Jim Zou joins industry panel on financing sustainable rural fiber expansion at Fiber Connect 2026
Panel session will explore strategies for funding, risk management and cost optimization to support service expansion in underserved communities
- Speakers: Jim Zou, director of global business development at Adtran; Revati Prasad, executive director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society (moderator); Alex King, director of broadband at Blue Ridge Mountain EMC; James Taylor, chief consultant at Red Buffalo Thunder Consulting; Jessica Koch, controller at CBS Oregon
- Topics: Creating strong financial foundations that support service expansion to remote and harder-to-reach communities
- When: Tuesday, May 19, 8 a.m. ET
- Where: Fiber Connect 2026, Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, Kissimmee, Florida, USA https://fiberconnect.fiberbroadband.org
Expanding fiber networks into remote and harder-to-reach communities requires more than ambition. It demands robust financial planning and long-term sustainability. Providers face a combination of high capital costs and challenging deployment economics, making it essential to develop funding strategies and operating models that can support growth over time.
In this session, Jim Zou will join a panel of industry leaders to discuss how operators are building financial foundations to support rural service expansion and exploit new opportunities. The discussion will cover business models, risk management and policy impact, and how providers are balancing investment with sustainable growth as well as new use cases. Attendees will gain practical insight into the considerations shaping network expansion into underserved areas.