Solving broadband deployment challenges at Mountain Connect

On this episode of Connected Nation, we’re previewing Mountain Connect 2026 — and a timely, solution-driven opportunity for ISPs to overcome deployment challenges and accelerate broadband expansion nationwide.
 
Listen as we discuss a new Hosted Buyer Program designed to connect ISPs with trusted partners, reduce deployment challenges, and even help cover the cost of attending the conference.

Recommended links:

Mountain Connect website

Mountain Connect agenda

Hosted Buyers Program

Jeffrey Gavlinski LinkedIn

Transcript

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (00:07):

This is Connect to Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband. From closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds, we talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods. On today's podcast, we're previewing Mountain Connect 2026 and a timely solution driven opportunity for ISPs to overcome deployment challenges and accelerate broadband expansion nationwide. We'll talk about a new hosted buyer program designed to connect ISPs with trusted partners, reduce deployment challenges, and even help cover the cost of attending the conference. I'm Jessica Denson and this is Connected Nation. I'm Jessica Denson and today my guest is Jeff Gavinski, the CEO of Mountain Connect, the industry's only independently owned conference in the United States. Welcome, Jeff. 

Jeffery Gavlinski, Mountain Connect (01:03):
Well, thank you, Jessica, for having me. Great to be here. 

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:06):
Yeah, I've been to Mountain Connect. I'm excited to talk about what's going on this year. It's always a fantastic event. So Bravo. <laugh> 

Jeffery Gavlinski, Mountain Connect (01:13):
Well, thank you. <laugh> I think this year's gonna be even better. 

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:16):
Uh, I, I believe it. It seems like every time I hear great things, so I'm excited to dive in. But before we get to Mountain Connect, I'd love to chat about your background, uh, just to give our listeners an idea of who you are. Uh, you've been in technology space for a long time, correct? 

Jeffery Gavlinski, Mountain Connect (01:33):
I'm old, if, if that's what you're 

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:35):
Saying. <laugh> No, no. Forever Young is what I meant. <laugh> 

Jeffery Gavlinski (01:38):

For every young, okay. Yeah, I have. Um, actually, uh, this is, um, probably the longest time I've been in telecom, but I was in telecom, uh, before this in the, in the 90s. So, um, I worked for a company that's now part of British Telecom, so I've been around a bit. Jessica Denson (01:58):

Um, what are, what are some of your ex- big experiences that really stick with you? I know you worked for ... I, I did peak at your, uh, LinkedIn. I know you worked for companies like Calix and Foresight Group, and, and you've always done something within the industry, correct? Jeffery Gavlinski (02:13):

I have. Um, and it's kind of ironic that I, you know, worked in the industry as well as had this event. I think for the first nine years that I, that I owned it, I worked in the industry as well. So I, and one could argue that that provided a lot of assistance to the growth of the event. Jessica Denson (02:34):

What made you even wanna start it? 'Cause it, you started this back in 2013, right? Jeffery Gavlinski (02:38):

Well, I didn't start Mountain Connect as I actually started by, um, another individual who started it because in 2009 or so, Colorado was awarded a BTOP grant and that BTOP grant was to connect all of our school districts in the state with fiber. And so Mountain Connect was actually started, um, to focus on the Western slope communities of Colorado. And because I was ... I put the first formal structure around a regional local technology planning team down in the southwest part of the state, um, and because I was the first to do that, um, I got invited to speak at Mountain Connect. And I think the second year I went, I asked the guy who was running it, you know, like, why, why just the Western slope, why not include the entire state after all our BTOP grant covered the entire state? And he said, "Well, if you wanna expand it, you take it over." <laugh> And basically handed me the conference, um, myself and my partner at the time.
(03:39)
And so we took it over
(03:43)
In 2013 and I think we had about 90 people that, that last year that he owned it and, you know, this year, I hope to get to 1500. So it's experienced a lot of growth and, and there was, you know, a strategy behind the growth of the conference. At first we created a statewide event and then regional, uh, and then of course the last four or five years, we, it's been a national event. Um, so yeah, there's been a lot of, a lot of change in the conference. You know, it used to be hosted up in resort facilities, uh, uh, in the mountains here in Colorado and then we out, we outgrew that and moved it to Denver in 2023. Jessica Denson (04:26):

Yeah, I've been to the Denver one and, um, for you, I, I don't wanna f- I don't wanna just leap over the fact that you were handling stuff for the southwest part of the state. Uh, for you was, was the conference important and because you could kind of connect with each other across the state, like different people finding out what other people are doing, what, why was it even critical at that time for you? Jeffery Gavlinski (04:49):

Well, I think down on the southwest part of the state, um, building infrastructure down there is a huge challenge just because, uh, for example, just north of Durango, uh, Colorado's most remote wilderness area exists and, and so building down there, like I said, is very tough, um, just because you've got a lot of mountains, a lot of granite, um, and, uh, back in those days, I think that, I think obviously the conversation has shifted quite a bit. I think, you know, back in, you know, 2013 through maybe 16, there was more conversation around how do we, you know, build a community-based network, um, and in our case, and because we were in such a challenging area, as it, as it turned out, uh, when our BTOP grant was done, we ended up with fixed wireless and not fiber. U, and a big reason behind that was, well, there were two things.
(05:54)
I, one, one, there was a lot of overbuilding on the front range, which reduced the amount of the BTOP grant to cover other areas in the state and, and like I said earlier, the cost of building infrastructure in the mountains is very expensive and oftentime, oftentimes, um, it, it gets underestimated in terms of the true costs of building infrastructure there. Jessica Denson (06:21):

I would imagine also dealing with that kind of thing, you know, of course you have build seasons depending on the weather and that type of thing, but does that lead to some innovation that because you're dealing with <laugh> very unique problems that you have to solve when it comes to building in that kind of, uh, environment? Jeffery Gavlinski (06:39):

Uh, I, I would say back then, no, I don't think it led to any sort of new innovative product, but I think like anything else, it, it's really a matter of using the best tool in the tool chest, right, to build- mm-hmm. ... to, to, to, to connect communities, especially in, in really difficult areas. Um, but of course we were promised fiber and so we, you know, up until the very end really tried to ensure that our region of the state got fiber, but we didn't, Jessica Denson (07:10):

So are you now based in, in Denver then Jeffery Gavlinski (07:13):

Yourself? Actually I'm in Fort Collins, which is about an hour north. Jessica Denson (07:17):

Mm-hmm. Jeffery Gavlinski (07:18):

So I'm actually closer to Cheyenne than I am to Denver, but, um, I don't go to Cheyenne very often. I mostly go to Denver, but yeah, so I live up in Fort Collins. Jessica Denson (07:28):

And is that, that's the northern part of the state then? Jeffery Gavlinski (07:30):

Yes. Jessica Denson (07:31):

Okay. Yeah. Uh, I've been through, my mom lives in Denver and I've been up around <laugh> there and not only to the conference, but I've been to Cheyenne and through Wyoming and that is, you've got a plan when you're gonna get your gas <laugh> through there if you're gonna drive. No, no. Jeffery Gavlinski (07:44):

Once you, once you leave Fort Collins, you certainly do. Yeah. <laugh> Jessica Denson (07:47):

But, you know, it, Jeffery Gavlinski (07:48):

It, it's nice to live down. It's nice to live up here. I think we have a very progressive regional community. So if you go from Fort Collins all the way down to Longmont, you've got, you know, three ... So Fort Collins Loveland and Longmont, um, all three of those cities have their own, um, municipal fiber infrastructure. Jessica Denson (08:12):

Oh, that's interesting. Jeffery Gavlinski (08:13):

Yeah. So I've had a, I've been on the network here for five years and, you know, knock on wood, it's never failed. <laugh> So- Jessica Denson (08:21):

And do you know all those people that operate there then, I take it, since you've worked in Colorado for so long? Jeffery Gavlinski (08:27):

Yeah, I, I, in fact, I just met with, uh, Fort Collins Connection, that's the name of the, the provider up here. Um, I just met with them last week. Jessica Denson (08:36):

That's good because then when you get, if you had a problem, you're like, I know who to call. <laugh> Um, so let's talk about Mountain Connect 2026, because I know that's what, why you're on with me today. Um, what makes this year different? Jeffery Gavlinski (08:49):

Well, at a high level, I think 2026 is less about adding content and more about creating outcomes for people. You know, people don't need another event with endles panels or conversations, um, you know, unstructured conversations. Um, they do need conversations that help them move their projects forward. And so everything that I've changed this year was d- was, um, designed around action and connection. Jessica Denson (09:21):

So as in you're giving, you're giving more opportunities for that? Is that how you changed it or- Jeffery Gavlinski (09:26):

Well, I, I came to the con- well, listen, I stopped working in the industry in 2023 and I like to think that I tried to spend my time between that moment and now on going, uh, to events outside of the telecom space to learn what other event organizers were doing, what was driving value and what, uh, what effectively are best practices. I also belong to a, a, a private group of global event organizers and, you know, that has been very instructive to basically what I've done this year. So I have, uh, I have this year, you c- one could argue I've gutted the event and I've restructured it, um, around this, you know, s- uh, I restructured it around creating more outcomes for people and making strategic connections. Um, I, I kind of feel like in order to do that, you need, you need to, you, there needs to be a different flow throughout the entire event.
(10:28)
There needs to be smaller activations and we really need to be, um, mindful of how we can set up an environment that actually, uh, creates m- uh, stronger connections for people. Jessica Denson (10:43):

And, uh, what are some of the problems that you're seeing right now? What's, what's some challenges? Um, I've heard from some state broadband offices that, um, some of their grant winners and sub-grantees are scrambling to find qualified vendors and partners right now. So is that part of your solution for that is to really make it easy to, to connect in that way? Jeffery Gavlinski (11:03):

Yeah. Well, I think you're, you're referring to my hosted buyer program, but yes, I mean, and, and this year ... Well, if you look over the last four years, um, I would argue that we've led the nation in, um, quality bead content, but this year is a, is a, a, a pivot away. We're starting to pivot away from that. Um, and I, I, I think it's a natural thing to do because of where BEAD's at right now and the focus this year is on helping ISPs build sustainable businesses. Jessica Denson (11:37):

So you mentioned the hosted buyer program. Yeah. Explain what that is and how it would work. Jeffery Gavlinski (11:42):

So effectively, I'm bringing in, um, ISPs from all around the country. Um, they range from tier one through tier three and below. Um, a lot of the projects that they're bringing to the table are bead related, um, they are private expansion, private equity, local and state grant funded projects. So there's a real diversity of not only the ISPs that are coming, but also diversity in terms of the projects, um, that they're building. And what's important is in the application process, uh, uh, one of the things I thought was really important to this program and its overall success was that these have to be genuine opportunities. So the projects must start within 12 months. Um, th- that is more of an opportunity for the hosted buyer sponsors than a project that, that's in the planning stages now and may not actually begin for, you know, two or three years down the road, which is not uncommon in this industry.
(12:50)
So these are real in- hand opportunities. And right now, a- as of today, I, I have projects in 20 states and we're, we're right at about 1.5 billion in project opportunity and we're not done yet. So I expect us to get, uh, closer to, uh ... I really originally had forecasted two, but I think we're gonna get closer to three billion. Jessica Denson (13:14):

That's, that's incredible. Yeah. Yeah. And so this will just hopefully, because as you said, it's the fir- it's, they're in within the next 12 months, so we're gonna start seeing these projects move forward and you're looking to really connect those people to, to make that happen. Jeffery Gavlinski (13:31):

I'm trying to help them, right? Jessica Denson (13:32):

Yeah. So that's Jeffery Gavlinski (13:32):

What this program's all about. So I, I, I think two things. One, for, for ISPs who may consider, um, participating in this program, what I'm doing is I'm providing a travel stipend, um, a hotel room, uh, for the balance of the conference and of course the conference registration. Um, on the sponsor side, you obviously have access to these ISPs and I'm trying to be, uh, um, smart about the sponsor pool. I've, I, I, I have, um, I have 10 or so industry segments, uh, I basically have, I've split the ecosystem into 10 segments or so and I'm only allowing two per segment. So I don't wanna overwhelm the hosted buyers or ISPs in this case with, you know, too many sponsors to choose from. Um, the sponsors, like I say, will have a little bit of exclusivity in that, you know, there's only two, there's only one other competitor, direct competitor.
(14:38)
Um, both sides need to bring decision makers and I think this is, this is one way that we, we ensure that, um, this program is successful. We also have a private lounge, um, for these meetings so each sponsor will have their own table and then we have, um, a, a reception for the program itself. It's private, just the folks participating in the hosted buyer program will be at that reception. Jessica Denson (15:06):

So if, if groups wanna get involved, whether it's the ISPs or the sponsors, how would they do that? Is it just go to the, um, Mountain Connect 2026 site or do they need to email you or how do they get involved? Jeffery Gavlinski (15:19):

Well, we, we have the, uh, hosted buyer program. So there actually is, um, if you go to mountainconnect.org/hostedbuyer, uh, towards the bottom of the page there is, uh, a link for an application. So that's for the ISPs and then if somebody wants, someone is interested in sponsoring, um, they would just need to connect with me so I can be easily reached at jeff@mountainconnect.org. Okay. Jessica Denson (15:47):

I, I love there's something that you said there that I just wanna, um, to highlight that you said, "Make sure you bring your decision makers."That's because we wanna move these things forward and get them done soon, right? Jeffery Gavlinski (16:00):

Correct. Yep. Jessica Denson (16:01):

Yeah. So just wanna definitely highlight that, that when you're bringing these people to this, when you go there and we'll include links in the description of this podcast to make sure that your decision makers understand what this is and why this matters and to be part of that. Jeffery Gavlinski (16:13):

Well, I, I think the worst thing that can happen- mm-hmm. Jessica Denson (16:16):

... Jeffery Gavlinski (16:16):

On either side of the table is that you show up for a meeting and you're meeting with someone who can't say yes or no. Jessica Denson (16:24):

Yeah. I think Jeffery Gavlinski (16:24):

That, that would be a, you know, a program failure if we, we allowed that. Jessica Denson (16:29):

I, it makes sense. You're looking, especially since you're looking in the next 12 months, um, s- because we, that's to get things built faster, move things forward, um, and I think a lot of groups <laugh> could appreciate that right now, considering everything that's happened with BEAD where it's been on and off and then back on and then some guidance is still not out there. And, and speaking about that, uh, what is your point of view on BEAD right now? Uh, are you hopeful? Jeffery Gavlinski (16:55):

Oh <laugh> why are you asking me this question? Um, there's not an easy answer to that question. Mm-hmm. I think, I think ... Well, listen, we all know the, the program's changed, um, and now it looks like they're trying to add a, add additional framework to the program and one of the things that there's, there's probably two or three things that I'm most concerned about, I suppose. Mm-hmm. Um, one is a lowest bidder- Yeah. Jessica Denson (17:24):

... Jeffery Gavlinski (17:24):

You know, in my humble opinion, that's never worked since I've been in this industry. Um, and I fear that the outcomes will be similar to ARDOF if we go down this path. I also have a concern about rising cost. Jessica Denson (17:40):

Mm-hmm. Jeffery Gavlinski (17:42):

You know, for example, I don't think we've seen the worst of gas prices yet, um, because we've gone through existing supply and now I think we're gonna see even the prices go up higher. But that has a, um, that has a, a resounding impact across, you know, the entire industry because things need to be shipped, um, things need to be made and as, you know, as costs keep, keep going up, I, you know, I, it changes to the dynamics of the projects that have been, have been awarded in terms of, you know, the raw cost of, of building out a network. And so I hope I'm wrong about that assessment, but I, I think that'll have some impact. And I suppose the last area is, well, there, there's kind of a two, uh, two for one here is workforce, um, and I've, I've forgotten the last one <laugh>. <laugh> Jessica Denson (18:38):

This is Jeffery Gavlinski (18:38):

My mind, but I, but I think, oh, supply chain. Jessica Denson (18:41):

Supply chain, workforce and supply chain. Jeffery Gavlinski (18:43):

Yeah. Jessica Denson (18:44):

Workforce and Jeffery Gavlinski (18:44):

Supply chain. I think on the supply chain side, we're, you know, we're battling against all the AI infrastructure that's being built and so that will have some sort of impact, you know, in, in this space. Jessica Denson (18:57):

So if you were, if you were gonna project where things go, is it just, do you feel like this year and next year are really pivotal in where the broadband industry ends up? Jeffery Gavlinski (19:08):

Yes, I think v- very much so. So I'm curious to see if we have ... Well, I'm curious to see, like, what projects get started and whether or not, you know, obviously they get completed, um, and hopefully we don't see, you know, people walking away from projects Jessica Denson (19:29):

Yeah, that would be bad. We've seen some of that with some of the, uh, grandi- grantees backing out in places like Texas and there were a couple other state, Louisiana, I believe. Jeffery Gavlinski (19:39):

Yeah, Jessica Denson (19:39):

Colorado. We, we have one Jeffery Gavlinski (19:40):

Here that, uh, that backed out already. Jessica Denson (19:43):

Yeah, because you suddenly change the rules and we don't make the rules on private organizations <laugh>, you know what I mean? Right. So especially they get to decide yay or nay. Um, so that is already proven a challenge. Um, and I agree with you, I think everybody at Connect to Nation would agree that we do want connections, but we want people to have good connections, not just the cheapest and easiest Jeffery Gavlinski (20:04):

Necessarily. Jessica Denson (20:06):

Well, and I, I think Jeffery Gavlinski (20:06):

That the other big, yeah, the other big issue to watch is what happens to non-deployment funds. Jessica Denson (20:11):

Mm-hmm. Jeffery Gavlinski (20:11):

And I know this is near and dear to Connected Nation. Jessica Denson (20:15):

For sure. Jeffery Gavlinski (20:16):

Um, I think that would be a profound error to claw that money back and not build infrastructure that's needed. Jessica Denson (20:23):

Yeah. Uh, I think the s- yeah, the states need to keep it and make their, those decisions that would benefit their, each state, for sure. Um, so before we close, what's the one key takeaway you want ISPs and industry leaders to remember when it comes to Mountain Connect 2026 and this oportunity? Is it what we talked about to bring the decision makers? Jeffery Gavlinski (20:43):

Well, yeah, I, I think so. I, you know, we're, we're shifting from delivering information and unstructured network, networking to creating outcomes. I, I think I may have mentioned this earlier. Um, you know, our content will always matter, um, but we are investing just as heavily into who people meet, how they connect and certainly what happens after they leave. And I think for the hosted buyers, uh, or that program in general, I think, you know, time is limited. Mm-hmm. So, you know, if you're making decisions within the next three to 12 months, you know, our objective is to help you spend time with people who can actually move, um, your decisions forward. Jessica Denson (21:30):

I think that's great. Um, and just c- I don't think I mentioned it, but Mountain Connect 2026 is August 10th through 12th. So hop on this right away, get, be a part of this if you're, you're wanting to move your projects forward, I think it's a great, great, great conference. We've never been to it. It is definitely deals are made, things happen. I've seen it. <laugh> So, uh, Jeff, I really appreciate your time today. Jeffery Gavlinski (21:51):

Thank you so much. Jessica Denson (21:59):

Again, we've been talking with Jeffrey Gavinski from Mountain Connect 2026. If you're interested in the hosted buyer program and wanna learn, learn more about the conference, we'll include links in the description of this podcast. I'm Jessica Denson. Thanks for listening to Connect to Nation. If you like our show and wanna know more about us, head to connectin.org or look for the latest episodes on your favorite podcast platform.