5 Things I'm Most Excited For at ISE EXPO and Why

Wow. Only two weeks from now the excitement begins in Dallas.

Telecom professionals at ISE EXPO will take a break from their day-to-day to come see friendly faces, learn about the latest innovations, network, play a round of golf, have a cocktail, collaborate on problem-solving challenges, see live demonstrations, and walk the exhibtion floor. Click here to join us.

Here are the five things I'm looking forward to the most.

Collaborative Problem Solving

Connect&Collaborate is brand new this year and I'm pretty excited about this one. It's all about small-group problem solving with a networking element. It'll be great to see people break out of the daily routine and apply their skills and knowledge in a new environment, with new people. 

This is how we solve the biggest challenges. We collaborate, we share information, we work in groups of like-minded people and contribute to something bigger than ourselves.

Keynote Speech by Scott Mispagel of Frontier Communcations

A keynote sets the tone for an event, ties everyone together, and gets everyone inspired. At ISE Expo, Scott's keynote is sure to check all the boxes. He's in the ideal position to understand the nearly limitless demand for fiber to support emerging technology and a new world that's connected through fiber and is increasingly reliant on the reliablity and speed that only fiber can provide.

Scott and Frontier are on the front lines of the nationwide fiber build, and he understands intamately the challenges and opportunities, from a diverse, 360-degree perspective. I think we're all going to learn a lot from Scott's keynote, so bring your notepad! The keynote is Wednesday, August 21: 10:30am - 11:30am.

Building to BEAD

I might be biased, but I'm looking forward to discussing the results of our BEAD survey with some really smart folks in the session I'm moderating.

The survey asked industry folks some key questions about BEAD and BABA, to get a feel of where the industry is on a number of levels.

I've seen some of the early results and was surprised by the responses. This kind of data can be hard to come by, but ISE has put in the effort, and I can't wait to talk about what these survey responses mean for telecom folks anticipating the BABA-compliant BEAD-funded buildouts.

Women in Telecom

We occasionally forget, but telecom is ultimately about people. At EXPO, we love to highlight this, and one of the ways we're doing that is our Women in Telecom panel, specifically looking at womens' perspective on an industry where they have stepped in to lead major telecom initiatives and innovation.

Historically, telecom, like many industries, has had to come a long way to include a diversity of thought, style, experience, and expertise in leadership and engineering. That's why important to not only celebrate the accomplishments, but hear how women are giving back in their industry to ensure we continue to move forward.

Janice Oliva will be speaking to four telecom leaders (and women) on Wednesday, August 21: 9:15am to 10:15am.

Innovators' Awards Breakfast

Of course, I can't leave out the Innovators' Awards. We have a lot more honorees this year and I'm looking forward to toasting all of them at the ceremony. It's so important to be recognized publically for achievements, no matter how humble you are. It's a memorable expereince and a reminder of the support system that exists in the industry that is often hidden.

The awards are so much fun because they inspire us to do even better next time, to work on award-worthy projects, and to remember why we do what we do.

There is so much more at EXPO: Demos and Donuts, the golf tournament, Hands-on Training, Tech Talks, the Executive Panel, a whole bunch of education sessions on everything under the sun, and much more.

I hope you come and introduce yourself to me!

You can reach me at [email protected]