On the mainstage at #TIS24, ACA Connects Vice President of External Affairs Zamir Ahmed led a discussion with technology and broadband leaders on how they are contributing to Nashville’s rise as a tech hub. This discussion included ACA Connects Members United Communications and Google Fiber.
Ahmed: “Nashville is now a booming tech hub with everyone from tech giants to startups relocating and launching here. Our panel will talk about the role that broadband has played in Nashville’s development and evolution.”
Elise Cambournac, President and CEO of the Nashville Tech Council: “The Nashville Tech Council supports about 400 member companies that really look at the tech ecosystem in two ways. We’re supporting our tech vendors and tech professionals, and also our employers in town… We have a large presence in healthcare, as well as music and entertainment. Technology really is the foundation that brings all our industries together.”
Josh Lynch, Chief Operating Officer at United Communications on connecting more people in rural areas near Nashville: “What we’re seeing now is as the boom in Nashville happens, a lot of people are living in more rural communities…. Back in 2017, we had about 10,000 fiber passings. Today, we’ve got about 100,000. We’ve been rapidly deploying fiber throughout our service area.”
Jess George, Head of Digital Equity & Community Impact at Google Fiber on Nashville leading the way: “Nashville is one of those cities that has this wonderful intersection of innovation equity…Nashville also has super users. They’re going to be showing us the way to the future. It’s fun to think about a 10 gig world, a 20 gig world, 100 gig world. It’s a city like Nashville where you’ve got people who are using immersive technologies like AI or looking at ways in which that we can push the boundaries. They’re demonstrating to us what future uses are going to be and expecting us to build a future proof network that will work for families for generations to come.”