Building a future-ready rural broadband infrastructure

The need to invest in rural broadband infrastructure and bridge the digital divide isn’t a new ambition in the U.S. but the critical need for ubiquitous, reliable connectivity has been brought into sharp relief throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, federal officials made emergency funding available particularly in support of rural school systems; this is just part of a longer-term effort to fund rural broadband networks, both wired and wireless. Winners of the RDOF auction could receive more than $9 billion in subsidies for rural broadband deployment and the Biden Administration recently unveiled plans to spend $100 billion on rural broadband as part of a sweeping infrastructure package. But funding is just one piece of the puzzle—service providers across rural America are now tasked with making highest and best use of these precious dollars in a sweeping, multi-faceted network expansion and modernization program. Learn from industry experts what some of the key considerations should be during this process, including maintaining legacy IPv4 infrastructure, building for IPv6 migration, the role of 5G, security challenges, and strategies for reducing costs. Speakers: Kelly Hill, Managing Editor, RCR Wireless Terry Young, Director, Service Provider/5G Product Marketing, A10 Networks, Inc. Steven K. Berry, CEO & President, CCA Brighid Riordan, CIO, Nsight