Broadband Development Conference
Keller & Heckman, Partner
Casey Lide is a Partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm Keller & Heckman, LLP. He represents clients on a wide range of issues involving broadband, telecommunications, and related infrastructure and service matters. Casey counsels public- and private-sector clients on contract development and negotiation, including fiber optic IRUs and leases, franchises, attachment agreements, ISP service agreements, public-private partnerships, and strategic MoUs; provides due diligence counsel for communications industry mergers and acquisitions; and advises clients on state and federal regulatory compliance matters. He frequently collaborates with multi-disciplinary teams of legal, financial, engineering, and other technical experts, assisting clients in the development of state-of-the-art communications systems.
Data center connectivity in support of AI has led to incredible investment in long-haul and middle-mile fiber builds. The unprecedented demand for fiber optic capacity — often in rural areas — creates significant opportunities for fiber providers that can manage hyperscaler requirements and deploy quickly.
But a new round of investment in AI compute capacity at the network edge requires fiber connectivity as well. This session will explore:
The Federal Communications Commission is playing a large role in the future of universal connectivity, with a current focus on aggressively expanding mid-band spectrum for 5G/6G, streamlining satellite-to-smartphone connectivity to eliminate dead zones, and fostering competition in Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and mobility by moving underutilized airwaves into the hands of providers. This session will explore how the FCC is marking the 30-year anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 with sweeping change — and how these policy decisions will set the stage for the next generation of innovation and investment.
