I Heard These Three Industry Concerns at Fiber Connect 2024

I’m back from Fiber Connect at Nashville and while I’m sad I didn’t get to ride the riverboat that floats through the magnificent Gaylord Opryland, it was great to talk to the fiber broadband industry folks about what’s on their minds this year.

Here are three recurring sentiments I heard during conversations.

1. It’s time to stop talking about “sharing knowledge” and actually start doing it

This is a classic scarcity vs. abundance mindset dilemma, and one you’ve probably heard in the industry many times before. Especially an industry as dependent on collaboration as telecom.

It seems almost everyone agrees that the only way to solve the problems, to get where we need to go, is if we share information and knowledge and partner up more often. But a cynic might hear this and think there’s more self-interest than pure altruism in seeking knowledge and collaboration.

Companies tend to want to have some kind of control over variables, and collaboration complicates that, of course. But we can’t keep complaining about the same problems if we’re also rejecting collaborative solutions.

2. BEAD is going to take forever

I don’t think anyone thought we’d be connecting the final American to fiber in time for the next Summer Olympics, but broadband folks are increasingly pessimistic about BEAD timelines.

The facial expressions, sighs, and slow headshakes when asked about it are telling.

The “wait and see” approach to BEAD seems to be a lot more waiting than seeing, and some believe that BEAD actually gets in the way of rural goals. But is it BEAD itself, broad government intervention in general, or a lack of practical solutions that worries people? Silicon Valley has been trying to address rural connectivity globally, but the same challenges keep coming up. Meanwhile, the apps keep coming and the world needs, rather than wants, fast and reliable internet.

3. Nobody wants to grab a shovel

The “what about the workforce” crowd is as loud as ever. We talk about training, we talk about wages, and we talk about the lack of appeal for a job in construction among the generations that come after “X” in the alphabet.

The retirement gap is real. And don’t kid yourself by thinking that a construction career started in 1969 looks like one started in 2024. Think about what we were building then compared to now. What kind of tool proficiencies are required? What is the tangible and visible impact of the work on the world?

I love to see the Fiber Broadband Association committed to these issues. The truth is, we won’t solve these problems overnight, and we won’t solve them by thinking the same way we did 50+ years ago.

What have you been hearing about the industry, at Fiber Connect, or elsewhere? Email me at jgillard@endeavorb2b. Also, make sure to come meet me at ISE EXPO this year.