490 St. Andrews Drive
Columbia Falls, MT 59912

Sessions - Continental Divide Room

State and Federal policy leaders discussing the latest trends in broadband policy.

Confirmed Speakers

Veneeth Iyengar, Executive Director ConnectLA
Louisiana Office of Broadband Development & Connectivity

Does it HAVE to be Fiber? Evaluating Options for Montana’s Future: While the entire country is grappling with technology questions as BEAD funding approaches, Big Sky Country has unique challenges all our own: Namely mountains, trees, and 147 thousand square miles. Does it HAVE to be connected with fiber? That answer hinges on understanding the dynamics of extremely high-cost locations, the characteristics of wireless technologies (including 5G and LEO satellites), and ultimately – what it means, for policy makers and regular people alike, for rural Montana to be connected.

Larry Thompson is the CEO of Vantage Point Solutions, a national engineering and consulting firm focused on broadband providers. Larry is a licensed professional engineer and has been designing satellite, wireless, and fiber-based broadband networks for more than 35 years. Larry received his bachelor’s degree in Physics from William Jewell College and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kansas.

Prior to founding Vantage Point Solutions in 2002, Larry held several engineering and management positions with TRW’s Space and Defense Sector, CyberLink Corporation, and Martin Group. Over the years he has helped many broadband providers successfully navigate many technical, regulatory, and financial challenges when deploying wireless and fiber networks. 

Larry is a frequent speaker at state and national conferences and a frequent expert witness in matters related to telecommunication technology and regulation and a two-term member of the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC).

Sessions - Continental Divide Room

Featuring experts in operations trends such as
Finance, Sales & Marketing, and the latest in fiber technology

Marketing and Sales has shifted dramatically in the past years and was fueled to adapt even faster during COVID. The panel will discuss the shifting competitive landscape (Charter/Spectrum, Starlink, T-Mobile/Verizon), increases in member demand for services, changes to outreach methods and changing company culture to be a sales organization.   

Bethany Chinadle was raised on her family’s farm in Montana and her family roots are very important to her as well as the rural communities.  Bethany attended the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND.  Bethany has held many roles at Triangle Communications including Internet Customer Service/Tech Support, Customer Service Supervisor, Marketing & Sales Manager, VP of Customer Operations and most recently is working as the COO. 

Gabe Petersen is a Field Strategy Lead at Calix working directly with broadband service providers to drive data driven marketing success. Gabe has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and has been with Calix for 18 years. Gabe is a recovering Finance professional and enjoys helping customers much more than staring at numbers on a spreadsheet. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabepetersen/

Don Serido has been running the Marketing Department at 3 Rivers Communications for 18 years. Don came to 3 Rivers after working with a Great Falls advertising agency, where 3 Rivers was one of his prized clients. He has more than 35 years of experience in the communications business. 

BroadbandMT Board of Directors Board Meeting