2026 Virtual Bootcamp Series - May through December

THE CONNECTED AI EDGE

Eight focused virtual bootcamps for enterprise IT/OT leaders, systems integrators, and managed service providers who need to thrive in the connected AI era – not just understand it.

Wireless Innovations 2026
Edge AI Architecture
IT/OT Convergence
Industrial Connectivity
AIoT Infrastructure
Wi-Fi 7 + Private 5G
Programmable 5G
Private 5G Device Innovations
RedCap at Scale
LoRa & LPWAN Evolution
Wi-Fi Halo
AI-RAN
Neutral Host Networks
Wireless Innovations 2027
What Makes This Different

Built for Practitioners.
Not for Spectators.

Most wireless events are built around vendor roadmaps. This series is built around the questions enterprise leaders, SIs, and MSPs are actually wrestling with – from justifying budget to leadership, to navigating IT/OT convergence pitfalls, to what wireless evolution means for their business.

Topics Practitioners Actually Search For

Sessions shaped by real deployment decisions - ROI models, spectrum choices, industrial connectivity gaps, device selection, programmable networks — not vendor marketing decks.

Vertical-Specific Depth

Deep dives into Manufacturing, Warehouses & Logistics, Airports & Seaports, Farming, and Higher Education - with frameworks specific to each industry’s operational constraints.

AI + Wireless Convergence

Vision systems, digital twins, agentic AI, and AIoT all require deterministic, low-latency connectivity. We connect the technical dots - in business language, not telco language.

Device & Edge Intelligence

A dedicated bootcamp on device evolution - IIoT and AIoT devices, which connectivity types they support, where edge AI runs, and best practices for connecting them at scale.

Pro Tips Every Bootcamp

Every session ends with a concentrated Pro Tips segment - actionable, practitioner-sourced advice you can use immediately. No filler. No vendor spin.

On-Demand After Every Event

All sessions are recorded and available on-demand to registered attendees. Share with your team, revisit key moments, and build your private wireless knowledge library.

2026 Program Calendar

Eight Bootcamps.
Eight Months.

One focused virtual bootcamp per month, May through December 2026. Click any row to jump to the full agenda below.

# Date Session Title Theme
01
May 2026
1 HR
Wireless Innovations Enterprise Leaders Must Know in 2026
The Strategy, the Technologies & the Decisions That Will Define the Next 12 Months
Strategy Kickoff
02
June 2026
2 HR
Wireless Beyond Wi-Fi: The Playbook for IT and OT Leaders
Convergence Pitfalls, Spectrum Decisions & the Multi-Technology Fabric
IT/OT Strategy
03
July 2026
1 HR
The ROI of Private 5G: How to Justify to Your Private 5G & Edge AI Investment to Your Leadership
The Financial Model, the CFO Conversation & the Numbers That Win Approval
Business Case
04
August 2026
2 HR
How Universities are Solving Rising Wireless Connectivity Challenges – In-Inbuilding,
Campus-Wide, Innovation labs, and Farms
Smart Campuses, Emergency Calling & the E-Rate Funding Path
Industrial
05
September 2026
2 HR
The Industrial Connectivity Gap: Why Your Current Wireless Strategy Will Faily
Your Operations – and What to Do About it
Manufacturing, Warehouses, Ports & Airports — Why Standard Wireless Fails
AIoT & Devices
06
October 2026
2 HR
Device Evolution: From IoT to IIoT to AIoT — Is Your Infrastructure Prepared to Handle It?
From Inference at the Edge to the Cameras, Sensors & Tools That Run On It
Agriculture
07
November 2026
2 HR
Programmable 5G: Rethinking Connectivity as a Business Asset
How Enterprises & the Channel Can Build New Application Value
Programmable 5G
08
December 2026
2 HR
How Wireless, Edge, and AI Are Reshaping Modern Agriculture
Precision Agriculture, Autonomous Equipment & Livestock Monitoring
Higher Ed

Full Program Detail

Every Bootcamp.
Every Agenda.

Each virtual bootcamp is a focused program of expert-led segments, real-world case studies, and practitioner Pro Tips. Click any session to expand the full agenda.

SESSION 01 1 HR
May 2026 1 Hours Strategy KickoffOn-demand video will be made available shortly

Wireless Innovations Enterprise Leaders Must Know in 2026: The Strategy, the Technologies, and the Decisions That Will Define the Next 12 Months

Series kickoff - the 2026 landscape, what’s ready, what’s coming, and where to focus your attention

This kickoff session opens the 2026 Connected AI Edge Bootcamp Series with three focused segments designed to set the strategic context for everything that follows. First, why deterministic wireless connectivity is now the critical dependency for enterprise AI projects – and how forward-thinking organizations are getting ahead of it. Second, a deep look at Asymmetric Gain antenna technology and what it means for the economics of outdoor Wi-Fi and converged Wi-Fi + CBRS deployments. Third, how business-critical applications can be redesigned to leverage programmable networks. No vendor roadmaps. No generic AI hype. Just the specific technical and business shifts that will shape your wireless decisions in 2026.

// Agenda

12:00 PM

5 min

Welcome & Introduction

What the Connected AI Edge Bootcamp Series is, what each session delivers, and the community you are joining.

12:05 PM

15 min

Private 5G Needs More Than Intelligence — It Needs Deterministic Execution
AI can predict network behavior – but it cannot enforce it. This session explores how embedding policy enforcement within the SIM/eSIM bridges the gap between intelligent decision-making and deterministic execution, ensuring AI-defined intent delivers consistent, predictable outcomes across Private LTE and 5G networks.

12:20 PM

15 min

Asymmetric Gain: The Invention That Brings 80% TCO Savings in Outdoor Wi-Fi and Converged Wi-Fi + CBRS Deployments

A breakthrough antenna technology that fundamentally changes the economics of outdoor wireless deployments. Learn how Asymmetric Gain delivers dramatic reductions in infrastructure costs for large-scale Wi-Fi and converged Wi-Fi + CBRS networks, without compromising coverage or performance.

12:35 PM

15 min

Network Aware Applications: Rethink How Your Business-Critical Applications Interact with Programmable Networks

As networks become programmable, the applications running on them can and should behave differently. This segment explores how business-critical applications can be redesigned to leverage real-time network intelligence – enabling smarter prioritization, reduced latency, and resilience that traditional architectures can’t deliver.

12:50 PM

5 min

Pro Tips: Strategic Moves Before Your Next Wireless Decision

Concentrated, practitioner-sourced advice on the planning steps most organizations skip – and the cost of skipping them.

IT and OT have historically run separate network kingdoms – and the collision of those worlds is creating some of the most expensive integration failures in enterprise operations today. This 2-hour session gives IT and OT leaders a practical, technology-honest playbook: how to avoid the most common convergence pitfalls, understand which connectivity technology is the right tool for each job, and make the spectrum decisions that will determine your network’s flexibility for years to come.

// Agenda

12:00 PM

15 min

IT and OT Convergence: Avoiding the Pitfalls

The most common – and costly – mistakes organizations make when merging IT and OT network environments. Real examples, root causes, and the decisions that prevent them.

12:15 PM

20 min

Why Every IT and OT Leader Should Care About Spectrum

Unlicensed, CBRS, licensed – what the options mean for your organization, who should control the spectrum decision, and how that choice shapes every network decision that follows. This is a business strategy briefing, not a technical tutorial.

12:35 PM

20 min

One Size Does Not Fit All: Matching Connectivity to the Job
A practical framework for understanding when Wi-Fi is the right answer, when private cellular is needed, and when you need both – organized by application type, environment, and business requirement.

12:55 PM

20 min

Break + Sponsor Spotlight
Technology showcase from featured sponsor.

1:05 PM

20 min

When Operations Need Wireless as Reliable as Wired: Deterministic Connectivity
How time-critical operations — assembly lines, precision processes, real-time control systems — are moving from hardwired connections to deterministic wireless.

1:25 PM

20 min

Is Private 5G Right for My Organization? A Self-Assessment Framework

A structured evaluation tool – use cases, operational scale, budget, internal capability, and ecosystem readiness – to help leaders determine whether and when private 5G makes sense for their specific situation.

1:45 PM

15 min

Pro Tips + Open Discussion

Practitioner Pro Tips on IT/OT integration and spectrum strategy, followed by open discussion with all speakers.

 

Your CFO, COO, and board want numbers. Most organizations are struggling to build a rigorous financial case for private wireless investment – not because the value isn’t there, but because they’re framing it wrong. This session presents the actual value levers, the right financial model structure, and real numbers from organizations that have already done the calculation – and won the approval.

// Agenda

12:00 PM

10 min

The Budget Conversation Most Organizations Are Having Wrong

Why most private wireless investment proposals fail to get approved – and the framing shift that moves the conversation from “IT cost” to “operational advantage.”

12:10 PM

20 min

Building the ROI Model: The Value Levers That Actually Move Finance Teams

Infrastructure savings, operational efficiency gains, downtime cost reduction, AI project enablement, and competitive differentiation – structured into a financial model participants can use immediately. Includes a discussion of the “Purple IT” challenge and how to frame connectivity as a strategic investment rather than an overhead cost.

12:30 PM

15 min

Case Study: Presenting to the CFO — What Worked and What Didn’t

An enterprise leader shares their actual budget approval process: the numbers they used, the objections they faced, and how approval was ultimately won. Unfiltered and practical.

12:45 PM

15 min

Pro Tips: Benchmarks and Language That Move Leadership Teams

Specific data points, industry benchmarks, and financial framing that take a private wireless proposal from skeptical to supported. Concentrated practitioner advice.

 

Universities are emerging as some of the most sophisticated and multi-purpose private 5G deployment environments – running AI research labs, connected classrooms, IoT-managed buildings, autonomous vehicles on campus, public safety communications, and precision agriculture on research farms, all on the same network. A growing number are designing those networks to generate revenue and cover their costs. This year-end summit brings together university leaders and SIs who have done it, plus the annual privateLTEand5G.com research release and a look ahead at 2027.

// Agenda

12:00 PM

15 min

Why Higher Education Is Leading Enterprise in Private 5G Adoption

The unique drivers – AI research mandates, smart building requirements, student experience expectations, and industry partnership opportunities – that are putting universities ahead of many commercial enterprises in private wireless deployment sophistication.

12:15 PM

20 min

Research Release: privateLTEand5G.com Enterprise Wireless Report 2026

First public release of the annual research report — adoption rates across verticals, ROI benchmarks from deployed networks, top barriers to investment, and the technology trends reshaping enterprise wireless heading into 2027. Presented with full data and practitioner commentary.

12:35 PM

20 min

How 3 Universities Built Networks That Fund Themselves — and What They’d Do Differently

Three university technology leaders share their deployment stories: the business case that secured approval, the revenue streams (industry R&D access, spectrum sharing, open testbed models) that are paying back the investment, and the decisions they would make differently.

12:55 PM

10 min

Break + Sponsor Spotlight

Technology showcase from featured sponsor.

1:20 PM

15 min

Campus Emergency Calling and Safety: What the Right Approach Looks Like

E911 requirements, building coverage obligations, and how private 5G changes the options available for delivering reliable emergency communications across complex campus environments.

1:35 PM

15 min

E-Rate and Funding Pathways for K-12 and Higher Ed

How educational institutions can use federal funding programs to offset private wireless infrastructure costs — including E-Rate program mechanics, eligible use cases, and how other institutions have successfully applied.

1:50 PM

10 min

Pro Tips + 2027 Program Preview

Closing practitioner wisdom from all speakers, and a first look at the 2027 Connected AI Edge Bootcamp Series calendar.

Industrial environments impose demands on wireless connectivity that general-purpose networks were never designed to meet: interference from heavy machinery, movement at speed, safety-critical latency, thousands of devices operating simultaneously across large physical areas, and the need for absolute reliability when a dropped packet means a stopped production line or a missed cargo manifest. This 2-hour deep dive covers what genuinely makes industrial connectivity different – and what a properly designed solution looks like across manufacturing, warehousing, ports, and airports.

// Agenda

12:00 PM

15 min

Why Industrial Environments Break General-Purpose Wireless
The specific characteristics of industrial environments – RF interference, mobile assets, density of devices, safety-critical timing requirements – that cause standard Wi-Fi deployments to fail. What “reliability” actually means when it is measured in milliseconds and machine stops.

12:15 PM

20 min

The New Economics of Industrial IoT: RedCap and the Cost of Connecting 10,000 Devices

How the new class of Reduced Capability (RedCap) cellular devices is making large-scale sensor deployment economically viable for the first time — with real device pricing, power consumption comparisons, and deployment guidance for industrial scenarios.

12:35 PM

20 min

Warehouses and Distribution Centers: Connectivity for Always-Moving Operations

The unique connectivity challenges of large-format warehouse and distribution environments – coverage across tall racking, connectivity for fast-moving forklifts and AGVs, scanning reliability, and integration with warehouse management systems. Case study included.

12:55 PM

10 min

Break + Sponsor Spotlight

Technology showcase from featured sponsor.

1:05 PM

20 min

Ports and Airports: Connectivity at Scale Across Complex, Multi-Stakeholder Environments

What makes port and airport connectivity uniquely challenging – outdoor coverage, vessel and aircraft ground operations, cargo tracking at scale, passenger vs. operations traffic separation, and the regulatory environment for spectrum use at major transport hubs.

1:25 PM

20 min

Predictive Maintenance and Edge AI: Stopping Failures Before They Happen

How industrial organizations are using private wireless, edge computing, and AI together to move from reactive to predictive operations – with a practitioner-level walkthrough of the data architecture, the connectivity requirements, and the business case for the investment.

1:45 PM

15 min

Pro Tips + Open Discussion

Expert Pro Tips on industrial wireless design and deployment, followed by open discussion with all speakers.

AIoT is not just IoT with smarter software – it changes what devices need to do, what the network needs to deliver, and how compute is distributed across the edge. This 2-hour session covers both sides: the infrastructure architecture challenge of deploying AI at the edge at scale, and the rapidly evolving device ecosystem that makes it possible – cameras running on-device inference, headcount sensors, connected industrial tools, MedTech devices, and next-generation scanners. Together, these two topics form the practical foundation for any enterprise deploying AI applications over private wireless.

// Part 1 — AIoT Infrastructure (First Hour)

12:00 PM

10 min

From IoT to AIoT: What Actually Changed and Why It Matters

The shift from data-collection IoT to inference-at-the-edge AIoT – and why existing network designs and vendor assumptions no longer hold. A clear, enterprise-language explanation of what is genuinely different and what it demands from your infrastructure.

12:10 PM

20 min

AI on the Network vs. AI for the Network: What Enterprise Leaders Need to Know

Two concepts often conflated: AI applications running over the network (requiring deterministic connectivity), and AI being used to manage and optimize the network itself. What each means for enterprise buyers, the questions to ask vendors, and the practical implications for your infrastructure strategy.

12:30 PM

20 min

Case Study: From Sensor Data to Autonomous Action — An AIoT Deployment in Practice

An enterprise shares their deployed AIoT stack – device selection, connectivity architecture, edge compute placement, and the automated workflows that now run without human intervention. What they would design differently starting today.

// Part 2 — Private 5G Device Showcase (Second Hour)

12:50 PM

10 min

Setting the Stage: The Device Landscape Has Changed Faster Than Most Teams Realize

A brief framing of why the device layer is evolving faster than most network teams are tracking – and why that matters for how enterprise wireless is designed, deployed, and upgraded.

1:00 PM

15 min

AI-Powered Cameras on Private 5G: Beyond Surveillance

Today’s camera systems are edge AI inference engines running computer vision, occupancy analytics, anomaly detection, and real-time alerting. A device innovator shares what is now possible in industrial and commercial environments, and what connectivity requirements these systems impose.

1:15 PM

15 min

Headcount & Occupancy Sensors: Precision at Scale

The new generation of headcount and people-flow sensors supporting private 5G, RedCap, and LPWAN. What accuracy levels are achievable and how enterprises are putting this data to work in real operations.

1:30 PM

15 min

Connected Industrial Tools, MedTech & Next-Gen Scanners

Smart torque wrenches, connected power tools, and industrial handhelds with embedded private 5G or CBRS connectivity. MedTech devices with mission-critical connectivity requirements. The latest generation of enterprise scanners supporting Wi-Fi 6/7, private 5G, CBRS, and Bluetooth simultaneously.

1:45 PM

10 min

Pro Tips: What to Ask Device Vendors Before Your Next Deployment + Open Discussion
Concentrated practitioner advice on the device evaluation questions most teams skip, followed by open discussion with all session speakers.

Most organizations treat their network as infrastructure — a cost to manage. Private 5G changes that equation. With a programmable network, enterprises can create dynamic traffic policies, expose network capabilities to their own applications, automate responses to operational conditions, and — for building owners and campus operators — potentially monetize access as a service. This 2-hour session covers what programmable 5G actually means in practice, why it matters for enterprise buyers, and what it means for SIs and MSPs as a new business opportunity.

// Agenda

12:00 PM

15 min

From Dumb Pipe to Business Asset: What Programmable Connectivity Actually Means

What makes 5G programmable where previous generations were not — explained without telco jargon. The business outcomes that programmability enables: dynamic quality guarantees for applications, automated policy enforcement, event-driven network behavior, and new service models for operators.

12:15 PM

25 min

Network-as-Code: 20 Use Cases, APIs, and How to Build Applications on Your Own 5G

A practical walkthrough of what enterprises and developers can do with a programmable private 5G network – from dynamic QoS for video analytics applications to automated security policy enforcement to real-time network slicing for different operational zones. Twenty concrete use cases, the APIs involved, and the implementation approach for each.

12:40 PM

15 min

Enterprise Perspective: Building Applications on Top of a Programmable Network

An enterprise technology leader shares how their organization has moved beyond treating private 5G as infrastructure – and what it took to shift the mindset internally, integrate with existing application stacks, and demonstrate business value to leadership.

12:55 PM

10 min

Break + Sponsor Spotlight

Technology showcase from featured sponsor.

1:05 PM

25 min

The SI/MSP Opportunity: Programmable 5G as a New Revenue Category

For systems integrators and managed service providers, programmable 5G represents a category shift – from delivering infrastructure to delivering application-layer value on top of it. This segment covers how to identify the opportunity in your customer base, how to position it, and what technical and commercial capabilities you need to build.

1:30 PM

15 min

Network as a Monetizable Asset: What This Means for Campus and Building Owners

For organizations that own and operate large campuses or buildings, programmable private 5G can become a revenue source — through tenant access, industry partnerships, or open testbed models. A look at what this requires and how other organizations have structured it.

1:45 PM

15 min

Pro Tips + Open Discussion

Practitioner Pro Tips on getting started with programmable 5G, followed by open discussion with all speakers.

Agriculture is undergoing a quiet connectivity revolution. Farms — from small research operations to large commercial enterprises — are deploying private wireless networks to connect soil sensors, autonomous tractors, irrigation controllers, livestock monitors, and aerial drones across terrain where traditional infrastructure has never reached. This session brings together farm technology leaders, agricultural systems integrators, and connectivity specialists to explore what private wireless genuinely enables in farm operations today — and what the path to scaled deployment looks like in practice.

// Agenda

12:00 PM

10 min

Why the Farm Is One of the Most Challenging Wireless Environments

Coverage across hundreds of acres, exposure to weather and vibration, power constraints in remote locations, and a mix of fast-moving equipment and static sensors — the unique connectivity challenges of agricultural environments and why they demand a different approach from standard enterprise wireless.

12:10 PM

20 min

LoRa, LPWAN, and Private 5G on the Farm: Choosing the Right Technology for Each Use Case

LoRa and LPWAN excel at low-power, long-range sensor deployments with infrequent data bursts — soil moisture, weather stations, livestock GPS. Private 5G and CBRS enable high-bandwidth, low-latency applications like autonomous equipment and real-time video. A practical framework for matching connectivity technology to farm application requirements.

12:30 PM

20 min

Precision Agriculture in Practice: Soil Intelligence, Irrigation, and Crop Monitoring at Scale

How commercial farms are using connected sensor networks to move from calendar-based to data-driven farming — with real numbers on yield improvement, water reduction, and input cost savings. Case study from a deployed precision agriculture network covering soil nutrient monitoring, variable-rate irrigation control, and automated pesticide application.

12:50 PM

10 min

Break + Sponsor Spotlight

Technology showcase from featured sponsor.

1:00 PM

20 min

Autonomous Farm Equipment: What Private Wireless Makes Possible and What It Requires

Autonomous tractors, robotic harvesters, and drone fleets operating over private wireless networks — what the connectivity requirements look like, how farms are structuring their networks to support autonomous operations, and what the safety and regulatory considerations mean for network design in this environment.

1:20 PM

15 min

Livestock Monitoring and Animal Welfare: Connected Solutions That Pay Back Fast

Real-time livestock tracking, health monitoring, and automated feeding systems on private wireless networks. How farms are using connected wearables and sensors to reduce losses, improve animal welfare compliance, and generate data that improves operational decisions — with a focus on solutions available and deployable today.

1:35 PM

15 min

Building the Business Case for Farm Connectivity: ROI, Funding, and Getting Started

How to structure the financial case for a private wireless investment on a farm operation — the value levers, the funding options including USDA programs and rural broadband grants, and the practical first steps for a farm operator evaluating where to start.

1:50 PM

10 min

Pro Tips + Open Discussion

Practitioner Pro Tips on farm wireless deployments, followed by open discussion with all speakers.

Who Attends

Built for the People
Making the Decisions.

The Connected AI Edge Bootcamp Series is designed for practitioners and leaders actively evaluating, deploying, or enabling private wireless — not passive observers looking for a high-level overview.

Enterprise IT/OT Executives

Leaders evaluating private wireless to support AI, automation, and operational efficiency – who need a clear, vendor-balanced view to make informed investment decisions.

Systems Integrators

Enterprise network SIs expanding into private wireless – seeking technical depth, customer-qualification frameworks, and partner ecosystem knowledge to win new business.

Managed Service Providers

MSPs building private wireless service portfolios – focused on commercial models, delivery requirements, and pricing strategies that generate recurring revenue.

Vertical Industry Leaders

Operations and technology leaders in manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, education, and agriculture who need vertical-specific insight and peer case studies from real deployments.

Series Feature

Pro Tips Every Bootcamp

Every session ends with a Pro Tips segment – short, concentrated, expert-curated advice you can act on immediately. No filler. No vendor spin. Just the practical wisdom practitioners wish someone had told them earlier.

Actionable, Not Theoretical

Pro Tips are specific and implementable - based on real deployment experience from practitioners, not academic frameworks or vendor positioning.

Topic-Specific Expertise

Each bootcamp’s Pro Tips are curated for the topic at hand - design tips for design sessions, financial tips for business case sessions, deployment tips for industrial sessions.

Downloadable Reference Cards

Pro Tips are compiled into a downloadable reference card after every session - building a growing library of practical private wireless wisdom across the 2026 series.

The Connected AI Edge – 2026 Virtual Bootcamp Series

Private Wireless · Edge AI · AIoT

© 2026 privateLTEand5G.com · All rights reserved

Program Note: Session agendas, speakers, and schedule dates are subject to change at the discretion of the event organizer. Registered attendees will be notified of any material changes. All sessions are recorded and available on-demand to registered participants.