BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.
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EDITOR'S NOTE Broadband Communities (ISSN 0745-8711) (USPS 679-050) (Publication Mail Agreement #1271091) is published 7 times a year at a rate of $24 per year by Broadband Properties LLC, 1909 Avenue G, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Periodical postage paid at Rosenberg, TX, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Broadband Communities, PO Box 303, Congers, NY 10920-9852. CANADA POST: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Copyright © 2019 Broadband Properties LLC. All rights reserved. CEO Barbara DeGarmo / barbara@bbcmag.com PUBLISHER Nancy McCain / nancym@bbcmag.com E D I TO R - I N - C H I E F Masha Zager / masha@bbcmag.com E D I TO R -AT- L A R G E Steven S. Ross / steve@bbcmag.com A S S O C I AT E E D I TO R Sean Buckley / sean@bbcmag.com ADV ER T ISING SALES ACCO U N T E X E C U T I V E Irene Prescott / irene@bbcmag.com E V E N T S CO O R D I N ATO R Dennise Argil / dennise@bbcmag.com O N L I N E N E W S E D I TO R Marianne Cotter / marianne@bbcmag.com AR T DIR EC TOR Karry Thomas CO N T R I B U TO R S Rollie Cole, Sagamore Institute for Policy Research David Daugherty, Clarus Broadband Heather Burnett Gold, HBG Strategies Joanne Hovis, CTC Technology & Energy Trevor Jones, OTELCO Michael A. Kashmer, Digital Broadband Programming Consultant W. James MacNaughton, Esq. Christopher Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance Bryan Rader, UpStream Network Craig Settles, Gigabit Nation Robert L. Vogelsang, Broadband Communities Magazine B ROAD BAN D PRO PE R TI E S LLC CEO Barbara DeGarmo V ICE PR ESIDEN T, BUSINESS & OPER AT I ONS Nancy McCain CHAIR MAN OF T HE BOAR D Robert L. Vogelsang BUSINESS & EDI TOR IAL OFFICE BROADBAND PROPER T IES LLC 19 09 Avenue G • Rosenb erg, T X 77471 281. 342.9 655 • Fa x 281. 342.1158 w w w. bro adb andcommunities .com masha@bbcmag.com 2 | B R O A D B A N D C O M M U N I T I E S | w w w. b r o a d b a n d c o m m u n i t i e s . c o m | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 9 A s I write this column, the Broad B and Communities team is putting the finishing touches on what promises to be our biggest and best Summit ever, which will be held April 8–11 in Austin. Topics range from smart apartments to smart cities, from the future of work to the future of wireless, from funding to policy, from small electric co-ops to big carriers. Plus, of course, everything you've always wanted to know about fiber to the home. All these subjects boil down to two big questions: How can my community get great broadband? Once my community has great broadband, what should we do with it? e Summit will provide plenty of answers to both questions. SUMMIT TALKS IN THE MAGAZINE For those of you who won't be there (and those who will), this magazine issue features several advance looks at important Summit presentations. Our Cornerstone Awards luncheon keynoter, Jannine Miller of USDA, sat for a long interview with us (p. xx), in which she explained how her department promotes rural broadband. I was interested to find out what, exactly, the Rural Broadband Pilot Program (ReConnect) is piloting. Turns out USDA is experimenting with new ways to incentivize great broadband in unserved areas – and to identify those areas correctly despite the lamentable state of the national broadband maps, which Miller's boss, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, recently called "fake news." ursday's keynoter, Susan Crawford of Harvard Law School, allowed us to reprint an excerpt from her new, bestselling book, "Fiber" (p. xx), which she'll discuss – and sign – at the Summit. Crawford spent five years studying successful fiber cities in the United States and around the world, and she believes fiber connections are critical to U.S. competitiveness. She also thinks a new mindset is needed to keep the United States from lagging in the broadband race. Craig Settles of Gigabit Nation contributed an article (p. xx) about telehealth's contribution to combating substance abuse. After 70,000 drug overdose deaths were logged in 2017, telehealth may be the most critical reason for communities – especially in rural areas – to promote universal broadband coverage. Most of the experts Settles interviewed for the article will speak in his Monday workshop about creating telehealth hubs using community broadband; he will also host a panel on Wednesday on why telehealth and community broadband are a match made in heaven. See you at the Summit! v Previewing the Summit This issue of the magazine offers an advance look at 2019 Summit program highlights.