Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association and NCTI unveiled the results of a joint workforce preparedness survey. The findings have been published in a paper titled, “Employer Workforce Preparedness in the Fiber Broadband Industry: How Build-Ready are We?” highlight the proactive steps many broadband service providers are taking to ensure a robust and skilled fiber-optic workforce. Key findings from the survey include:

Broadband is no longer a luxury—it’s essential for economic opportunity, education, and community resilience. The Maine Connectivity Authority is meeting this need by investing in infrastructure through a deeply local, collaborative approach. In June 2025, MCA President Andrew Butcher's 900-mile journey across Maine in a 1984 Westfalia VW van affectionately named “Buttercup” offered more than scenic views—it offered a deep dive into the human side of digital connectivity.

Data Centers for the storage and computation of data began in earnest in the U.S. in 2006 as the concept of performing computations and storing data off premises (The Cloud) began to take shape. More recently, data centers have become synonymous with realizing the promise of generative artificial intelligence (AI). It is generally understood that for the U.S. to continue to lead unabated in the AI revolution, the country must build data centers at an unprecedented, accelerated pace.

As the nationwide broadband expansion accelerates under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, Wisconsin is emerging as a model of efficiency and commitment—facing unique geographic challenges, underserved locations, and a tight budget with strategic precision. Despite early and ongoing investments in broadband—Wisconsin’s broadband office has been in place since 2014—the state still faces some challenges.

The Fiber Broadband Association revealed results from a new consumer broadband study performed by RVA LLC. The study shows that Americans understand that fiber broadband is the best option for reliable, high-speed internet, and any other option falls short in supporting existing and future digital demands. Based on the 2025 study, 75 percent of both rural adults and suburban/urban adults now believe that high-quality internet is very important to their household. RVA surveyed 2,650 Americans, focusing on which broadband technology they perceived as having the best performance.

Middle-mile networks form the essential link between local broadband services and the global internet. A middle mile network is defined as a network that connects two or more networks together. They are critical to delivering high-speed, reliable connections. Yet, many middle-mile networks today are built using outdated assumptions about household bandwidth needs. While public reports suggest peak-hour usage of 15–20 Mbps, real-world observations show active households often exceeding 100 Mbps.

Eric Frederick joined the state of Michigan to lead the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office in July 2022 after spending 12 years at a non-profit that was trying to expand broadband across the country. Since then, the office has expanded and now has two verticals—the digital equity team and the infrastructure data team.

In this week’s episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Gary was joined by Eric Bathras, the Chief Technology Officer for Infrastructure at the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT).