On October 30-31, the Next Century Cities team attended the Broadband Communities 2019 Conference & Expo in Alexandria, VA. 

Policy Director Christopher Mitchell moderated a panel on the lesser known successes in community broadband and Senior Program Manager Cat Blake participated in a panel on the future of work. Cat discussed how communities like Westminster, Md. are preparing residents for an evolving economy with digital skills training. Gene Scott of Wilson, N.C., emphasized the importance of empowering residents to adapt to new roles, and talked about how the city’s fiber network is creating opportunities for education. Read about Wilson’s new fiber training course here.  

In keynote remarks, Jon Sallet, Senior Fellow at the Benton Institute, discussed his new report Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s. Many of our member communities were highlighted as leaders in efforts to ensure universal broadband access. Learn more about the communities featured in the report here.