Where innovators and leaders unite: Previewing the upcoming 2024 Broadband Nation Expo

Today, we’re gearing up for one of the most exciting events in the broadband space – the 2024 Broadband Nation Expo in Washington, D.C.

On this episode, we are joined by leadership at Questex to discuss why this expo is where leaders and innovators come together to talk about the future of broadband and digital inclusion.

Recommended Links:
Broadband Nation Expo Registration Link
Alejandro's LinkedIn

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:06 Meeting Alejandro/Background
• 2:39 Expectations for the Expo
• 5:27 The role of organizations at the Expo
• 10:12 Behind the scenes work
• 12:25 What Alejandro is excited about
• 16:12 Key takeaways
• 17:52 Conclusion + Outro

Transcript

Grant Ahlbrand (00:08):

Welcome to Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast where we focus on all things broadband. From closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds, we dive into technology topics that affect all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods. Today we are gearing up for one of the most exciting events in the broadband space, the 2024 Broadband Nation Expo in Washington dc. On this episode, we are joined by leadership at Questex to discuss why this expo is where leaders and innovators come together to talk about the future of broadband and digital inclusion. I'm Grant Ahlbrand, and this is Connected Nation. I am Grant Ahlbrand, and today I am joined by Alejandro Pinero, an expert in the field and a key figure in organizing this incredible event. We dive into what attendees can expect the importance of this expo and Alejandro's role in making it happen. Welcome, Alejandro.

Alejandro Pinero (00:58):

Thanks, grant. Pleasure to be here. I'm not sure if I'll be able to live up to that introduction, but I'll certainly try my best.

Grant Ahlbrand (01:06):

All right. So before we jump into all things about the Broadband Nation Expo, could you give us and our listeners some insight into your background? Because I mean, you've just been so instrumental in organizing this event. Could you tell us a bit about your journey and how you got into this space?

Alejandro Pinero (01:23):

Yeah, absolutely. So I'm part of, as you mentioned, Questex, but nobody in this space really knows who Questex are. We're known as Fierce Network. We used to have fierce telecom and wireless. It's all come under one umbrella of Fierce Network, and really we have a very strong editorial presence in this industry. My role has been to kind of marry that with our presence at events and adding some of that in-person flavor to everything that we put together. So actually, we started this journey and I joined here at Fierce in 2021, and at that point we were just doing virtual events and that online coverage, and we were hearing, of course a lot then about that digital divide. And what we felt was that there were a lot of conversations going on within each individual technology or industry, which we can talk about in a little bit, but they weren't talking to each other. So Fiber and Wireless were kind of pursuing their own activities, and satellite was trying to reach wherever they could. And so we thought that this was an opportunity to bring that together. So my background very much is within telecoms, organizing events and conferences, and also doing a lot of research and a little bit of editorial as well. So we brought that together for this initiative.

Grant Ahlbrand (02:39):

So yeah. Now that we have talked about how you got here, let's talk about the main event coming up soon. The 2024 Broadband Nation Expo is around the corner, and there sure is a lot of buzz in the broadband space. For those who might not be familiar with it, could you give us a preview of what attendees of the event can expect?

Alejandro Pinero (02:57):

Yeah, sure. So it's worth mentioning this is our second year running the event. We ran it last year as US Broadband Summit in Washington dc. It was our biggest launch ever actually at our company. And off the back of that success, we partnered with the TIA Telecommunications Industry Association to launch Broadband Nation Expo, as well as Broadband Nation Portal, which is really focused on bringing a workforce into our industry to fill gaps in the labor market to fulfill on all the exciting deployments. We'll have to bridge the digital divide at the actual event. The way we run it is on October 9th, we have a pre-event workshop fully focused on state broadband. It's worth mentioning we have over 25 states state broadband offices coming to the event, including California, Florida, Virginia, many others. So 25, we're just at a half there, and I'm sure a few more will join us as we approach the event and really bring them together with ISPs, carriers, wireless carriers, the cable industry and satellite providers to really get a good grasp on what the technologies available to them are, but also talk about the funding mechanisms, challenges, commonalities, and really bring that to light.

(04:15):

So that's really the first day on October 9th. On October 10th and 11th, our focus areas shift. It's also still about funding, but we really want to dig deep into the technology. So we give opportunities to speak both to those federal and state and municipal pool representatives, but also to the technology providers and of course the service providers across the United States. So with that, we have general sessions which focus on all these, and then we break into tracks to cover our main themes, which are wireless innovation, fiber everywhere, connecting everyone, and then workforce development. So we're really focused into that. And we have several initiatives that are hopefully helping to bring all of these folks together. For example, this year for the first time, we're doing Broadband Nation Connect, which we've actually, we've put some funding together to bring smaller ISPs and smaller carriers at a regional level to attend the event and be able to be a part of these conversations because at the end of the day, they're the ones that are working locally to get these networks off the ground and up and running. So those are our key areas and there's going to be a lot of activities around those topics.

Grant Ahlbrand (05:27):

So yeah, you mentioned there that there's going to be all kinds of ISPs and state broadband offices and organizations in attendance. Connected Nation will have a strong presence there. This year, six of our team members are attending and hosting a booth. How do you see organizations like Connected Nation playing a role at the Expo, and what do you think attendees and other organizations, ISPs, broadband offices can gain from interacting organizations like Connected Nation, but also like others we mentioned?

Alejandro Pinero (06:02):

Yeah, we've always believed in launching this event that Bridging the Digital Divide had to be had a role for everyone. It can't just be federal funding. It can't just be the big players and it can't just be private sector ISPs or local carriers. And we're excited. Of course, we had Connected Nation there last year. It was really wonderful to see your colleagues on stage and throughout the show engaging. And really, we find that organizations like yourselves where you're very active in communities and working through digital equity inclusion, working through policy, this is fundamental to get everyone aligned to deliver on a lot of these projects. It's very easy to talk about this at a theoretical level and at an aspirational level, but really it's about getting really to the ground and delivering these networks and also making sure that people are making the most of them.

(07:05):

They know how to access them, they know how to use them. We have the skills and they're affordable. And I know Connected Nation has a lot of very, very exciting and excellent programs, and a lot of our partners at the event will be there to share those. So it's not just about our private sector and closing deals, but really it's about those programs that bring it together and make sure that in the end, people access the technology, the connectivity, and make the most of the digital economy and the digital environments that they're able to access.

Grant Ahlbrand (07:38):

And you've covered this a little bit in the last few questions I asked, but I heard you mention how crucial of an issue broadband is and working to close the digital divide. So why is an event like this so important for the industry right now, especially as we look ahead into 2024? Because you mentioned how important it's to be able to interact and share ideas and talk about New Tech, but why now at this point do you see this event being so crucial?

Alejandro Pinero (08:10):

I think we're at an important point with the United States and its journey in connecting everyone. I was just talking to a contact yesterday and they mentioned that electrification in the United States and rural United States took over 20 years, and we're trying to deliver broadband to everyone in a much shorter timescale. And we're losing sight of the challenge and the difficulty that brings. And for example, with Bead, there's some complications and concerns around how complex it might be and some of the rules and some of the systems in place. These things can only be ironed out by talking to each other. And I think that platforms like Broadband Nation Expo will play a fundamental role in bringing folks together to find commonalities rather than areas to disagree on. The beautiful thing is that in this particular case is that for some reason we happen to be in a sector in telecommunications that is making a real impact in people's lives.

(09:15):

And there is now that push, whether political, private funding, et cetera, to connect everyone. And what we want to do and what our mission is at Broadband Nation Expo and the ethos behind it and why we found it is that this has to be a technology agnostic show that brings all these folks together to, in a way, add their grain of sand to connecting everyone. So I'm a firm believer that we need to get together. It's not just about the big names as well. We're very excited about the number of regional smaller tier twos, tier threes that are coming to the show. Also vendors that we might not be as familiar with to bring solutions that in the end will make the most of the funding available, but also beyond the public funding to continue this push. And I think that without events like these, of course I'm biased, but without events like these, it's going to be tricky to do that and do so as quickly as we want to.

Grant Ahlbrand (10:12):

Yeah, I think that having a place that is all about coming together, because there might be many organizations that have different ideas of how to get there, but everyone that's going to be attending this event has a shared common goal of closing the digital divide and connecting as many people as we can. And yeah, I just think that's a great, great environment to be in. So now that we got that covered, let's talk a little bit about your role. What does your day-to-day look like leading up to such a major event? And secondly, what are some behind the scenes efforts that go into making an expo of this scale successful?

Alejandro Pinero (10:51):

Yeah, that's a great question, grant. I think we sometimes take these events for granted and we don't realize how much goes into them, and I'd love to take all the credit for it and say that it's success is down to me. But really it comes down to an incredible team from our editors who put together great reporting and help us to find the stories that we want to share at the event to, of course, our operations marketing team, et cetera. My role here is to bring everyone together. I help to keep our commercial teams talking with our marketing teams, with folks internally just to make sure that we are delivering on the vision that we have for this event, but also externally. So that's where I spend most of my time. I like to be in touch with the industry, make sure that I'm talking to all the right folks and getting all the intel I can to make sure that what we're putting together is as relevant as we can. So in the run up to the event, it's a lot of managing folks who are coming and helping them figure out what their key messaging is and how they can fit into this event. So really my role now is to make sure that we are talking to the right folks, ensuring that they're seeing value in the event and coming out and sharing their story and ensuring that we have all the folks that we've talked about here represented. Because as I said, that's very much the objective and the soul of this event.

Grant Ahlbrand (12:25):

Yeah, I'm sure with all the planning that you do and all the organizing, you're just so focused on the future because you'll spend, I don't know how long, maybe two, three months, four months planning event that's upcoming. And then as soon as that's over, you're on to planning the next one. So one thing we do love talking about at the Connected Nation podcast is the future. So speaking of which, what technology or industry trends do you think will make the biggest splash at this year's expo? And is there anything that you might have an inside scoop on that you're particularly excited to see showcased?

Alejandro Pinero (13:04):

Yeah, it's a great question. And first I'll tackle the front. The first part that you mentioned there, which is it's always thinking about the future and absolutely right, we're already thinking about 2025, even 2026, and how this evolves. So absolutely, this is a year round effort and something that we think about constantly and how we're shaping up into the years ahead. In terms of what I'm excited about, I would say that something big for me is just having a very good perspective in all the different flavors of technology that are available. It's very easy to talk about fiber as fiber. It's very easy to talk about wireless. As wireless. We've seen great success in the field and in the industry around fixed wireless access, for example. We have some great speakers on that. We have heard a lot about open access networks, and that of course applies to fiber as well.

(14:03):

So we'll be talking about that as well. Something that comes back to that point I was making earlier that it takes everyone to bridge the digital divide is that we're really trying to bring folks not just from those circles. So we have an amazing panel on municipal broadband, which is actually something that falls outside of bead and the funding, but we have someone from Fort Pierce utilities authorities, Jason Midler coming along. We've got Maine Connectivity Authority speaking to that as well. And of course, Gigi Sun from a PB, we have a panel on electric co-ops as well. They play, of course, a key role and a tribal broadband panel as well. So those are very exciting. That's something that I set myself as a goal for this year to bring those different voices into the event and not just have it be about the core telecom industry as you would usually think about it.

(15:03):

And the other thing I was going to mention as well is something that's very big for us this year is workforce development. There's a huge number of jobs in the United States that need filling if we are indeed going to deploy the networks that we're talking about. And currently there's no real pipeline in filling those jobs. If you think about your typical high school graduate or someone coming out of military service or someone trying to re-skill and think of a new career, telecommunications isn't necessarily the top of mind. We're losing great talent and very motivated individuals to other careers, and not everyone's aware of the opportunities that are out there and telecommunications and the career path that's available. So that's something else that we're going to be very focused on. We have a great workforce development track focused entirely on that. And we have speakers coming in from community colleges, from industry as well as nonprofits and other associations to speak to that as well, which I think is something we all need to be thinking about if we're going to fulfill on this promise of connecting everyone.

Grant Ahlbrand (16:12):

If that isn't a good enough pitch, I don't know what to tell you. So if you haven't yet, go ahead and get yourself over to broadband nation expo.com and get registered for the event, and hopefully we will look forward to seeing you in dc. But Alejandro, I'm sure you're a very busy person this time of year, especially coming up to the event. So to go ahead and wrap things up, what's one thing you would like attendees or those thinking about attending the 2024 Broadband Nation Expo, what would you like them to take away from today's conversation?

Alejandro Pinero (16:45):

Yeah, and first of all, let me thank you, grant for the opportunity and also for the great partnership that we've always had with Connected Nations that you were one of the first phone calls we made when we were thinking about this event, and here we are two years down the line. So really appreciate that. And we're always in awe of the work that you guys do. So I'll start there in terms of what to take away from this conversation. Well, of course, right, register for Broadband Nation Expo. But you know what? Beyond that, it's going to take everyone to connect the United States, and there's great challenges ahead. What we want to do is make sure that we're all working together with that mission in mind. Of course, there's going to be competitive pressures. There's going to be financial pressures and political, but in the end, this is one time when we have the resources available and the motivation to really do something special. I'm just very pleased to be here for it and to provide another platform to talk about it and to move things forward. Very much looking forward to the show and hope to see a lot of you there.

Grant Ahlbrand (17:52):

And for our most loyal listeners, make sure to mark your calendars. We'll be bringing the Connected Nation Podcast live from the Expo, so we'll be giving you an inside look to all the exciting developments that Alejandro's covered today. Like I mentioned previously, you can find out more@broadbandnationexpert.com. Alejandro, thank you so much for joining us and for all the hard work you're putting into this amazing event. We are so excited and everyone at Connected Nation, especially the people attending, are excited to go and yeah, we're so excited.

Alejandro Pinero (18:26):

Excellent. So we look forward to seeing you there.

Grant Ahlbrand (18:37):

Again, we've been talking today with Alejandro Pinero Group Director of Broadband and Streaming at QuestX. I'll include links to their website as well as registration to the event in the description of this podcast. I'm Grant Al Brandand. Thanks for listening to Connected Nation. If you like our show and want to know more about us, head over to connected nation.org or look for the latest episodes of Connected Nation on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, Pandora, or Spotify.