The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) has decided to postpone its largest annual event, Fiber Connect, in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic. The conference and exhibition will remain at the Gaylord Opryland hotel in Nashville, but will now take place December 14-16, 2020, with the pre-conference Starter Kit Workshop December 13, 2020. The event, focused on fiber to the premises and other aspects of optical access networking related to broadband services delivery, originally had been scheduled for June 1-3, 2020.
“We remain committed to making Fiber Connect 2020 North America's premier fiber show and thank our Conference Planning Committee and FBA team, who have been working tirelessly putting together leading-edge educational content while working alongside our dedicated sponsors and exhibitors,” wrote the association in a press statement. “Now more than ever, thank you for your on-going support and dedication to the Fiber Broadband Association and its mission: accelerating the deployment of future-proof, high-speed fiber broadband to all Americans. Please stay safe and healthy at this time. We are all in this together.”
Registration for the event remains open. The postponement comes shortly after the FBA’s European counterpart, the FTTH Council Europe, moved its annual convention from April 21-23 to December 1-3 (see “FTTH Council Europe postpones FTTH Conference Berlin to December”). Organizers of the U.S. event undoubtedly hope that companies and attendees looking to participate in both shows will be able to do so, given the 10 days between the two events.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.