Schedule

Tentative. Subject to change.

Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Unleashing Innovation: Building the Backbone for the Digital Age
8:00 a.m. Registration Open
Registration sponsored by 

All-day beverage station sponsored by 
8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. Breakfast
Sponsored by 
8:30 a.m.-8:45 a.m. Opening Remarks
Chip Pickering
CEO
INCOMPAS
8:45 a.m.-9:15 a.m. Rep. Richard Hudson
(R-NC)
Chairman, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
9:15 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Olivia Trusty
Commissioner
Federal Communications Commission
9:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Rep. Greg Landsman 
(D-OH)
10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Broadband Permitting and Infrastructure Deployment: Accelerating Community Connectivity
Broadband deployment is racing against time, but permitting delays at the federal, state and local levels threaten to keep American’s disconnected, with implications for global competitiveness. Industry leaders share strategies to streamline approvals, implement rational fee structures and accelerate infrastructure projects that connect communities around the country.

Moderator: Drew Clark, CEO, Breakfast Media LLC

Panelists:
David Avery, Vice President, Government Affairs, Uniti 
Rebecca Hussey, Associate General Counsel, Government Relations, Crown Castle
Ben Sanborn, Senior Counsel, Conterra Networks 
Ariane Schaffer, Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs, GFiber 
Brendan West, CEO, FiberCom
10:45 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Break
Sponsored by 
11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Rep. Bruce Westerman 
(R-AR)
Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Breaking the Speed Barrier: Fixed Wireless as the Next Broadband Frontier    
As America's voice networks complete their migration to IP, emergency calling faces unprecedented challenges. How do we stop the flood of robocalls and AI-generated spoofing while ensuring 911 calls always go through? This critical session brings together industry leaders to discuss enforcement mechanisms, technology solutions and the policy frameworks needed to protect America's most essential communications service in an all-IP world.

Moderator: Christopher L. Shipley, Executive Director of Public Policy, INCOMPAS

Panelists:
Claude Aiken, Chief Strategy Officer, Nextlink Internet
Carl Guardino, Vice President, Government Affairs & Policy, Tarana
12:15 p.m.-12:35 p.m. Sen. Todd Young
(R-IN)
12:40 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Lunch
Sponsored by 
1:00 p.m.-1:45 p.m. From Copper to Cloud: Protecting Emergency Calling in the IP Transition
As America's voice networks complete their migration to IP, emergency calling faces unprecedented challenges. How do we stop the flood of robocalls and AI-generated spoofing while ensuring 911 calls always go through? This critical session brings together industry leaders to discuss enforcement mechanisms, technology solutions and the policy frameworks needed to protect America's most essential communications service in an all-IP world.

Panelists:
Greg Rogers, Head, Global Policy & Regulatory Affairs, Bandwidth
Josh Ruby, General Counsel, Granite Telecommunications
Sean Sullivan, Vice President, Product Management and Regulatory Affairs, MetTel
1:45 p.m.-2:30 p.m. The Invisible Lifelines: Securing America's Global Connectivity    
Subsea cables carry 95% of international data, including financial transactions, defense communications and internet traffic, yet remain vulnerable to geopolitical threats, natural disasters and sabotage. As data traffic continues to grow and national security challenges intensify, how can we ensure the resilience of these invisible lifelines? This session explores security protocols, redundancy strategies, investment needs and the international cooperation required to protect the physical infrastructure of the global digital economy.

Moderator: Alexander Botting, Senior Director, Global Security & Technology Strategy, Venable LLP

Panelists:
Pamela Arluk, Vice President & Associate General Counsel, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association
Paula Boyd, Senior Director, Government & Regulatory Affairs, Microsoft
Evelyn Remaley, Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP
2:30 p.m.-2:50 p.m. Rep. August Pfluger
(R-TX)
2:50 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Break
Sponsored by
3:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Fireside Chat 
Rep. Scott Peters
(D-CA) 


Dan Davis
CEO and Co-Founder
Arcadian Infracom
4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Rep. Bob Latta
(R-OH)
Chair, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy
4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fireside Chat 
Sen. Dave McCormick
(R-PA)


Tom Linebarger
Senior Advisor 
General Catalyst 
5:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Telecommunications Act 30th Anniversary Celebration

Commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the landmark legislation that unleashed competition and innovation across America's communications landscape. Join telecommunications pioneers, policymakers and industry leaders who have driven competitive innovation in the digital economy over the past three decades. We will celebrate the Act's transformative legacy and raise a toast to ensuring robust competition and connectivity continues for all Americans.

360 photo booth sponsored by 
Dessert sponsored by  
Thursday, February 5, 2026
The Future of Infrastructure 
7:30 a.m. Registration Open
Registration sponsored by 

All-day beverage station sponsored by 
7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. Breakfast
Sponsored by 
8:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. Infrastructure Imperative: Scaling Broadband, Data Centers, and Grid Capacity
America's infrastructure is at a critical juncture. This session addresses the urgent imperative to upgrade the core systems powering our digital lives. During this session TIA and INCOMPAS will discuss the vital role of ubiquitous broadband access, the escalating demand for high-capacity data centers as our economy's nerve centers, and the necessary – but often overlooked – challenge of fortifying the power grid to handle this massive increase in capacity. Join us for a frank discussion on the investments, innovations and quality measures required to prevent infrastructure bottlenecks.

Speakers: 
Chip Pickering, CEO, INCOMPAS 
David Stehlin, CEO, TIA 
9:15 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Jeff Uphues
CEO
DC BLOX
9:30 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Data Centers as Catalysts: Investment, Jobs and Grid Modernization
Data centers are among America's largest infrastructure investors, pouring billions into local economies, creating high-wage jobs and funding critical grid upgrades that benefit entire communities. Yet misconceptions persist about their local economic impact and energy footprint. This session brings together industry leaders and economic development experts to showcase how data center investments drive regional prosperity, modernize electrical infrastructure and position communities for the AI-powered economy.

Moderator: Steve DelBianco, President & CEO, NetChoice

Panelists:
Kevin Gundersen, Head of Public Affairs, Digital Realty
Asim Raza, Vice President & General Counsel, Arcadian Infracom
10:15 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Break
Sponsored by
10:30 a.m.-11:15 a.m. The Competitive Energy Revolution: Building Abundance Through Innovation
As AI, advanced manufacturing and reshoring drive explosive energy demand, can competitive markets deliver unprecedented energy abundance while preserving affordability and reliability for all customers? This session explores how market competition accelerates deployment of diverse energy sources – from next-generation nuclear to renewables to natural gas – and drives down costs without destabilizing the utility compact. Industry leaders will debate breakthrough technologies, investment trends, behind-the-meter generation rights, transmission access, interconnection reform and regulatory changes needed to power America’s AI economy.  

Moderator: Tom Hassenboehler, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, CO2EFFICIENT 

Panelists: 
Liz Bowman,  Vice President, Government Affairs & Outreach, Williams
Ray Fakhoury,  Manager, Energy Policy, AWS Public Policy
11:30 a.m.- Noon

Fireside Chat
Rep. Julie Fedorchak 
(R-ND)


Rep. Jay Obernolte
(R-CA)
Noon-12:30 p.m. Timothy J. Walsh
Assistant Secretary, Office of Environmental Management
U.S. Department of Energy
12:30 p.m.-12:45 p.m. Lunch
12:45 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Energy Permitting Reform: Unlocking America's Power Future
Energy permitting has become the critical bottleneck throttling America's infrastructure ambitions. Whether new generation facilities or transmission lines connecting to demand centers, these projects often face years-long delays that increase costs, strand investment and leave communities without the power they need. This session will examine how streamlined, predictable permitting processes can accelerate deployment of both generation and transmission infrastructure, while keeping existing reliable energy resources online as we add new technologies to our energy portfolio.

Moderator: Staci Pies, Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Policy, INCOMPAS

Panelists:
Steve Haro, Founder, Haro Solutions
Carol Lane, Vice President, Government Relations, X-Energy
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