Hershey, PA: Ready to Build the Next Generation Network?

Steve came to the PTA in 1996 after twelve years in the Senate of Pennsylvania as Executive Director of the Senate Communications and High Technology and Senate Finance Committees. He was the Republican Executive Director of the Communications and High Technology Committee when that body considered and passed the Chapter 30 legislation which laid the groundwork for the deployment of the broadband telecommunications network in the state.

Steve became PTA’s President in 2008 after more than 11 years as PTA’s Vice President. He is responsible for lobbying local exchange industry positions before the House, Senate, Governor’s Office and all state-level policy-making and regulatory bodies and also oversees the association’s weekly publications.

Steve serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Harrisburg Trade Association Executives and is a member of the Pennsylvania Relay Service Advisory Board, and the Pennsylvania 911 Board. 

Todd Eachus has led BCAP as its President since 2021. Prior to joining the association, he spent 25 years with several cable and broadband providers in various government and external affairs roles throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, and Ohio. Before joining the cable industry, Todd served as a press secretary and legislative aide in the U.S House of Representatives. He also spent 10 years in the U.S. Navy, flying in S-3 Viking aircraft and served in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Todd holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Communication from The George Washington University and is a graduate of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. He served on the Marple Newtown School Board for eight years, is on the Board of Directors of the Spanish American Civic Association in Lancaster, The Pennsylvania Press Club, and is the Commodore of the Ocean City Marlin and Tuna Club in New Jersey.

Over his 27-year career, Chris Bailey has worked for both supplier and distribution companies of various sizes. Chris has been involved in numerous deployments with telephone companies, cooperatives, municipalities, and other entities, launching fiber broadband networks. Having presented individually and with end-users and suppliers, Chris has extensive wealth of knowledge in the broadband market.

Lori Adams currently serves as the Vice President of Broadband Policy & Funding Strategy for Nokia and is a key member of the US broadband business development team within the Network Infrastructure business group. With over 20 years of experience as a telecommunications attorney focusing on broadband policy, she played a key role in helping Nokia achieve Buy America compliance for the BEAD program. Adams has participated at numerous industry events at the local, state and national levels as a moderator, panelist and keynote speaker.

David Eckard is currently the Vice President of the Broadband Partners at Nokia overseeing the company’s response to the historical influx of capital from the various federal and state funding programs that aims to close the digital inequities in our country. Since 1999, David has been a key contributor, advocate and industry leader for the creation and adoption of fiber access in the United States and around the world. He has overseen the development and investment of key enabling technologies that has allowed Nokia to be a trusted partner for next generation fiber networks. He is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, holds many patents in optical access technologies, has represented Nokia in standardization forums for next generation optical access networks and resides on the boards of various trade associations representing Nokia.

Paul joined CommScope in 2010 through the BNS acquisition in 2015 and relocated to North America in 2020. Before relocating, Paul played a pivotal role in the successful deployment of Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) and collaborated with carriers worldwide to develop fiber network solutions. As the Senior Director of Solutions Architecture and Strategy, Paul specializes in identifying and developing market solutions for fiber-based outside plant deployments. With a focus on network architectures and optimization, Paul has been actively involved in multiple large-scale network deployments globally, including Australia's NBN, New Zealand's UFB rollout, and several significant deployments across Europe. Paul brings over 25 years of industry experience and a wealth of knowledge and innovative approaches for deploying FTTH networks in challenging environments.