Fiber Broadband Association Opens 2026 Awards Nominations

Annual award program celebrates leadership, innovation, and community impact across the fiber broadband industry

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today opened nominations for its 2026 FBA Awards program. The annual awards recognize outstanding individuals, organizations, and innovations that are building a faster, more resilient, and better connected future.

“The FBA Awards showcase the people and projects that are truly making a difference in our industry. They advance connectivity, spark innovation, and deliver digital equity for communities across North America,” said Jessica Koch, FBA Conference Chair and Controller at Consolidated Business Services. “We encourage FBA members to submit their strongest nominations, highlighting the impact of their contributions. We look forward to reviewing applications and learning more about the outstanding achievements our membership has accomplished in the last year.”

2026 FBA Award Categories:

• Photon Award – Recognizes a company or community that goes above and beyond in advancing fiber to the home.
• Star Award – Honors an individual whose volunteer service demonstrates exceptional dedication to the Association and the industry.
• Gene Scott Education Award – Recognizes a person, community, or institution that has made a significant impact on fiber industry education.
• Fiber Under Forty – Spotlights professionals born in 1986 or later whose contributions are driving meaningful results for their companies and the industry.
• Women Changing Fiber for Good – Celebrates women whose leadership and actions are improving the industry in lasting ways.
• Advocacy Allstars – Honors individuals advancing fiber broadband policy at state and federal levels.
• Community Impact – Recognizes fiber projects that enable communities and change lives across North America.
• Product Innovation – Showcases Technology innovation that expands fiber broadband’s ability to meet customer needs today and over the next decade.
• Constellation – Celebrates coalitions of companies that team up to advance fiber networks across communities, states, or regions.

All nominations must include an FBA member company. Submissions will be reviewed and judged by the FBA Conference Committee, FBA Senior Council, FBA Board of Directors, and/or the FBA Education Committee.

Nomination submissions should be made through the online portal here. Nominations close on March 13. Finalists will be announced on April 6, and this year’s winners will be announced at the FBA 25^th Anniversary Fiber Connect Gala on May 19, during Fiber Connect 2026. It will be a black-tie celebration of people, progress, partnership, and fiber-fueled visionaries. Additional honors will be presented at the Anniversary Gala, including the Lightwave FTTxcellence Award and Cablefax Award.

To learn more about the 2026 FBA Awards or the Fiber Connect 2026 event, subscribe to FBA’s Fiber Forward Weekly newsletter here.

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) is the voice of fiber, helping providers, policy makers, and communities make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. FBA is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists. Since 2001, FBA and its members have worked to advance fiber broadband deployment to accelerate innovation and increase quality of life by enabling every community to leverage the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in North America, LATAM, Europe, MENA, APAC, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.