PODCAST: Show Daily 1 Fiber Connect 2026 news roundup
In the first episode of the Fiber Connect 2026 show daily podcast, we're tracking key trends during the show.
Here’s a breakdown of the episode’s key moments:
0.00 Opening
0:47 Editor’s panels
Our colleague Hayden Beeson, editor of ISE, and I moderated panels during the first day of the show: Common Construction Roadblocks and How to Avoid Them and Edge Compute and Digital Transformation Across Sectors.
1:33 Broadband Forum activities
The Broadband Forum hosted four BASe workshops focused on the latest key industry topics.
1:50 Broadband Forum CEO
Lightwave spoke with Craig Thomas, CEO of the Broadband Forum, about wholesale fiber broadband and quality-of-experience (QoE) visibility across different networks.
3:08 FBA research
FBA’s Technology Committee developed a white paper, Upgrading MSO Networks to Fiber to the Home (FTTH): A Technical Perspective, examining deployment models, technology options, and operational considerations for Multiple System Operators (MSOs) evaluating long-term network upgrades.
4:40 Workforce development
How the FBAs' on-demand platform delivers scalable education to support the workforce needs of fiber infrastructure deployment.
5:32 New fiber broadband products
During the event, we’re seeing new customer premises equipment, MoCA gear and PON from Adtran, Calix, Clearfield, Harmonic, InCoax, and Vecima.
7:20 Fiber Broadband 2026 Coverage page
Lightwave will have a coverage page of the Fiber Connect 2026 event on our site at www.lightwaveonline.com.
7:43 Closing
Tune in each day during Fiber Connect 2026 for more insights into the fiber broadband industry's key trade show.
About Fiber Connect 2026
Hosted by the Fiber Broadband Association, the Fiber Connect 2026 conference focuses on scaling infrastructure to support an AI-driven "thinking economy" and expanding rural, municipal, and tribal broadband.
About the Podcast
In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address key issues affecting the optical and broadband industries. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and click on our podcast site at www.broadbandpulse.podbean.com/.
About the Author
Sean BuckleySean Buckley
Sean is the Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave. He establishes and executes Lightwave's editorial strategy across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products. Before coming to Lightwave in July 2023, he served as editor of Broadband Communities. Earlier, he served as senior editor of FierceTelecom and the editor of the former Telecommunications Magazine. He got his start in the optical industry in 1998 when he became the editor of enterprise and optical networks at Information Gatekeepers. He has a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and lives in Dracut, Mass, with his wife, two sons, and his cat, Dove.
