At our 6th Annual US Ignite Application Summit we brought our innovative community together once again, diving deep into the acceleration of advanced networking technology and celebrating everything that our extended family of researchers, industry experts, and civic leaders has accomplished since we last met. From inspiring keynote addresses, to illuminating breakout sessions, to exhilarating demos on the expo floor, this year’s Summit allowed us to learn, share, and connect like never before.

There were too many highlights to name, but of course we’re especially proud of our announcement that 8 new Smart Gigabit Communities (SGCs) have joined the initiative by making a commitment to the goal of accelerating the development, deployment, and sharing of smart community/Internet of Things (IoT) applications in areas of national priority. Funded via a three-year, $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the SGC program creates a network of communities that each employ a common approach to foster a gigabit application ecosystem. We’re beyond excited to welcome these new SGCs into the fold:

  • Colorado Springs, CO
  • Eugene-Springfield, OR
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Lincoln, NE
  • Red Wing, MN
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Lexington, KY
  • Adelaide, South Australia

Yes, that’s right—we now have an SGC in Australia. In many ways, it’s the perfect example of our growth over the last five years. This movement is now national and international, far-reaching and inclusive, tech-driven and human-centric, and in every year since the Application Summit’s founding in 2013, it has never ceased to exceed our expectations and spur our excitement for what’s next.

Looking ahead to the 2019 Application Summit in Denver, Colorado April 1-4 2018, we’ll be doing our best to take the movement one step further yet again, providing a space for discussion, collaboration, and community-building as the power of this technology continues to grow, and we continue to grow along with it.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for additional highlights from the US Ignite Application Summit, including a Summit Highlight Video and select featured demonstration videos.

See you in Denver!