The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today announced Silicon Valley icon, technology entrepreneur, and philanthropist Steve Wozniak will deliver a Fireside Chat at Fiber Connect 2027 during the AI & Quantum Infrastructure Summit on June 16. Wozniak will explore entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity, and his personal journey through technology.

Fiber is the critical infrastructure that allows innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive, from the home, to businesses, across industries, and throughout the digital economy. AI and quantum technologies need fiber to thrive and extend innovative new services, processes and applications to reach everyone, everywhere. It is what will enable breakthroughs in medicine, security, and create waves of economic opportunity. It will underpin powerful, stable networks that can support ideas and breakthroughs we haven’t even discovered yet.

“The future is technology dependent, and fiber infrastructure is critical to enabling the next wave of innovation that will unlock potential in every community and usher in extraordinary opportunities for economic growth and development. I’m excited to kick off the AI and Quantum Infrastructure Summit at Fiber Connect 2027, and look forward to being part of the conversations that explore new technological possibilities and fiber’s role in achieving new levels of innovation,” Wozniak said.

Steve Wozniak helped shape and innovate the computing industry with his design of Apple’s first line of products, the Apple I and II. He also influenced the popular Macintosh. In 1976, Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer Inc. with Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer. The following year, he introduced his Apple II personal computer, featuring a central processing unit, a keyboard, color graphics, and a floppy disk drive. The Apple II was integral in launching the personal computer industry. Through the years, Wozniak has been involved in various business and philanthropic ventures, focusing primarily on computer capabilities in schools and stressing hands-on learning and encouraging creativity for students.

“Communities are changing what they expect from fiber networks and they are understanding that innovation is not what happens on top of the network, but what the network enables. Today, fiber infrastructure is opening the door to breakthroughs like AI and quantum computing,” said Gary Bolton, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “Steve Wozniak helped put computing power into people’s homes and changed what they could imagine and create. Bringing him to our event connects that spirit of invention with the people building the infrastructure to make it possible. His perspective will challenge us to think bigger about what fiber can enable for businesses, communities, and our economy.”

Content for the AI & Infrastructure Summit is sponsored by Presenting Sponsor Cisco and Panel Sponsor RaDD Network Solutions. Beyond the Summit, Fiber Connect 2027 is a four-day event that offers a dual experience to attendees, both for those building the fiber infrastructure and looking for best deployment practices as well as innovators looking to support new technological progress and possibilities. The event will be held June 13-16, 2027, in Nashville, Tennessee, and features an extensive content program and an expanded Expo Hall that will include the first-ever AI & Quantum Infrastructure Pavilion.

For more information and to register, visit fiberconnect.fiberbroadband.org. To learn more about FBA and its events, subscribe to FBA’s Fiber Forward Weekly newsletter here.

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) is the leading voice for fiber infrastructure, uniting the entire ecosystem of network operators, technology innovators, equipment manufacturers, and industry experts building the high-performance fiber networks that power our digital future. As the world’s largest association dedicated to fiber, FBA advances the deployment of future-ready infrastructure through research, education, standards, workforce development, and public policy advocacy. As broadband, artificial intelligence, quantum networks, and next-generation technologies converge, FBA is helping ensure communities, businesses, and economies are built on the reliable, scalable, and energy-efficient foundation that only fiber can provide. Founded in 2001, FBA is a member of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, representing six regional Fibre councils spanning North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.

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