 Welcome to the Executive Forum 2021 Industry Outlook Media Q&A session. I'm Barb Mitchell and joining me are Christopher Ali, Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, Kara Mulaley, Market Development Manager for Corning, Isaac Finer, CMO and VP for North America for Cost Systems and Sam Pratt, CEO of Render Networks. So we just wrapped up an engaging and insightful discussion among our guests. We just wanted to take a few moments to answer any additional questions that have come to us by our participants and from the media. So I'm just going to start with the first question. We know that we need these networks yesterday. How will tech innovations play a role in saving time and money. Sam, you can take that one if you'd like. Sure. Sure. I was just leaving the option open for others to jump in there. Certainly. So I think Kara framed it quite nicely on the panel actually. So there's enabling technology and then there's the technology of the day. So I think if we're looking at enabling technologies, there's products and platforms that are helping us better understand where to build. There are products and platforms that are streamlining and automating the design process, the deployment process and also the network operations process. So I think in bringing together the value chain of those technologies, integrating those technologies, that's something that I'm excited about this year is for, for instance, us at Render to be working more closely with COS systems for design partners to be integrating directly into solutions like renders and then downstream into network operations for that end to end digital data flow actually to enable real time insights in how we're building these networks in ensuring that folks in the field are able to do six tasks a day instead of five tasks a day because they're not looking for the construction print in the back of the pickup truck. So, so bringing together and ensuring that that we've got that data consistency and to end. And I think geospatial data this this this year, it was a hypothesis a few years ago, could we actually do this. And last year we've accelerated that use case and we've proven out that the value is there. Anyone else want to add into that. So the next question and this can be for anyone. Do you think that the funding models in place are sufficient to support the required expansion needs. That's an interesting one and I'll be brief and I'm sure Christopher has some thoughts on this as well. When we talk about funding, particularly from a federal level. Nobody's ever going to think it's enough. But even if it seems like a lot, and it seems like it should be enough, how it gets applied the rules. The maps, the information is based on that there's always going to be something that says, you know, I need more and I'm not eligible. So, I think that at a cursory level, and I think I said this in the panel, there's nothing that's ever going to service everyone, no one's ever going to be completely happy. But I think it's, it's important to understand that there are a number of different alternative methods to find funding, whether that be state funded projects whether it be different other federal programs through USDA or others. Whether it's, you know, in flux through cares, or whether it's just private partnerships or, you know, equity firms that are interested in investing in something that they now believe into. Don't underestimate the need and the pain that we've all gone through has hit some of these really wealthy people, just like it's hit the rest of us and so they're more apt to self invest in some of these network opportunities as well so it might feel like it's not being applied appropriately and depending on your circumstances that may very well be your truth. But that doesn't mean it's the only way to get something funded and I think that was a key theme of our panel. Yeah, and if I if I could just jump in I mean, I think, I mean we do spend a lot of money on on broadband I agree with care that it's probably never going to be enough but I mean if you think about it's five or six billion from the Universal Service Fund specifically connect to our art off USDA controls 1.4 billion in loans and grants. That's a lot of money we're talking upwards of seven or $8 billion a year invested reinvested into the specifically just into deployment. I think what we're seeing though is maybe it's not being spent efficiently or democratically. Certainly there are problems with the way art off money went out, certain or the winners were awarded certainly there. There's been some problems being replicated that that emerged during the calf to process and then over at USDA. These loans and grants are really hard to apply for. So we might want to see some streamlining of those application processes, especially for smaller, smaller providers who, you know, maybe can't afford to have a lawyer or a consultant fill out fill out what is required for for USDA. So there is a lot of money there and then you know it's looking like we're going to get even more. Again the consolidated appropriations act $7 billion. I think the problem is though, if we just spend if we just keep spending all of this money the same way we've been spending it. We're not going to get very far. We need to kind of maybe rethink how we're allotting this money however spending it. This even goes to things like universal service fund reform, which has certainly been been a hot topic in the last few months but especially with AT&T's push to do away with contributions. So I'd love to see, you know this kind of being ongoing conversations about how this money is actually spent and and maybe think through a lot of reforms around allocation. So, on that note, there's another question here that is quite closely related, I think to what you're talking about and it's a bit longer so just bear with me while I while I read this question out. A lot of the media coverage over the last year, especially around art off has been around not wasting the allocated funds. Congress did start to take a new look at rural broadband subsidies but there's concern that will result in more money for the same wasteful programs. I will see a review of universal science and implement new ways of promoting coverage where it does not exist so that it directly benefits consumers. Can I jump in here again. I spend a lot of spend a lot of my days thinking about this stuff. I do. There's a big push for if there is going to be a broadband deployment package either as part of infrastructure or kind of standalone, that the money be given to states, rather than flow through FCC or USDA. You know we, we tried that a little bit with Recovery Act money. The argument here is that states would know better than the FCC or USDA how to allocate this money so we might start seeing some big money be moved to stay so that's something I think we should, we should be looking out for certainly. Can I jump in and add something when we're talking about funding and I are companies from Sweden and and I'm so I'm from Europe and I think when when I'm here I live in the United States now and and coming from a small country in Europe. You sort of look at the entire world and in the US you look very much at the US and I think something that is that is to be shown even more is that you know now when it feels like the US is really waking up when it comes to broadband. Okay, there's so much going on right now and so many entities wanting to build and want to step in and do something about this problem. Well, I think that this market is ripe for investment and we have seen some investments pure investments in infrastructure coming from Europe into the US. And in Europe in some parts at least, they're sort of ahead of the states when it comes to to fiber buildouts and connectivity, and they have sort of more seen what the revenue and or like the payback can be of this infrastructure when when it gets more well established because I think we would see way more money that we can't really see right now coming in the future from other parts of the world, where they, they want to sort of take part of what is happening now. And I know of investment firms trying to find cases here. So this next question may be a good one for you to, to take as well, just to sort of build on what you're saying in some ways but the question is what role will open access networks play and getting people connected. I know there was some conversation on that on the panel. Yeah, I could, I could jump in and tie a little bit back to what I said about funding coming from other markets because I know we have seen open access networks being funded from Europe, and I know European private equity is looking to invest in open access network specifically in, in the in North America. And I believe it's because the open access model really drives adoption and it comes to, you know, if you have, let's say you have a choice of one provider, and you can pick them while you're, you cannot choose anything else it's what they can provide and let's say it's an electric co op, well they don't want to go in and provide TV and the phone and all those kind of services they might stick to broadband if they would operate their network on an open access model. They didn't have to they could do their internet service and then provide other companies to come in and what will happen is, if you on the network can choose. I can only choose internet. Well, that's decent like DSL in the past, but I could get the internet. Well, if you're on the network now with maybe not in the beginning, but at least you can choose from a couple of Internet providers, couple of phone providers, couple of IPTV providers, and then more services coming on this drives take rates. If I have the choice of being on this open network with a marketplace full of different kinds of services, would I then prefer to be on a single provider network with limited choice and with no competition to drive price down and put it up? No. And that is why I especially external investors are interested in open access network because they know people will be on those networks take rates will be high and they will stay on those networks so it's a it builds up to better investment basically with lower risk. And that I think that will drive the adoption of open access. And the, and as I said on the panel with the also with increasing mindset of viewing broadband as infrastructure. I mean, who could imagine going to the American Airlines Airport, and then okay by next flight is with United so I have to drive all the way to the United Airports United Airlines Airport. I mean, when you say that it's so crazy, but that's the way broadband works, or like okay, cool I bought a new Ford so I'm on the Ford highway. And you know the other guys in Fords. I mean, it's crazy and then next to it. There's the, there's the, you know, Chrysler highway in or whatever Volvo I must say Volvo highway of course, been from Sweden. So, yeah, I think, I think it's just the open access. It makes sense and I think the biggest pushback has been around. Well, you know it's competing with the private sector. But I would say no, it's in some sense. Yeah, but it's actually enabling the private sector to, to prosper and find new markets and expand on networks and it's a way for more people to be able to go in and make this network come become reality. And I think it was Cara that mentioned it, build it once, build it once and, and then allow the efficiency of the market to provide those services. And like competition is, is what built the United States. So, so cap that capitalist mindset create the level playing field and the competition and the customers going to win at the end of the day. Not only the customers also the best providers. All right. Unless there's anyone that wants to add anything to that. Nope. Okay, so I'm going to go on to the next question and there, you know, I think that there was some conversation around this on the panel as well but I'm going to throw this to you, Sam specifically, I think to you so there was as I was saying there was some talk on the panel about the increased need for digital technology solutions I think you almost have you agreed with that. Can you outline some of the solutions in practice in some of these solutions in practice and how render is positioned to solve for this. Some of the solutions in practice. Certainly. What we do render is we digitize deployment. And so we focus on the design we we ingest we ingest the design with the various technologies. And then we optimally allocate tasks and manage that process sort of as efficiently as possible that's what we do it render. I think that the question is, what are some of the other solutions that are playing the market. And I mentioned a couple earlier, just around automated design solution so so why would we go through and use engineering services to pontificate around an optimal design when we have algorithms that can do that. And that that process is is now held up as as as the right way to go about it. And so I think we're at a point now in 2021 where it's really ask yourself why ask yourself why you're not using the optimal approach to design the network to assess the demand of the network in in Isaac's case. And then to deploy to deploy the physical infrastructure in our case and we sort of naturally, when we're deploying these networks and historically we have a design phase what will we have a planning phase we have a design phase. We then have it appointment or construction phase and then we think about handover and then we think about, I think about customer connection and customer connection experience. We're not using digital tools at just about every step of that value chain thinking about connection experience before we start construction in design and actually in demand is absolutely necessary. Because otherwise you just you're leaving efficiency on the table so I think that's what we're excited about a render but we're only one element of that value chain. And was this someone going to say something. No, it was so good. Nothing to add. Okay. Sticking with you Sam for a second. You mentioned on the panel you were talking a little bit about the partnership with Springfield, and I know a number of people were talking about the importance of partnerships. Can you just talk a little bit about the role render is playing in bringing the Springfield project to life. Certainly so and so we so we are engaged to deliver digital construction. And so what that means is eliminating paper from from from all ends of that construction process it means collecting as built data progressively over the course of the project and for those that are not in the contractor world. That might seem completely obvious, but it's just not the norm and it's not the way things are done. So generally speaking, and there is a there is a there is a period of time there is a duration that is measured in months, not days or weeks in order to compile as built data and actually transition that as built data into a network operation system. So in Springfield, their delivery partners there realize that that's just we should not be doing that in, you know, it was 2019 then but in 2020 and certainly not in 2021. And so, with a focus on innovation we're engaged in order to streamline that process. We're working with automated design partner VR networks, where render work with on a number of other projects and the overall project is coordinated by the broadband group and Isaac mentions open access, really, the ultimate goal for Springfield is also open access, but in order to get there, you often need an anchor tenant. And so the way that they've secured the opportunity to build that network for the people of Springfield is with an anchor tenant and then, you know, that way six buys and then it'll be, it'll be open after that. Hopefully that gives some more color to the example. Yeah, perfect. Thank you. So with respect with respect to private equity investment. The questions revolving around that how much of a role will this take in funding private equity investment and well how will this investment be drummed up. I think it's perhaps a piece of people's awareness is that they think that private equity hasn't really been part of what helped build networks for the last decade. And that simply isn't true. So, you know, we've got a number of different financial folks that we recommend our end users to if they mentioned that they need funding. It might be people that are willing to invest three or five million. It might be people willing to front 50 or 150 million. It just depends on, you know, what kind of network build it is. And, you know, another piece too is we've been focusing a lot on, you know, connecting consumers and users. At times you still need to build kind of the middle mile, right, the loop that any of these communities could even connect into. And so we've seen a lot of different funding models through private equity for different values over the years to kind of build out that core infrastructure that middle mile infrastructure, as well as last mile and private home type opportunities as well. So I think it will continue to grow. I think the opportunity, particularly with open access type networks where you have even some entities that are willing to finance design build right where people are stretching their capabilities out of maybe what they would have historically considered their core competency into the other arenas as well to help build networks and to do good in addition to make a buck. So I think I think it will continue to be a pretty strong play. I would say three or five years ago, like people were beating the public private partnership drum really, really hard and there were entire conferences around it. And you started to see broadband get a seat at that table right outside of prisons and reports and infrastructure like highways into broadband. And it felt premature then I feel like we're in the heyday now for that to be a really viable funding mechanism. Anyone else want to weigh in on this question. I agree with the sentiment that it's not near. So if you think about the business model that the tower operators saw American tower and crown castle of God and crown castles pushing to fiber. So that's happening really, you know, the fortune 500 level, really investment investment grade assets and then all the way down the value chain right into tier two and tier three. Not only private equity, but but also, but also venture venture capital and startup businesses that are coming to market with, you know, efficient build it once, and then farm it out for, you know, for 1020 years and so it is effectively that standard infrastructure. You know, just counter cash flow, but it's really appealing to financial markets. It's exciting. Okay, one more question here. What impact do you think satellite technology will have on the industry this year. And I think this year. Well, it's a time bound. This year. That's a question right there. It's only January so. I would say it's kind of the akin to what I was saying about about 5G it's a lot of hype right now. They want to talk certainly they want a ton of art off money. It's still I mean it's still not living up to the initial expect or to the expectations that were presented to us a year ago or two years ago I imagined that still going to continue. Again what I worry about particularly is counties and municipalities particularly rural counties and rural municipalities, who might be thinking about changing their broadband deployment plans are not starting a broadband deployment plan because they've heard that satellite or Leo is just going to show up tomorrow and and I'm very much concerned that they're going to be and you know kind of ending up waiting for Godot in this moment. Same thing with 5G. Right, we need let's let's work and plan around the technologies that we know we have we can think for the best in terms of deployment for for Leo satellite service but again it just in my mind it has not lived up to the expectations of the media that we've seen around it over the last few years. Yeah, I would agree with that I think it's the the idea of, you know proven in a laboratory versus proven in real life. And if we start to see the proof in the pudding if you will that a satellite constellation can deliver not only gigabit speeds but gigabit speed for a number of simultaneous users from a single satellite. Depending on location that to me would make me have a little more confidence in in the technology, but we are years away I think from that being something that everybody pushes the I believe button on. And again those assets floating up literally in space have a finite life to them. So all of the money spent on getting it in place. It has to be refreshed time and time and time again, if that's going to be sustained. So it's a different. It's completely opposite to build it once it's to build it many times and that's also something I kind of struggle with in terms of using your money wisely. If I may jump in also I think I love the idea with satellite because it can give you the opportunity to to get online anywhere right if you're on the top of a mountain and you need to be online to do something. You could do so, and it's perfect for that use case. And I think some of the hype as might have been driven by people are not very, you know, very technology savvy and don't really understand exactly how this technology works. I'm not by far an expert on on on satellite Internet, but I do understand that sending that information through the air up into the space and then down back again. It's not as fast as fiber. It's just, it's not and I mean if you if you compare it to, you know, I don't know a car I mean great I can take the bus somewhere. And that's like the satellite right. Yeah, it gets me there. It's not super fast, but you know it works compared to, you know, really fancy car your own. It's it's that's the fiber right. It's, it's, it's great. It's good, but it won't give you the flexibility in the in the experience you might want for your own connection and tying that back to what you said Christopher. If municipalities sort of look at this, like, okay, this will give people in my community what they need in terms of broadband. Oh, that's a dangerous thing, right, because no we I doubt that technology will be able to deliver what people actually want. Perhaps ever. Various technologies have have their application sort of fiber obviously has its application fixed wireless has its application and, and this is required and I think that use case around agriculture was one that I found really, really interesting, Christopher. And the fact that there's, I think satellite will also have its application certainly in extremely remote areas, you know, that's, that's what's very exciting about the technology. It is, it is just inextricably linked to one of the most disruptive individuals that has ever lived in our time. And so I think that is the big X factor for me and so I can't access. I can't answer along 2021, but it's very interesting to watch and, and we're all watching with tiniest. All right, well that was the last official question, but I do want to give you all the opportunity before we close if you want to, you know, say any final key messages or, you know where people can reach you for more information. That type of thing will just go around the circles starting with you if you don't mind just because that's where the circle starts on my particular computer. Absolutely Karen Malali you can find me on LinkedIn or Twitter and corning.com we have the community broadband pages. So if you do corning.com forward slash community broadband, you can find a wealth of information aimed at this market in particular. Thank you. Christopher. Twitter or email is probably the best way to reach me I'm in Twitter it's alley underscore Christopher email it's Cali Cali at Virginia.edu you can also find me at the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. I have a LinkedIn page but it's not particularly current I think I might still have blue hair in my picture. But email and Twitter definitely are the best ways to reach me. And a new book coming up. Let's not forget. September. September. Yeah. I said, oh, you're just muted. Sorry, yeah. Isaac finer, you can find me on LinkedIn is probably the best way or just visit our website systems.com. And we have a pretty awesome little chat robot there. So if you're interested in our demand aggregation platform service zones, you can specifically ask for it there or if it's more open access in general or our operations platform business and then you can also use the chat button you will be directing in the right direction to get in contact with us or me. Thank you. And Sam. That leaves me. So Sam Sam Pratt Sam dot Pratt at render networks dot com tons of resources at resources dot render networks dot com. I'm currently in Australia it's very difficult to get into the US. So so online is the best way to get on to me personally on Twitter at Sam Pratt and and LinkedIn. And, you know, that's how to reach out and get in contact. But it's been an absolute pleasure sharing the zoom stage with the three of you. Thank you so much for your time and I appreciate everyone's attendance and interesting what we have decided that. Yeah. Thank you so much thanks for all to all of you. The panel was absolutely fantastic great great information and this follow up session was great as well so we appreciate your time. And so thank you and thank you for everyone who's viewing and attending this, this virtual media Q&A. Thank you. Thanks Bob thanks Alicia thanks everyone. Thank you everyone.