Alan Breznick has tracked the media, telecommunications, broadband, and consumer electronics industries for more than 20 years. Before switching over to Heavy Reading in 2007, he was the original editor of Light Reading Cable Website and founding author of Heavy Reading's Cable Industry Insider. At Heavy Reading, he primarily focuses on cable/MSO services, technologies, and networks, as well as IPTV infrastructure. Alan was formerly a broadband analyst for Kinetic Strategies and a contributing analyst for One Touch Intelligence. He previously reported for Communications Daily, Cable World, Multichannel News, Broadband Daily, Crain's New York Business, and Genuine Article Press, among other publications.

Mari Silbey is a technology writer, reporter and analyst with primary expertise in the broadband and wireless industries. She worked independently for more than a decade and has contributed to numerous trade publications, including Fierce Cable, CableFax and SmartPlanet (formerly part of CBS Interactive). She has also written for both corporate and association clients in the past focused on broadband networks, mobile apps and video delivery. In 2007, Mari launched the corporate blog for Motorola’s Home division -- a novel endeavor at the time -- which she ran until the end of 2010. Other clients have included the Utility Telecom Council, Limelight Networks, Turn and Looker.

Eddy Barker currently oversees network architecture for AT&T;'s Fixed Access broadband platforms supporting wireline and wireless operations. His responsibilities include managing a team responsible for the development and engineering of AT&T;'s access network, including working closely with standards organizations and open communities in driving toward the enablement of SDN and NFV. Eddy has 25 years of experience in wireline and wireless communications and entertainment and has held numerous technical positions supporting video and data services, including broadband access. In his prior position, he was responsible for planning and engineering of AT&T;'s U-verse video, broadband and cloud infrastructure. He also previously held responsibilities ranging from design, testing, deployment and operations for AT&T;’s Internet/MPLS network.

With more than 25 years in the telecom industry, Gary Bolton joined ADTRAN in 2008 as vice president of global marketing. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of marketing for the company worldwide as well as regulatory and government affairs. Gary has been heavily involved in Washington, influencing the FCC and congressional proceedings such as broadband stimulus, the National Broadband Plan and USF Reform. Prior to joining ADTRAN, Gary held executive management positions in a number of high tech startups as well as large publicly traded companies in marketing and product line management.

George Burciaga launched elevate DIGITAL, a software firm purposed to transform citizen engagement at street-level with its “Citizen Mobility Experience”; a platform connecting devices, processes, data and messaging across SMART Cities, in 2012. The platform engages users by touch, WiFi, mobility and sensoring, and enables cities to become efficient and sustainable by connecting everyone. He successfully raised $14 million for elevate and was recently acquired by CIVIQ Smartscapes, the industry and global leader within IoT and SMART City technology. Burciaga started his career while at DePaul University, where he developed and implemented BIOS correction software with clients like BMO/Nesbitt and licensed the technology to Microsoft. He is also the Founder and CEO of smarTECHS.net, a Chicago-based national IT firm specializing in application development and infrastructure deployments for clients in both private and public sectors. This firm played a significant role in the redevelopment of New Orleans after Katrina, the first City of Chicago digital-divide plan (recognized by Washington D.C.) and the participation in the elevate Miami project. He was honored in Washington D.C. by two US presidents as a National Technology Business leader and received the Inc. 5000 award.

Jean Davis is president and CEO of MCNC, the broadband technology nonprofit that builds, owns, and operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN). Jean’s background includes experience in government, corporate and entrepreneurial settings with over 25 years of successful leadership. Her areas of expertise include global operations management, strategic planning, start-ups, and technology-led economic development. She joined MCNC from the N.C. Department of Commerce where she served as COO and Assistant Secretary of Business, Industry and Trade, directing efforts toward the creation and retention of high-quality jobs by attracting new businesses and supporting existing ones all over the state. Prior to joining Commerce, Jean was a partner at Empire Properties, and was the co-founder/owner of Serentec, Inc., a technical consulting. Jean also held international positions at IBM, Computer Digest Magazine and McGraw Hill.

Barry Derrick has more than 14 years of experience in technical marketing as well as marketing communications. He currently serves as Marketing Manager for ADTRAN’s next generation access network solutions. Previously at ADTRAN, Barry focused on the company’s highly successful cloud connectivity line of products, which include: NetVanta and Total Access IP Business Gateways, NetVanta access routers, and eSBC. Prior to joining ADTRAN, Barry was a 9-year veteran of General Electric where he served in both marketing communications and marketing manager roles for the Intelligent Platforms Embedded Computing business group.

Matthew Dosch joined Comporium in 1994 and has served in a variety of capacities within the enterprise, culminating in his current position. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, he is responsible for all of the company's customer service operations, including residential and business sales and service and the customer contact center. Additional areas of responsibility include local, state and federal legislative affairs; community and economic development; and industry relations. Formerly, he was Manager of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies in Washington, DC. Matt is the immediate past Chairman of the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance, a national trade association. Locally, Matt is currently the Chairman of the STEM Development Foundation. He is also on the board of the I-77 Alliance, a regional economic development organization, and is a member of its fundraising Steering Committee. He is a member of the Knowledge Park Leadership Group, a group of private sector advocates for the redevelopment of downtown Rock Hill, SC, and participates in a variety of Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation activities.

Alan Fitzpatrick is co-founder of Charlotte Hearts Gigabit, a grass roots effort by citizens of Charlotte NC to educate and advocate for ultra high speed internet and digital transformation in the region. Alan works as COO of DC74 Data Centers, and teaches entrepreneurship and fundamentals of IT at the Charlotte campus of Johnson and Wales University. Previously Alan worked in a variety of engineering and operations roles in the telecommunications industry, and founded two software companies.

Erik Gronvall joined CommScope through the acquisition of TE Connectivity's Telecom, Enterprise and Wireless businesses in August 2015. Collectively, he has served TE and ADC for more than ten years leading product strategy, design and development for inside and outside plant connectivity solutions. Erik holds multiple patents on network architectures and product designs, and provides regular consultation to customers on outside plant connectivity requirements.

Venessa Harrison is President of AT&T; North Carolina, a position to which she was named in March 2013, having previously served as Regional Vice President of External Affairs. In her current position, she is responsible for the public policy, economic development and community affairs activities of AT&T;, a leading provider of wireless and wireline communications services. In her role, she works closely with state and community leaders to help bring new technology and jobs to the state and improve the quality of life for all North Carolinians. Harrison is a 35-year veteran of AT&T; and its predecessor companies. Beginning her career in the operator services organization, she moved through positions of increasing responsibility in the network, business and regulatory and external affairs departments.

Matt began his career with Cox Communications in Orange County, CA in 2000. Here he learned about metro network and field operations. He has held various roles in leadership and made major contributions toward evolution of the Network to support the design, scale and operations required for the company to remain competitive and relevant. His most current focus is about enabling the network to deliver 1G services.

Dr. Robert Howald has over 25 years of technology and executive experience in commercial and military communications systems. He is Vice President of Network Architecture at Comcast, focused on the evolution of cable systems and services, future network architectures, and emerging broadband technologies. He held a similar role at ARRIS and the former Motorola Mobility. Prior to this, Dr. Howald was the Vice President of Engineering at Xytrans, specializing in millimeter wave products for cellular backhaul, homeland security, and people screening. He was also the Director of Systems Engineering with General Instrument and Motorola’s prior Broadband Communications Systems division.

Colman Keane has more than 20 years of experience in IT and project management. He is an expert on the EPB Fiber Optics network --from the initial business planning and technical architecture to software implementation.

Joseph (Joe) Kochan joins US Ignite as a management consultant from Widelity Inc. specializing in business strategy, business plan development and modeling, project management, network deployment and operations and federal grant compliance. Prior to joining Widelity, he worked as part of the Department of Commerce's BTOP grant program. Prior to that role, he was a Founder and Vice President of Operations of DigitalBridge Communications (DBC), a Virginia-based startup backed by over $40M in venture funding dedicated to bringing broadband services to small, underserved markets nationwide using broadband wireless technology. At DBC, Joe managed the design and deployment of 4G wireless networks covering over 600,000 people in six states, as well as the acquisition of the company's first 20,000 customers. Previously, he was with Verizon Avenue, the Verizon subsidiary focused on providing bundled communications services to concentrated communities nationwide. At Verizon, he had responsibility for strategic planning and strategic project management, specifically focusing on the military housing market and the implementation of the first Verizon FiOS networks at military bases across the country.

Brian Mefford was previously Founder and Chairman of Connected Nation Inc., a nonprofit organization he led for a decade. He regularly provides testimony before the United States Congress and state legislatures and he serves on numerous boards, including the New York Academy of Science's Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council. Internationally, Brian serves as a consultant to the Prime Minister of Malaysia advising on technology and wealth creation issues. He is the lead US advisor to IRMA India, which works to establish Community Technology Centers in some of the poorest villages across southeast India.

Cyrille Morelle is president and CEO for VeEX Inc. In this role he is responsible for global operations, product development and technology strategy. With nearly 20 years in the telecommunications industry, Cyrille has held various management positions including vice president of product marketing for Sunrise Telecom, Inc. Cyrille co-founded VeEX in 2006 and serves as a member of the board of directors.

Dennis Newman is now leading NCNGN and its partners in the development of software solutions that demonstrate the advanced capabilities of Gigabit networks. He was one of the founding members and is currently the Board Chair of WinstonNet, a non-profit organization serving the digitally disadvantaged. Dennis's career has included eight years as a technology solutions provider with Digital Equipment Corporation, followed by a 20-year career as CIO of the City of Winston-Salem. Prior to his retirement in 2014, Winston-Salem was rated the top digital city in the country by the Center for Digital government in its population category.

Jane Nickles serves in the executive capacity as the Director of Information Technology and Enterprise Solutions functions. She assumes management responsibility for all IT departmental programs, services, personnel and activities, as well as providing leadership in the development and implementation of information technology initiatives and strategies. Jane is responsible for planning, developing, organizing and directing a comprehensive information technology program, including areas of personal computers, mobile devices, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, enterprise storage and servers and an extensive fiber optic network connecting city facilities and traffic signals throughout Greensboro. In 2015, she led the effort to gain national recognition for Greensboro as a top ten Digital City.

Kurt Raaflaub leads ADTRAN’s strategic solutions marketing, and has more than 20 years’ experience in telecom. He has global solutions marketing responsibility for the areas of SDN/NFV, Gigabit Broadband and Customer Connectivity directed at the residential, enterprise and mobile access markets. Prior to his current position, Kurt was responsible for directing ADTRAN’s Broadband, Carrier Ethernet and Packet Optical solutions marketing activities within ADTRAN’s Carrier Networks Division. In 2006, he joined ADTRAN from Nortel where for over a decade he held various roles focused on marketing and managing new disruptive market opportunities.

Michael joined Google Fiber in 2012 and is the Director of Business Operations. The business teams in each metro area are responsible for the overall business operations on the ground, including community impact, revenue generation, local government relations, and our retail acquisition teams. Michael joined Google in 2007, and co-founded, then ran our Mobile Monetization Team for five years. Prior to joining Google, Michael practiced Commercial Litigation, before moving on to Management Consulting at Bain & Company.

Gigi B. Sohn advises the Chairman on a range of telecommunications and media issues and represents him in a variety of public forums around the country. She served from 2001 until 2013 as the President and CEO of Public Knowledge and from 2011 until 2013 as the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group (BITAG). Prior to that, she served as a Project Specialist in the Ford Foundation’s Media, Arts and Culture unit and as Executive Director of the Media Access Project. Gigi has served on the board of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC) and on the Advisory Board of the Center for Copyright Information. She served on the District of Columbia Bar Board of Governors from 1997 until 2000. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Gigi to serve as a member of his Advisory Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters.

Jeff Stovall joined the City of Charlotte as its first Chief Information Officer in 2008 and is responsible for leading the City’s Innovation and Technology department. In his tenure, he directed the City’s technology preparations for the successful 2012 Democratic National Convention, consolidated divisional IT organizations into a new City department, implemented a significant modernization of legacy applications and infrastructure, and moved the City to use mobile, social and cloud-based systems. Prior to the City of Charlotte, Jeff was the director of IT merger integration planning for Sprint Nextel, responsible for leading multiple post-acquisition technology integration efforts. He was recognized as the CIO of the Year in Non-Profit/Government by the Charlotte Business Journal in 2015.

Kent Winrich, Director, Broadband & Infrastructure Services, City of Salisbury Kent Winrich oversees Fibrant and information services technology, which supports the City's mission and vision with innovative technology. He has extensive network and engineering expertise, as well as business development and strategic emphasis. He has more than 20 years of experience designing and overseeing fiber networks. Most recently, he was responsible for the complete European 100/10 Gig fiber network for Hibernia Media, as well as managing other engineers around the world. He served as a military engineering consultant and adviser to the US Army on broadcast, IT and communications-related issues. He also served as a mentor to many of the soldiers with whom he remains in contact.

Greg Spraetz has more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He previously served as a Managing Partner with CloudSmartz, where he focused on business transformation, product evaluations, developing go-to-market strategies and leadership assessment/coaching. Prior to CloudSmartz, he served as Senior Vice President of Wholesale and Carrier Services for Level 3 Communications, a publicly traded North American fiber-based communications provider. There he was instrumental in sustaining and growing the core data services revenue globally managing diverse teams consisting of sales, sales management, technical support, customer support, and sales operations. Greg played a key strategic role integrating both the Level 3 and Global Crossing Wholesale organizations post-acquisition by Level 3. Prior to the acquisition, he joined Global Crossing in 2000 and was the Senior Vice President of Wholesale and Collaboration Services until 2004.