Brian Mefford
Brian Mefford,
VP of Broadband Strategy
Brian joined VETRO with a wealth of experience helping to shape federal and state broadband programs and leading community broadband efforts in rural areas. Prior to VETRO, Brian founded Connected Nation, a nonprofit focused on enriching community broadband access. During his time at Connected Nation, Brian led the spin out of CNX, a platform for establishing public/private broadband network deployment partnerships that provided the nexus at which Brian first met and worked with the founders of VETRO to develop a 5G asset management solution. Brian has worked with government leaders at all levels to advance innovation, providing testimony regularly for state legislatures and the U.S. Congress and consulting with federal agencies including the FCC, NTIA, USDA and the State Department. Brian has served as adjunct faculty in the University of Kentucky’s Gatton School of Business and Economics, teaching entrepreneurship in the MBA program. Brian received a BS in Economics from Centre College and an International MBA from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management. Brian’s mission is to grow and optimize broadband access around the world, with a focus in rural areas.
Speaking Engagement Topics
- General: Broadband and the Public Sector
- Deciphering Business and Data Requirements of BEAD – a guide for network funders and operators
- Leveraging Broadband Partnerships to deliver Connectivity
- How to Unlock Unprecedented Grant Funding through Intelligent Partnerships
- Elevating Fiber Investment Decisions – Enabling and tracking network expansion through modernized broadband mapping
- Seizing the Opportunity: Leveraging federal broadband funds to build a future-proofed asset management platform for your state/community/private network
- Broadband Infrastructure Intelligence
Listen to Brian Mefford as a guest on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Connect This! podcast discussing data collection and mapping requirements that are now officially included in the US Department of Commerce, NTIA’s BEAD program.
In this webinar, Brian Mefford is on a panel discussing the NTIA’s BEAD program which represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bridge the digital divide once and for all.
Key discussion points include:
– Case study of the Connect Maine Authority funding success
– Leveraging public-private partnership for broadband success
– Success factors for the upcoming BEAD program
