Middle Mile and Future Demands: Drivers, Case Studies, Technologies, Strategies
Speaker Vini Santos, Senior Advisor, Product Marketing

Consumers are increasingly utilizing bandwidth hungry applications & services, driving the need for edge networks that can support multi-Gig capabilities with low latency. To support such applications & services of today & tomorrow, Middle Mile investments in Access & Optical EDGE are urgently needed. It is imperative to address the Digital Divide for many geographic areas. We will demonstrate why those investments are needed in terms of bandwidth combined with oversubscription rates in access edge networks. We will show how future-proof investments in technology can be made in the Middle Mile today providing a clear path to 50G and beyond without needing equipment forklifts in the future, provide n x 100G and 400G coherent optical transport at the edge, and are deployable in hardened environments. The business case will demonstrate the benefits of deploying at the edge into hardened environments. In this session, we will highlight real-world examples (case studies) of service providers that have taken steps to address the Middle Mile through their actions in DWDM optical edge and fiber broadband access edge network deployments. They will share real-world outcomes gained or planned from those initiatives.

Middle Mile and The Edge
Speaker Trey Hall, Director of Business Development

Edge Applications are on the cusp on an explosion. Everything from Gaming to AR to VR to IOT to Manufacturing to enterprise applications will switch to edge networks in the next few years. Unlike cloud which took 15 years to mature, edge will take a much smaller time because the catalyst energizing them is the amount of fiber that will be criss-crossing America in the next few years owing to the $150B investment in it. Middle Mile Infrastructure, specifically the one built on the model discussed in #1 will power these edge networks. The MM network will provide access to Points of Presence (POPs) that the content providers will use to move caches of content and code closer to the application. If such MM infrastructure does not exist you will see a new digital divide in America in which rural America has access to capacity with fiber to their homes but does not have access to sub 7ms latency as the edge devices are several hundred or thousands of miles away from them. The rural populations will not be able to use edge applications creating the new digital divide.

Sustainability - Corporate Approaches and Best Practices
Speaker Helon Xenos, Senior Director, Product Marketing

Creating a path to net zero carbon emissions is a challenge that most operators now have as part of its corporate mandate. Programs focused on reducing environmental impact, transitioning to renewable, sustainable energy sources, water conservation to how it can less the impact of truck rolls for customer support and transportation. During this panel, operators will share best practices, lessons learned, and provide an update on plans to reach the milestones ahead.

Open-Access Community Broadband Networks are Revolutionizing Internet Access for Rural Communities
Speaker Vini Santos, Senior Advisor, Product Marketing

Market trends in the internet industry indicate a rapid increase in the demand for high-speed internet due to the rise of remote work, online education, and digital entertainment. Fiber optic cables are becoming increasingly necessary as they offer a faster and more reliable internet connection. However, the cost of deploying fiber remains a significant challenge for providers, particularly in remote and rural areas.

Despite these challenges, the industry has opportunities for growth through innovative open-access community broadband network models. Fiber providers can partner with municipalities to secure funding, develop a business plan, and build the infrastructure. Giving municipalities ownership of the network enables revenue to be diverted back into the community. Additionally, an open-access model allows multiple ISPs to sell services on the network, resulting in competitive pricing and increased consumer choice.

This collaborative approach can accelerate fiber deployment and adoption, allowing rural and remote communities to take advantage of universal broadband access's economic and social benefits.

Financial Considerations for Sustainable Broadband
Speaker Mitch Simcoe, Senior Advisor, Product Marketing

While delivering broadband service to underserved households, service providers are very conscious of extending broadband to their communities in a sustainable manner.

There are several different architectures for deploying broadband in the last mile, with each offering their variations in space and power which influence sustainability. A newer architecture involves the use of SFP plug-ins for the Optical Line Terminal (OLT) which drives the fiber in the last mile. This architecture offers the advantages of higher density and lower power consumptions than legacy architectures have typically delivered.

Through partnership with analyst ACG, we developed a business case tool that helps broadband service providers model the CAPEX and OPEX of their potential network architectures which includes the economics of these sustainability advantages. This presentation will compare the sustainability pros and cons of each architecture and walk through a demo of the tool which provides a five-year total cost of ownership (TCO) which highlights power/sustainability OPEX savings and supports broadband service providers to achieve the sustainability goals for their communities.

5G Mobile Infrastructure Evolution 
Speaker Vini Santos, Senior Advisor, Product Marketing

5G is expected to be a game changer to the business world, bringing significant opportunities for businesses to expand their offerings and connect to the Internet of Things (IoT). If you are wondering what you can do to prepare your business for 5G, starting to plan now can help you be prepared when 5G becomes mainstream. You can prepare for the future by making sure your current network is interoperable and seamless so that you stay one step ahead of the 5G future. Where to start, steps on how to prepare for 5G, and the security implications for 5G and IoT will be discussed.

Middle Mile Networks: Lessons Learned 
Speaker Mitch Simcoe, Senior Advisor, Product Marketing

While much of the focus and funding for broadband is on last-mile access, the middle mile (aggregation network) cannot be ignored. Many of the rural areas with unserved households are located many hundreds of miles from the nearest internet point of presence (PoP).

The middle mile is defined by the NTIA as any infrastructure that is not connected directly to an end-user. Many rural providers are banding together to create a middle-mile network to aggregate all the broadband traffic from various entities to one or more internet PoPs. A great example of a rural utility co-op in the state of Alabama is Cullman Electric's Sprout Internet service for its community.

Middle-Mile Technology Deep Dive 
Speaker Phil Fine, Director, Broadband Access Solutions

This deep dive will focus on the broadband ecosystem middle mile—from the fiber OLT to the data center and cloud—including the technology advancements that are promoting a path to network virtualization, disaggregation, as well as network and service agility with a path from monolithic hardware to software-defined access networks.