusses how the Chattanooga municipal utility launched the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S. in 2023, partnering with the Department of Energy and Qubitekk to enable industry, academia, and government to test quantum technologies on a live network.
Fiber Infrastructure Powers AI, Quantum & Future Tech
- Fiber is positioned as the foundational fabric enabling AI, quantum, and advanced tech
- Fiber delivers the speed, latency, and reliability needed across all communities
Abstract
Lukas Pietrzak, Director of Public Policy for the Fiber Broadband Association, discusses how fiber infrastructure serves as the foundational fabric enabling AI, quantum computing, and advanced technologies while delivering the speed, latency, and reliability needed across all communities.
Fiber Broadband's Next 25 Years: AI, Telehealth & Data Centers
- 2026 conference theme is "Light Years Ahead"
- The event celebrates 25 years of Fiber Connect
Abstract
Jessica Koch, Chair, FBA Conference Committee at the Fiber Broadband Association, introduces the "Light Years Ahead" theme for the 2026 conference celebrating 25 years of Fiber Connect.
ISPs Can Activate Subscribers Faster with AI-Native OSS/BSS
- ISP challenge has shifted from fiber deployment to speed of subscriber activation and billing
- Providers underestimate this until implementation timelines stretch to 9-18 months
Abstract
Stephen Farnsworth, CRO of Gaia, explains how the ISP industry's main challenge has evolved from fiber infrastructure deployment to the speed of subscriber activation and billing, with many providers underestimating this operational hurdle until implementation timelines stretch to nine to eighteen months.
Bringing Smart Home Solutions Through the Mail
- Genexis delivers home connectivity via smart optical network terminators
- Open, interoperable solutions enable customer self-installation
Abstract
Kajsa Arvidsson, Chief Marketing Officer at Genexis, discusses how the company delivers connectivity to homes through smart optical network terminators with open, interoperable solutions that enable customer self-installation.
Breaking Down Data Silos
- GoCare's platform unifies billing, workforce management, network ops, and customer care data
- AI analyzes conversations, outages, and service touchpoints for comprehensive insights
Abstract
Mike Roddy, CEO of GoCare, explains how his company's customer experience platform consolidates data from billing, workforce management, network operations, and customer care into a unified system where AI analyzes conversations, outages, and service touchpoints to provide comprehensive insights beyond traditional digital channels.
Why Universal Gigabit Access Is Essential for the AI Era
- Universal gigabit connectivity is essential as AI becomes pervasive in daily life
- Peak speeds keep cloud-based AI agents as responsive as local applications
- Gigabit access is needed to prevent new digital divides
Abstract
Stefaan Vanhastel, Head of Marketing & Innovation at Nokia, explains how universal gigabit connectivity is essential as AI becomes pervasive in daily life, with peak speeds necessary to ensure cloud-based AI agents respond as quickly as local applications and prevent new digital divides.
M&A Trends, Supply Challenges & Network Future
- BEAD funding discussions have diminished; focus shifts to access network viability
- M&A activity is driven by private equity interest
- Operators face decisions about acquiring or being acquired
Abstract
Jaimie Lenderman, Research Manager & Principal Analyst at Omdia, reports from Fiber Connect 2026 that while BEAD funding discussions have diminished, the industry now focuses on access network viability and M&A activity driven by private equity interest, with operators facing decisions about acquiring or being acquired.
How Fiber Industry Jobs Are Being Reimagined with AI
- AI-first workflows are being integrated across design, build, and construction processes
- The shift is creating a new class of jobs in back office and field operations
Abstract
Stephen Rose, CEO of Render Networks, discusses at Fiber Connect how AI-first workflows are being integrated across design, build, and construction processes, creating an entirely new class of jobs in back office and field operations.
Service Providers Are Investing in AI for Customer Experience
- Service providers are implementing AI across their operations
- Voice AI applications target customer experience in tech support, billing, and marketing
Abstract
Conor Skipper, Director of Sales at RouteThis, attends Fiber Connect 2026 to explore how service providers are implementing AI in their operations, including voice AI applications for customer experience in tech support, billing, and marketing.
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