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Parks Associates and Plume: Competition for Broadband Driven by Service Quality, Protection, and AI vs. Speed

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62% of smart home device owners find AI-powered cybersecurity monitoring appealing

PLANO, Texas and PALO ALTO, Calif., July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ahead of NCTC’s The Independent Show, Parks Associates and Plume released research that details the shift in broadband competition as providers need to deliver a superior customer experience based on reliability, proactive management, and personalization. As gigabit speeds surpass 25% in the US, broadband providers must refocus beyond speed and on engagement, leveraging advanced AI platforms to account for the unique needs of each subscriber.

The new white paper, Owning the Broadband Subscriber Experience in the AI Era, warns ISPs of risks in ceding the subscriber intelligence layer to device OEMs, satellite providers, and technology platforms. Consumers, especially younger generations, are increasingly sensitive to service issues, including outages and poor customer service, while also wanting proactive services that improve reliability, protection, and the overall connected home experience:

56% of US households report at least one home internet service problem in the past 90 days.62% of smart home device owners find AI-powered cybersecurity monitoring appealing, and 27% are willing to pay at a tested price point.

“Consumers expect providers to deliver reliable connectivity, proactive support, and protection,” said Jennifer Kent, SVP & Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. “AI enables providers to anticipate problems, personalize service, and create experiences that build long-term loyalty.”

The research distinguishes between current AI applications, such as automated network optimization and predictive diagnostics, and the emerging wave of agentic AI, where tools autonomously execute multi-step tasks across the network and care environments. It examines how agentic AI is enabling broadband providers to scale services, maturing from reactive customer support to predictive operations.

Key findings:

Subscribers experiencing poor customer service are 7x times more likely to consider switching providers than those without service issues.Younger consumers are far less likely to report their internet service as reliable and are significantly more willing to switch providers.Consumer adoption of AI tools continues to accelerate, creating new network demands and the need for intelligent network management.Connected households face between 36 and 86 blocked security threats per month on average, with botnet attacks growing 89% year-over-year.

“Subscribers just want their video call to work, their kids to be safe online and their smart lock to respond when they’re away from home,” said Rebecca Stone, CMO, Plume. “What they can’t see is that our platform is blocking up to 86 security threats a month in their home and that botnet attacks grew 89% in a year. Only a platform that learns globally across hundreds of operators and half a billion devices can spot those patterns and act on them before the subscriber ever notices. That is what turns network intelligence into subscriber confidence, and subscriber confidence into lower churn and cost to serve.”

The white paper includes a case study with TELUS, which deployed AI-powered journey orchestration to achieve a 91% digital care engagement rate and is projected to prevent more than 500,000 support calls annually.

Download the white paper. Contact Parks Associates for data or for an interview.  

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates helps companies identify new opportunities, refine strategy and accelerate growth in connected technology markets through data-driven insights and industry expertise. The firm delivers proprietary consumer and industry research, market forecasts, and strategic analysis that guide business decisions across personal, connected home, SMB, and commercial technology ecosystems.

https://www.parksassociates.com.

About Plume

Plume created the first managed WiFi platform for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in 2016, enabling the company to scale across the globe and expand into managing the entire subscriber experience, including approximately 500 million connected devices, in 40 million homes, on behalf of more than 450 ISPs, across 58 countries. By integrating managed WiFi, cybersecurity and customer care, Plume created the first open, hardware-agnostic SaaS Subscriber Experience Platform for ISPs. Powered by an unmatched global dataset and AI optimization, the Plume Platform builds subscriber confidence through improved WiFi experiences, seamless new service implementation and proactive customer care. Plume’s open-source framework OpenSync® is pre-integrated and supported on the leading silicon, CPE and platform SDKs, and supports leading industry standards like RDK-B and prplWave. Discover more at www.plume.com.

Elizabeth Parks
Parks Associates
972.490.1113
419288@email4pr.com 

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SOURCE Parks Associates

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EBSCO Clinical Decisions Appoints Paul Tuten as Executive Vice President

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~ Seasoned health IT executive and former ONC advisor to lead EBSCO Clinical Decisions as it advances its mission to bring trusted evidence to clinicians at the point of care.~

IPSWICH, Mass., Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EBSCO Clinical Decisions today announced the appointment of Paul Tuten as its Executive Vice President. In his role, Tuten will oversee all aspects of EBSCO Clinical Decisions, including strategy, content, product development, and growth. His priorities include advancing the organization’s point-of-care strategy and expanding partnerships that bring expert-vetted DynaMed® content directly into the workflows, platforms, and AI-enabled tools clinicians use every day.

“Paul’s strong and even-handed leadership is an incredible asset as we work to deliver intelligent, evidence-based tools that elevate care delivery,” said Roy Ziegelstein, MD, MACP, Editor-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer of DynaMed. “His deep technical expertise and track record in academic publishing will help us take the next step in building and delivering trustworthy, evidence-based solutions for clinicians that integrate natively into their daily workflows, reducing friction and improving care when and where it matters most.”

Tuten joined the company in 2025 as Executive Vice President and Chief Platform Officer at EBSCO Information Services, focused on accelerating scalable growth of EBSCO’s advanced knowledge services. Prior to joining, he was Chief Product and Technology Officer at Taylor & Francis, where he led a global team in driving digital transformation and enhancing data governance, analytics, and platform-centric customer experiences in service to academic researchers. Tuten previously built and repositioned health IT organizations focused on clinical data exchange, patient safety, quality measurement, and revenue cycle management, including at Quantros (now part of RLDatix and Healthcare Bluebook), RxAnte, and ABILITY Network (now part of Inovalon). He holds a PhD in Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University.

“For too long, clinical decision support has worked like a paper map. Useful, but only if you pull over to review it and already know where you are. Clinicians need something closer to GPS, seamlessly integrated into the car and proactively guiding them in real time without having to take their eyes off the road,” said Tuten. “At EBSCO Clinical Decisions, our job is to get trusted clinical knowledge everywhere care is delivered. But like GPS, clinical decision support is only as good as the information behind it. With AI tools multiplying and published research outpacing peer review, it’s never mattered more that human experts decide what evidence informs it. I’m excited to help bring this vision to life and set a new standard for point-of-care delivery.”

Tuten has also advised the federal government on health information exchange and interoperability as a Senior Advisor to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In that role, he supported the HITECH Act’s Meaningful Use program and served as a government liaison to EHR vendors on certification criteria.

To learn more about EBSCO Clinical Decisions, click here. 

About EBSCO Clinical Decisions

EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) helps people find, access, and apply trusted information. Through its EBSCO Clinical Decisions suite of products, EBSCO delivers evidence-based clinical decision-support solutions designed to help healthcare professionals answer clinical questions, support informed decisions, and improve patient care.

EBSCO Clinical Decisions combines trusted clinical content with advanced technologies to support healthcare organizations and clinicians across clinical decision-making, patient care, learning, and research. The suite is designed to provide current, evidence-based information within the clinical workflow, helping healthcare professionals find the answers they need when they need them. For more information, visit www.clinicaldecisions.com. Visit our blog at Health Notes or follow us on X and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE EBSCO Information Services

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College Board Launches AP Cybersecurity to Prepare Students to Protect the Digital World

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New high school course builds foundational skills for college, careers, and service as states connect cybersecurity education to national security needs

NEW YORK, Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cyber threats reach into everyday life, from scams that steal families’ savings to attacks on utilities and other essential services. Helping students understand and respond to those threats can open doors to further education, employment, and national defense service. College Board’s new AP Cybersecurity course, which was launched in high schools this fall, gives students a place to begin.

In 2025, U.S. employers posted more than half a million job listings requiring cybersecurity skills. Yet many students have little opportunity to learn about cybersecurity in high school or see where those skills could take them.

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/college_board/9381153-en-college-board-launches-ap-cybersecurity

AP Cybersecurity introduces students to the work behind that demand: protecting the systems people depend on. Through practical scenarios, students assess security weaknesses, weigh risks, and investigate evidence of attacks. An assignment might ask them to evaluate threats to internet-connected farm equipment or recommend protections for computer networks aboard a naval submarine.

These assignments help students see how cybersecurity skills apply across industries and in national defense. Indiana offers an example of how those connections can take shape. The statewide Cybersecurity Partnership brings together high schools, colleges, employers, and the Indiana National Guard to help students explore routes into further education, employment, and military service.

The course and partnerships like Indiana’s address two connected needs: giving students an introduction to cybersecurity and helping them understand where continued learning could lead. For students, that connection gives classroom assignments a larger purpose. Investigating a security weakness today can be a first step toward learning how to protect a hospital, secure a business, or defend the country.

Interested in learning more? Talk to your school district or high school to see if they are offering AP Cybersecurity or visit collegeboard.org

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/college-board-launches-ap-cybersecurity-to-prepare-students-to-protect-the-digital-world-302918558.html

SOURCE College Board

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Alkami to Host Webinar with Thomaston Savings Bank on Using Predictive AI to Deliver Data-Driven Guidance and Accelerate Growth

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Leaders from Alkami and Thomaston Savings Bank will discuss how financial institutions can use predictive AI and behavioral signals to drive strategic growth and strengthen account holder relationships

PLANO, Texas, Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT) (“Alkami”), a digital sales and service platform provider for financial institutions in the U.S., today announced an upcoming webinar hosted with Thomaston Savings Bank, “Guess Less and Grow More with Predictive AI.” The webinar will take place Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET.

As account holders increasingly expect more personalized and proactive experiences, financial institutions have an opportunity to leverage data to deliver tailored guidance during every interaction. According to Alkami research, 44% of Americans who use digital banking wish their primary financial provider did a better job anticipating their financial needs and goals.1

The upcoming webinar will explore how financial institutions can respond to these expectations by using predictive artificial intelligence (AI) to drive growth across deposits and lending while strengthening primary relationships. Speakers will discuss how Alkami’s Data & Marketing Solution uses behavioral insights and predictive AI to help institutions identify growth opportunities and deliver more personalized outreach.

Featured speakers include:

Kent Blacksher, strategic account executive, AlkamiEthan O’Day, business intelligence analyst, Thomaston Savings Bank

“Data helps us understand how customers engage, but the real value comes from understanding what those behaviors may tell us about their needs,” said Ethan O’Day, business intelligence analyst, Thomaston Savings Bank. “Predictive AI can help us focus our outreach sooner and make it more relevant, while our team’s expertise keeps the work grounded in the relationships we have with our customers.”

During the session, attendees will learn how to:

Identify deposit and lending opportunities using behavioral signalsCreate more relevant outreach for customers and membersRecognize engagement and attrition signals earlierSimplify campaign execution and move from insight to actionBuild marketing strategies that support growth and retention

The presentation will explore real examples of how data-activated campaigns drive faster product adoption, along with insights into how predictive AI can help guide your team’s strategy.

“Financial institutions have more data than ever, but data creates value when teams can turn insight into action,” said Kent Blacksher, strategic account executive at Alkami. “Combining predictive AI with human expertise allows marketing teams to skip the guesswork while building stronger account holder relationships.”

To register for the webinar, visit here.

To learn more about Anticipatory Banking and the Alkami Digital Sales & Service Platform, visit here.

About Alkami
Alkami provides a digital sales and service platform for U.S. banks and credit unions. Our unified Platform integrates onboarding, digital banking, and data and marketing—each solution can stand alone, but together they deliver more—to help institutions onboard, engage, and grow relationships. As the future shifts toward Anticipatory Banking, we help data-informed bankers meet the moment with technology that drives action.

1 Alkami Proprietary Research. 2026 Digital Banking Americans Research Study. Online survey of 1,500 U.S. digital banking Americans conducted March 26–April 22, 2026.

Media Relations Contacts
Vested
alkami@fullyvested.com

Marla Pieton
marla.pieton@alkami.com

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SOURCE Alkami Technology, Inc.

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