Fiber for Breakfast 2023 Week 42 – Millions Left Behind: BEAD Isn’t Enough to Close the Digital Divide

How much will it cost to reach universal broadband availability in the United States? Answering that question requires understanding network construction costs, estimating the number of unserved and underserved locations, and defining “broadband” – and that is exactly what Vantage Point Solutions has done in their recent whitepaper, Cost of Bringing Broadband to All.

Larry Thompson, PE, co-author of the paper, will discuss the methodology and findings of the report during this Fiber for Breakfast presentation.

In particular, he will explain how previous estimates came to be so far off the mark and will share the implications raised by this new research, including – perhaps shockingly – that even the current funding infusion is woefully inadequate to truly finish the job once and for all. And while the cost to bring broadband to all is high, the cost of failing to do so is higher.

Webinar Guest:

Larry Thompson, PE is the CEO of Vantage Point Solutions, a premier engineering and consulting firm serving the fiber broadband industry. A licensed professional engineer, he held several engineering and management positions prior to founding Vantage Point Solutions in 2002. With over 30 years of experience designing fiber-based, wireless, and satellite networks, he is a trusted and respected expert authority on matters related to telecommunication technology and regulation. As such, he is a two-term member of the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC).