Federal, state and local governments have approved nearly $100 billion in funding with the goal of helping the industry deliver broadband to every home in America, however the industry is facing a workforce gap of over 200,000 qualified employees. Broadband Nation (http://broadbandnation.org) is a new program consisting of a digital property and annual expo developed and managed by TIA and Questex. The program is designed to help rebrand the broadband technician profession, attracting a younger and more diverse generation of employees to the broadband workforce. TIA will lead on the digital property and Questex will lead on the annual expo. The program will connect job seekers with training opportunities at community colleges and technical institutes around the country, subsequently providing them with career opportunities from across the industry. By helping solve the workforce challenge, high speed internet access will be rolled out more quickly to the unconnected, and the industry will be able to replenish and diversify their employee base.

TIA has been a leading association for decades and works to connect industry and government to advance trusted networks around the globe. Recognizing that there is a massive shortfall of trained broadband technicians needed to build and manage the networks funded by government grants and private industry, TIA and Questex decided to come up with a program to help overcome the issue by spotlighting the opportunities, connect interested Americans with local training and then assisting in identifying and securing well-paying, career-oriented jobs.

The program is primarily focused on the younger generation, who will be critical in helping fulfill our nation’s mission of delivering broadband to all Americans. It is designed to expose individuals to broadband-related jobs in the installation and maintenance fields, including fiber technicians, cell tower workers, as well as cyber experts and network engineers who will be crucial to the successful implementation of the various broadband initiatives underway in every state and territory across the country.

The program is expected to be launched early next year.

No. This is a TIA and Questex-led initiative. We will work with states and territories and local governments to put a spotlight on their needs and opportunities. Additionally, we’ll work with various government agencies, the Administration and Capitol Hill with the hopes of assembling a broad support base to attract, train and employ the next generation of broadband professionals. Industry organizations, including ISPs and equipment, workforce and solutions providers will also be heavily involved as we connect individuals with opportunities.

The portal is intended to be an aggregator and expander of available training. Broadband Nation will work with various training providers, other industry associations, colleges and technical schools, to aggregate and expand training to create more opportunities, in every state, to build the prospective workforce.

Broadband Nation Expo is an annual event that was borne out of Questex’s inaugural U.S. Broadband Summit. Based on the success of the summit, and connecting it to the larger Broadband Nation program, Questex decided to transition it into a much larger one-of-a-kind industry event that will take place next October 9 -11, 2024 at the Gaylord Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Broadband Nation Expo will unite broadband service providers, equipment suppliers and other industry partners with local, state and federal government leaders. The event is expected to draw over 1,200 attendees and attract more than 100 sponsors/exhibitors. Broadband Nation Expo will be technology agnostic, featuring all potential access technologies such as fiber, fixed wireless, DOCSIS and satellite. A special feature of Broadband Nation Expo will be the Workforce Development Pavilion, which will host academic institutions from around the country and guide them towards setting up on-site broadband technician training programs on campus.