We all know it’s coming. But how will businesses, from small to large, local governments, healthcare providers and consumers cash in on fiber-optic, ultra-high speed Internet access?

That’s the focus of “Fiber Transforms the Triangle.”

Gigabit Internet speeds will change how we live, work and play. WRAL TechWire Insiders will learn from leaders in the field how to leverage the next big thing at a half-day Executive Exchange Oct. 13 at SAS, which is the host partner.

Blair Levin, former chief of staff at the Federal Communications Commission and a recognized international authority on broadband networks, will be the keynote speaker for the event.

Joe Freddoso, former chief executive officer at MCNC, which built the state’s first statewide fiber-optic network (North Carolina Research and Education Network), will moderate a panel discussion featuring service providers. They will discuss what their networks offerfor commercial and consumer clients and detail the timeline for change in the Triangle.

Another panel will discuss how businesses, from startups to healthcare providers, can cash in on the coming wave.

Each speaker and panel will take questions and there will be time for networking with other WRAL TechWire Insiders.

SAS, the world’s largest privately held software company and one of the first firms to embrace the Internet’s potential, will be the host for this event at the SAS campus in Cary.

The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast.

Why fiber? Why now?

The pending deployment of ultra-fast Internet access across the Triangle by AT&T as part of the North Carolina Next Generation Network initiative and possible deployments by other firms – including Google Fiber – has the potential to transform the way your employees and your customers are entertained, how businesses sell goods and services and how we all communicate.

Ultra-high definition TVs and networks; virtually instantaneous movie and TV program downloads; near-live videoconferencing; faster ecommerce; and almost-anywhere rapid access to data and entertainment stored in “cloud computing” networks: Those are among the many benefits promised by fiber networks.

This could be the biggest new wave of technology development to hit RTP and surrounding areas since the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web.

”Fiber Transforms the Triangle” will be open to WRAL TechWire Insider subscribers only.

Sign up for a subscription today to get a jump start on securing your seat at this exclusive event at no charge.

Registration information will be posted shortly.