CostQuest Associates is bringing back its Fabric Forward working conference for the second consecutive year, gathering broadband industry leaders, ISPs, State Broadband Office personnel, and technical experts for four days of hands-on sessions, expert dialogue, and strategic problem-solving. The event is scheduled for October 26–29, 2026, at the historic Edgewater Hotel in Seattle, Washington.
Building on the success of its inaugural event, Fabric Forward 26 is designed to help broadband organizations navigate an industry in rapid transition. With BEAD rules continuing to shift, competition and consolidation accelerating, and costs rising, CostQuest developed the conference to bridge the gap between regulatory, strategic, and technical workflows, an alignment that is essential for organizations to achieve to respond to current market dynamics.
“It’s a really unique conference,” said CostQuest Chief Operating Officer, Elizabeth Meiszer, reflecting on what made last year’s event stand out. “We have players from across the industry attend – small ISPs, large ISPs, state broadband offices, industry experts – and because of the smaller nature of the conference, people were really able to have those one-on-one and small group conversations that you just don’t get at a typical conference.”
That intimate format remains a defining feature of the 2026 edition, and so does the breadth of its programming. Fabric Forward is not solely focused on the Broadband Location Fabric – it is a comprehensive working conference built around the three critical pressure points broadband organizations are navigating simultaneously: regulatory compliance, competitive strategy, and technical operations. Attendees can expect hands-on sessions covering topics from BEAD compliance and non-deployment to competitive market analysis and capital optimization – alongside GIS troubleshooting labs, data workflow frameworks, and office hours with CostQuest subject matter experts, a format that proved to be among the most popular offerings at last year’s event.
The conference also delivers a rare opportunity for attendees to engage directly with the team behind the Broadband Location Fabric. CostQuest’s data specialists will be on hand to walk through real-world challenges live, offering the kind of practical, in-the-weeds Fabric guidance that participants said they couldn’t find elsewhere.
Fabric Forward draws industry leaders, policy experts, and government representatives who bring perspectives from across the broadband ecosystem. These voices, combined with CostQuest’s technical expertise, create a rare environment where compliance strategy, market intelligence, and operational execution are discussed together in the same room – because, as the conference is designed to reflect, the biggest risks facing broadband organizations today live squarely at the intersection of all three.
Fabric Forward reached full capacity in its first year, and early registration is strongly encouraged for 2026. Registration pricing is tiered and increases as the event approaches, with the lowest rates available through the Early Bird deadline of May 20, 2026. CostQuest customers, association members, and non-customers each have dedicated pricing options, and government entities may attend complimentary.
Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of how to operate the Fabric across federal programs along with actionable next steps to reduce BEAD risk, operationalize compliance, navigate BEAD non-deployment, and use location-level market intelligence data to position their organizations competitively in the next broadband chapter and beyond. You can register HERE or click HERE to learn more.
We look forward to seeing everyone this October!
