Fiber Broadband Association Expands OpTIC Path™ Rodeo at Fiber Connect 2026 to Spotlight Workforce Skills Amid Industry Shortage

Hands-on fiber technician competition returns with more participants, new challenges, and expanded Expo Hall presence

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today announced the return of the OpTIC Path™ Rodeo at Fiber Connect 2026, building on the momentum of last year’s inaugural event with a larger field of competitors and exciting new challenges.

As fiber deployment accelerates across North America, the demand for skilled technicians continues to outpace supply. Through its OpTIC Path training program and initiatives like the Rodeo, FBA is working to build a stronger pipeline of talent equipped to design, deploy, and maintain the networks powering today’s digital infrastructure.

The Rodeo is inspired by the FBA’s OpTIC Path ™ Training Curriculum, a comprehensive program that builds the core competencies needed by fiber technicians to design, install, maintain, and troubleshoot fiber networks. As demand for skilled technicians continues to grow, OpTIC Path helps prepare the workforce with the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to succeed in the field. The Rodeo brings those skills to life and reinforces the importance of continued investment in workforce development.

The 2026 Rodeo will take place on Monday in the Expo Hall, with bleacher-style seating to improve spectator viewing of the arena. This year, 12 technicians—double the number from the competition in 2025—will compete in a series of hands-on challenges designed to reflect real-world fiber work.

“Workforce development remains one of the most pressing challenges facing the broadband industry,” said Todd Jackson, Director of Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association. “The OpTIC Path Rodeo is one way we’re bringing attention to the skills required in the field while reinforcing the importance of training programs that prepare the next generation of technicians.”

This year’s updated format condenses the competition into a single afternoon while maintaining a strong focus on technical ability and execution. Competitors will rotate through a range of challenges that test core competencies across fiber installation and maintenance, including cable preparation, fusion splicing and closure work, MDU light testing, optical light testing, and a fiber knowledge trivia component.

Each station is designed to mirror tasks technicians encounter in the field, with judging based on speed, accuracy, workmanship and overall technique. The goal is not only to identify top performers, but also to highlight the craftsmanship and attention to detail required across the profession.

While the competition itself takes place on Monday, the Rodeo arena will offer programming on Tuesday, including:

• Industry Insider Chats features expert-led conversations offering insights into fiber innovation, workforce development, and real-world industry applications.
• OpTIC Path in Action sessions featuring program implementation examples from schools, training programs and businesses

• Interactive simulators demonstrating how gaming-based technologies could help prepare future technicians and introduce younger audiences to broadband career opportunities

The competition is open to technicians, engineers, network operators, OpTIC Path graduates, and others with hands-on fiber experience. Participants must be registered for Fiber Connect 2026.

To learn more about the OpTIC Path Rodeo at Fiber Connect 2026, visit www.fiberconnect.fiberbroadband.org/expo/optic-path-rodeo/. To stay updated on events and research, 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.