NATION’S $48 BILLION BROADBAND CHIEF: NTIA ADMINISTRATOR ALAN DAVIDSON TO HEADLINE ALL-STAR LINEUP AT MOUNTAIN CONNECT

Also Appearing: U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Colorado Broadband Office Executive Director Brandy Reitter

700 Industry Veterans, Local Officials, and Members of the Public Will Tackle High-Speed Broadband Connectivity May 23-25 in Keystone, Colorado

(Keystone, CO……May 9, 2022) With $48 billion in federal funding for high-speed broadband on its way, the State of Colorado, its western neighbors, and communities across the United States are racing the clock to get shovel-ready projects ready for deployment. Alan Davidson, the man selected by The White House to administer the billions allocated for high-speed broadband expansion—part of the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act (IIJA)—will headline the Mountain Connect Broadband Development Conference, May 23-25, at Keystone Resort & Conference Center in Keystone, Colorado.  Davidson, who serves as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator, will share his insights days after issuing a Notice of Funding Opportunity for broadband expansion at the three-day event, which has ballooned to over 700 attendees, sponsors, and speakers. Davidson will be among dozens of speakers including  U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser, and State Broadband Office Director Brandy Reitter. Among an entire spectrum of topics, attendees will hear how broadband policies and funds will be deployed throughout Colorado and the across the nation. Mountain Connect will also take a deeper dive into cutting-edge new products, and more.

“County and Community leaders are thirsty for information pertaining to new NTIA policies impacting high-speed broadband funding and deployment. This is an opportunity for public officials, industry groups, suppliers, and residents to hear firsthand how the federal government intends to invest $48 billion in broadband expansion, access, and adoption,” said Jeff Gavlinski, the CEO of Mountain Connect. “Attendees will get to see it all unfold exclusively this year at Mountain Connect,” he added.  

Adding to the excitement of this year’s conference, the nation’s leading technology companies will showcase cutting-edge products that do everything from run Smart Cities to Smart homes, and revolutionary new in-building Wi-Fi devices that provide a more seamless consumer experience.

“We’re excited to share that Broadband.Money and Calix are Mountain Connect’s 2022 primary sponsors, and other innovative companies like Bonfire, Radisys, Plume, GrantWorks, an Arcadian Infracom, will participate as well,” said Gavlinski.

Mountain Connect is also tackling some of the most pressing issues impacting Colorado including taking a closer look at the Boulder County fires that took down major communications networks.

“The recent fires that devastated Superior and Louisville destroyed over 1,000 homes without warning. We’ll be holding a general session that takes a deeper dive into what happened, how to create redundancy in our communications networks, and how high-speed broadband can be used to power early-warning networks,” said Lori Adams, Senior Director of Broadband Policy & Funding Strategy for Nokia, the session’s moderator. “As more extreme weather events impact the nation, we’ll need to depend on technology to protect lives and property,” she noted.

Colorado’s municipal leaders may not realize the influence they had on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, according to U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, who will address the conference.

“Colorado communities like Longmont, Loveland, Fort Collins, and Delta-Montrose have led the nation in providing affordable, high-speed broadband. I drew on their leadership to write the BRIDGE Act in June 2020, which formed the basis of the bipartisan infrastructure bill’s historic $48 billion investment to deploy future-proof broadband across the nation,” said Sen. Bennet. “I’m thrilled to see Coloradans and other US communities gather at Mountain Connect to discuss how to make the most of this historic federal investment, and my team stands by to help however we can.”

The media is strongly encouraged to attend the May 23 pre-conference workshop “Broadband 101,” led by Dr. David Reed, Scholar in Residence, University of Colorado. The workshop will cover the basic concepts of broadband networking technology, economics, and public policy, that all industry managers, public policy and government decision makers need to know.

“With over 100 speakers and 45 sessions, there’s fresh content for all attendees, plenty of networking opportunities, and dozens of exciting and accessible technologies on display throughout Mountain Connect,” said Gavlinski.

The public is invited to visit the Mountain Connect agenda at www.mountainconnect.org. Tickets range from $100 to $749 for the three-day event.

About Mountain Connect

The Mountain Connect Broadband Development Conference will be held May 23-25 at Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colorado. The mission of Mountain Connect is to move U.S. communities forward by providing relevant and targeted content to help them make the most effective decisions as they build new or expand existing telecommunications infrastructure that enable the long-term vision of a community. Mountain Connect is agnostic of the technology that delivers broadband and as such, believe this provides a well-balanced foundation to make an educated and informed decision with input from industry and community leaders from across the US. Finally, we believe in looking forward and are inclusive of trending technologies that will shape our broadband future. More at www.mountainconnect.org.