By Phil Veletzos

The San Diego Convention Center hosted the inaugural Broadband Communities Summit West conference on October 30th and 31st. Bridging the digital divide was the overarching theme, with presenters that included government representatives, public-private partnerships, and stakeholders who shared both their challenges and best practices for accessing available State and Federal funds for municipalities and service providers to expand their networks to “unserved” (sub-25 Mbps) and “underserved” (between 25-100 Mbps) communities across the country.

Subtopics included neutral host networks, development challenges with master-planned communities, and current trends in the negotiation of Multifamily service provider access agreements. If you couldn’t attend the summit, we’ve rounded up an overview of the highlights: 

Broadband Equity Access and Development Program (BEAD)
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law on November 15, 2021, resulted in the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) as well as the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity Access and Development Program (BEAD).  Speakers and participants were almost unanimous in their praise for the effectiveness of ACP and in providing its $30 subsidy ($75 if on Tribal lands) for their internet bills through their service provider.  The June 1, 2024 expiration […]

By Rush Blakely

The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) hosted this year’s OPTECH conference in beautiful National Harbor, MD, last week. Not only is it one of the most well-attended industry conferences, but this event is also a great way for multifamily industry professionals to discuss and learn about technological advances that impact property operations while connecting with peers in the industry. 

The RealtyCom team thoroughly enjoyed meeting with clients, internet providers, technology suppliers, and friends, while attending thought-provoking educational and legislative sessions. Bob Reiss and Spencer Brown from our bidding operations team had valuable time with many of the Service Providers to discuss trends and current projects, while Anne Gieseke and Rush Blakely were able to connect with many of our clients and discuss their goals moving into 2025.

If you missed the event this year, some highlights from our team included:

The Real Estate Technology & Transformation Center. RETTC was announced earlier this year but made its debut at OPTECH. As an affiliate of NMHC, RETTC was formed to be a premier hub for networking, knowledge building, advocacy, and convening. In fact, RETTC will be the new home for OPTECH next year […]