New Fiber Broadband Association Paper Examines Fiber as the Foundation for Telehealth
FBA released a new paper this week, The Infrastructure Behind Telehealth: Why Fiber Networks Matter for Modern Healthcare, examining how reliable, high-capacity fiber broadband has become essential to delivering effective, equitable telehealth services across North America.
The paper highlights several key drivers behind sustained telehealth growth, including provider shortages, rising patient expectations for on-demand digital care, and the expansion of advanced applications such as remote patient monitoring, high-definition imaging, and emerging extended reality (XR) tools. These data-intensive services place increasing demands on broadband networks, reinforcing fiber’s role as the only technology capable of supporting clinical-grade telehealth at scale.
Fiber Broadband Association Releases New Paper on Streaming and Gaming Network Demands
FBA also published a thematic paper, titled “Fiber is Player #1 for Streaming and Gaming,” that explores how modern streaming, gaming, and emerging immersive applications are fundamentally reshaping broadband network requirements. The paper compares broadband technologies and finds that fiber broadband stands alone as the only infrastructure capable of meeting network demands today and into the future.
At Fiber Connect 2026, FBA will dedicate an entire program to entertainment network demands. On Monday, May 18, the “Network Demands: Dream a Little Stream” program focuses on the network performance demands that are intensifying as streaming, gaming, and immersive entertainment evolve. Speakers include experts from TiVo, Fidium Fiber, eCommunity Holdings, Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, Blueprint Broadband, and Ripple Fiber.
✨ Celebrate 25 Years of Fiber Excellence at the Fiber Connect 2026 Anniversary Gala ✨
Step into an elegant, black-tie evening dedicated to the trailblazers shaping the future of fiber. The 25th Anniversary Gala shines a spotlight on the innovators, changemakers, and industry champions whose work continues to move broadband forward.
Be part of a memorable night as we recognize outstanding achievements, reflect on the progress of the past quarter century, and look ahead to what’s next.
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📢Showcase innovation. Get hands-on. Earn industry recognition.
The Fiber Broadband Association, in collaboration with the Broadband Forum, invites you to participate in the 2026 Proof of Concept (PoC) Showcase at Fiber Connect 2026.
This sponsorable, interactive program puts your solution directly in front of operators, media, and key decision-makers. Demonstrate real-world applications, highlight measurable impact, and show how fiber is moving communities, homes, and enterprises #LightYearsAhead.
🤠This Could Be You - Compete in the Fiber Technician Competition at Fiber Connect 2026!
The OpTIC Path Rodeo returns to Fiber Connect 2026 as a high-energy skills competition for fiber professionals. Technicians and field teams go head-to-head in timed challenges that showcase the craft, precision, and problem-solving needed to build world-class fiber networks. It is equal parts competition and celebration of the people who power America’s digital future.
Seventy-five years is a long time in any business. In telecom, it’s an eternity. When Jimmy Todd, CEO of Nex-Tech joined Gary Bolton on this week's Fiber for Breakfast, the conversation wasn’t just about anniversaries. It was about endurance and the decisions that allow a rural provider not just to survive industry upheaval, but to keep leading through it.
Nex-Tech began in 1951 with a simple commitment: serve places others wouldn't. Rural Kansas towns. Long gravel roads. Sparse exchanges larger carriers didn’t want to maintain. Over the decades, that commitment became a pattern – acquiring neglected exchanges, upgrading infrastructure, and refusing to accept that rural meant second best.
