With the U.S. government now preparing to hand out $42.45 billion in subsidies for new broadband network builds, cable operators and other service providers are lining up for a hefty share of the public funds to close the Digital Divide. Under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, qualified operators need put up just 25% of the project costs, with the feds picking up the rest of the tab. Participants must also submit letters of credit for 25% of their BEAD award amount.
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Date: Jan 18, 2024
Duration: 1 Hr
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How can cable operators take advantage of BEAD? What kinds of network builds qualify for the subsidies? How will the program change U.S. broadband market dynamics? What hurdles does BEAD raise? This session will spell out the opportunities and challenges of BEAD for cable.
Speakers:
Alan Breznick,Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light ReadingAlan covers the cable, fiber, broadband, and IP video markets for Heavy Reading. In particular, he tracks new cable, broadband, and video technologies and standards, such as DOCSIS 4.0, FTTP, DAA, XGS-PON, 10G EPON, streaming video, network virtualization, business services, Wi-Fi 6, and ATSC 3.0.
With a strong background in both business journalism and technology research, Alan has covered the cable, telecom, broadband, media, and consumer electronics markets as an editor and analyst for more than 30 years, including the past 17 years for Light and Heavy Reading. A New York City native, Alan is now based in Ontario, Canada.
Robin Fenton, Vice President of Membership & Learning Operations
Robin Fenton is the Vice President of Membership & Learning Operations for the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE). In this role, she oversees operations impacting 10,000 learners, 3,000 certified professionals, 60 chapters and 18,000 members worldwide. Her responsibilities include developing and executing strategies that encourage member engagement, customer satisfaction, learner development, and empowering volunteers to carry out the mission of SCTE at the local level.
Robin started her SCTE career in 2002 as manager of standards operations for SCTE, where she managed the cable industry standards process from the initial project authorization through committee approval and final American National Standards Institute (ANSI) review. In 2006, she became the director of chapter support, providing resources, tools and support for over 70 chapters and 1,100 volunteers. In addition to cable, her prior work includes utility, manufacturing and broadcasting industry experience.
She earned her master’s in business administration from Pennsylvania State University and her bachelor’s in communications emphasis in broadcasting and public relations from Mansfield University. In 2020, she was recognized as a leader in the cable industry as a CableFax Honoree for Most Powerful Women in Cable.
Andrew D. Lipman, Partner, Morgan Lewis
Andrew D. Lipman practices in most aspects of communications law and related fields, including regulatory, transactional, litigation, legislative, and land use. Andy’s clients in the private and public sectors include those in the areas of local, long distance, and international telephone common carriage; Internet services and technologies; conventional and emerging wireless services; satellite services; broadcasting; competitive video services; telecommunications equipment manufacturing; and other high-technology applications. Additionally, he manages privatizations of telecommunications carriers in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Frequently writing and speaking on telecommunications, Andy’s work encompasses more than 170 articles and five books, including two Dow Jones books on telecommunications. He occasionally appears on National Public Radio, C-SPAN, Bloomberg News Network, and ABC News, and he served on the editorial advisory boards of Phillips Publishing Company, Internet Law and Regulation, Telecommunications Alert, Telecommunications Reports, Telecommunications Regulatory Monitor, and The Satellite Compendium.
Bill Baker, Chief Executive Officer/Owner, Nextlink Internet
Bill Baker is the founding investor of Nextlink Internet in 2012 along with Danny Gilbert. After Danny
passed away in 2013, Bill took a leading role in the business and has actively directed the
Company’s operational and growth strategy since that time. Nextlink is recognized as one of the
fastest growing rural internet service providers in the United States along with over 8,000 Google
reviews at 4.9 stars.
Prior to joining Nextlink, Bill was a senior Partner in KPMG’s Deal Advisory practice where he
assisted corporate and private equity clients with mergers and acquisitions. Bill also has served in
management roles in small, high growth startups earlier in his career as well as a corporate
development role in a Fortune 100 company. Due to his experience in transactions, Bill has
frequently served as an expert witness in transaction related disputes. Currently, Bill sits on the
boards of four for-profit companies and the advisory board for the Baylor University MBA program
as well as serves as an ad hoc advisor to private equity firms evaluating potential acquisition
targets.
Bill was a founding Director for Village of Hope Uganda, a not-for-profit charity working with former
child soldiers in Northern Uganda where the Village of Hope has constructed a village in the
countryside where over 400 children live, attend school and receive healthcare services.
Bill holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and a Masters of Business
Administration degree in Finance from Baylor University and is a licensed CPA in the state of Texas.
Ralph W. Brown, Founder, Brown Wolf Consulting LLC
Ralph Brown founded Brown Wolf Consulting LLC after retiring from CableLabs® where he was CTO and responsible for leading CableLabs’ Research and Development staff in delivering innovative technology to the cable industry. In this role, he led research and development in a broad range of areas, including: Hybrid Fiber-Coax, Optical, and Wireless Network Technologies, as well as Open Source Software, Security, and Technology Policy. In this capacity, he was responsible for leading opportunities for convergence across all of CableLabs programs. During this period he also served on the Board of Directors for SCTE/ISBE, the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), and Kyrio®.
Prior to CableLabs, Mr. Brown worked for Excite@Home as Chief Architect, Set-top Systems where he worked on broadband applications for set-top terminals and entertainment devices. Before joining Excite@Home, he worked for Time Warner Cable as Chief Software Architect in their Advanced Engineering Department where he worked on the Orlando Full Service Network and was a key contributor the Time Warner Cable Pegasus Program.
Mr. Brown earned a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His Master’s thesis was in the field of Speech Recognition. He received his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from North Carolina State University.
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