Register Today for the CBAN Community Broadband Summit

October 19, 2021
Stoney Creek Hotel
​Johnston, Iowa

CBAN is excited to announce the return of the CBAN Community Broadband Summit!  The Summit is a half-day exploration of better broadband for communities and rural areas. CBAN members of all classifications can benefit from participating in the Summit! 

Key takeways:

• For Community Leaders: Learn more about how you can take ACTION to bring better broadband to the people you serve and network with people who can help you achieve your goals.
• For Providers: Serve as mentors for communities and rural areas seeking to build networks and identify opportunities for partnerships.
• For Advocates: Network with others who have moved better broadband to the forefront of discussion in their communities through advocacy.
• For Vendors: Discover which communities are exploring community-based broadband solutions to communicate with them more effectively about your solutions.

Register (free for CBAN members)

Summit Agenda

​12:30pm-1:00pm
Registration and Networking  

1:00pm-1:15pm
Welcome (Curtis Dean, CBAN)

1:15pm-2:00pm
The State of Community Broadband in America
Speakers: Christopher Mitchell and Dozmen Lee, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
 
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has served as a key advocate for community-owned broadband for over a decade. During this session, Chris Mitchell and Doz Lee from ILSR will discuss the current state of community broadband in the nation, including where barriers to public networks have recently been lifted and where such barriers still hold back deployment of better broadband.

2:00pm – 2:15pm
Networking Break
Grab a snack and visit with your fellow CBAN members and stop by our associate member tables.  

2:15pm – 3:00pm
Community Spotlight: How Fort Dodge, Iowa Got Across the Finish Line
Moderator: Jon Anne Willow
Panelists: Ryan Maehl, City of Fort Dodge; Todd Kielkopf, Kielkopf Advisory Services; Ken Demlow, HR Green; Michael Maloney, DA Davidson
 
In August, Fort Dodge, Iowa finalized financing for a $38 Million fiber-to-the-home project after two years of studies, planning, and a successful referendum. Fort Dodge will be one of just two municipal broadband utilities in Iowa in a non-municipal electric utility town. In this session, panelists will discuss the challenges of putting the project together and what lessons other communities can learn from Fort Dodge’s journey.

3:00pm – 3:15pm
Networking Break 

3:15pm – 4:45pm
Roundtable discussions
Attendees will break into groups and make the rounds to different topic tables to discuss various aspects of better broadband. After spending approximately 25 minutes at each table everyone will rotate to a different table.

1. State and Federal Funding for Broadband
2. Building the Buzz for Better Broadband
3. Conveying the Local Benefits of Public Broadband
4. The Economics of Rural Broadband

4:45pm – 5:00pm
Closing remarks

 5:00pm-6:00pm
Happy Hour with Networking and Associate Member Tables

The CBAN Summit is FREE for all CBAN Members to attend, but pre-registration is required.

Not a CBAN Member yet? Sign up at https://broadbandaction.com/join-cban/  

CBAN membership is free for Community Members, Provider Members. Associate membership (for vendors who sell broadband professional services and products) dues are based on a sliding scale according to company size and will be prorated to the end of 2021. Details are available on the membership page (see link above).

Associate Members can reserve an option tabletop display for $250.  Tabletops are limited. Tabletop reservation is made using the registration form.

Register (free for CBAN members)