As industry prepares to tap NTIA BEAD Funding in 2026, Clearfield ensures its customers can meet stringent federal funding requirements to close the Digital Equity Gap

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLFD), the leader in community broadband fiber connectivity, is highlighting its BABA-compliant fiber products at Fiber Connect 2024, being held July 28-31, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn. The company will discuss its Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act compliant products and philosophies at the event, as well as provide reference information on its website for service providers to use in meeting federal funding requirements.

Enacted as a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on November 15, 2021, the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act maximizes the federal government’s use of services, goods, products, and materials produced and offered in the United States, with its requirements applicable to broadband infrastructure projects, such as the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The BABA Act requires that products purchased with federal funding, such as fiber connectors and fiber optic cable, be domestically manufactured in the United States.

Clearfield recently expanded its manufacturing capabilities in Minnesota to accommodate BABA requirements and ensure its customers have the products needed as BEAD, as well as private equity and other funding sources, fuel fiber broadband expansion projects across America.

Clearfield’s industry-leading ClearPass® Connector Dust Cap and interactive BILT App for accessing product guides and documentation in the field will be demonstrated in the company’s booth, along with other BABA-compliant products.

Clearfield will sit alongside other industry experts and join the conversation in the following session:

• Monday, July 29
  • Track: Network Operations: The What, When, and How of Expanding Fiber Footprints
    • Session: Workforce Development: Finding the Right People to Work 9 to 5
    • Time: 12:30 - 1:20 pm
    • Speaker: Brian Schrand

Clearfield is also a finalist for two AMPLIFY Awards presented by the Fiber Broadband Association at Fiber Connect 2024. These awards recognize individuals, companies, and innovations that strengthen and advance the fiber broadband industry.

• Cheri Beranek, President & Chief Executive Officer of Clearfield, was named as a finalist in the Women Changing Fiber for Good category. This award recognizes women who are making changes that will impact and improve the industry for years to come.
• Clearfield was named a finalist in the Taking Fiber Further category. This award recognizes teams working together to support community broadband fiber network expansion, including construction, planning, and integration.

“I am beyond pleased for our recognition in these inaugural awards at Fiber Connect,” said Beranek. “Clearfield is dedicated to supporting community broadband and solving the unique needs of this market. Making the finalist list with other industry players is such an honor, especially as we continue on in this journey to bridge the digital divide and truly take fiber further.”

Clearfield will exhibit at booth #305, offering hands-on demonstrations of two game-changing innovations. In addition to cabinets, terminals, and many other fiber optic connectivity solutions, Clearfield will be featuring the interactive BILT app and the unique ClearPass® Connector Cleaning Dust Cap.

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of fiber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities, and policy makers make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations, and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides 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, MEA, APAC, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.

About Clearfield, Inc.

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLFD) designs, manufactures, and distributes fiber optic management, protection, and delivery products for communications networks. Our “fiber to anywhere” platform serves the unique requirements of leading incumbent local exchange carriers (traditional carriers), competitive local exchange carriers (alternative carriers), and MSO/cable TV companies, while also catering to the broadband needs of the utility/municipality, enterprise, data center, and military markets. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Clearfield deploys more than a million fiber ports each year. For more information, visit www.SeeClearfield.com.

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