Sean Dundon at METRO Connect

The VETRO FiberMap platform has been built from its inception as a direct response to our customers’ fiber management needs.

On a micro level, we reach out, listen and then create a product roadmap that addresses the needs we’re hearing. We also go to a lot of trade shows to stay in touch with broader industry trends and the challenges our customers are facing as they create the next wave of telecom infrastructure.

The 2020 telecom trade show season kicked off at METRO Connect in Miami, Florida. The VETRO FiberMap team headed down from our HQ up in Maine to check out what’s next on the fiber broadband horizon, connect with customers and, of course, enjoy a little sun and fun along the way.

We noticed some big fiber broadband trends and running themes for the year ahead; read on to learn along with us.

Power in Numbers

Mergers and acquisitions are a hot topic in the telecom space right now, from big guys like T-Mobile acquiring Sprint to regional ISPs joining forces with transport network and infrastructure providers to expand their reach.

The financial drivers of this trend toward consolidation range from simply staying competitive in the space to more complex challenges like scaling to new markets or establishing enhanced transparency within the industry.

Telecommunications is a broad, nuanced industry with highly specialized resources; given the finite financial, engineering and talent pools in the space, many providers are addressing the need for growth by uniting under one roof.

In for the Long Haul

Among companies engaged in long haul networking, limitations on capacity and network documentation loomed large at MetroConnect this year; long haul networks can offer price-competitive speed and capacity, but only with usable systems in place to organize, visualize, audit and sell what they’ve got.

On the customer side, the cost of expansion via long haul networks varies wildly depending on where you’re located, and there’s no transparency when it comes to pricing - pricing that might change if the provider comes up short on capacity due to their own lack of network transparency.

Plus, much like a commercial real estate developer with a plan for a new mall, regional fiber network operators require an anchor tenant to make their expansion viable. This mosaic of obstacles costs money, time, and manpower, and opens the long haul networking industry up for a past-due disruption of the existing transaction environment.

It’s Lonely at the Top

In an emerging market, companies are often faced with a tight labor market in which companies must compete for a small pool of industry-savvy talent. For network providers, recruiting new labor with a focus on skills training and retention has had a marked effect on employee churn and cost.

Automation has had a hand in reducing labor issues as well. Supported by open API integrations, network operators effectively synchronize the operational activities of each team across their organization. Unifying and automating planning, sales, engineering and maintenance operations avoids redundancy and bottlenecks, immediately reducing labor overhead.

Let’s Talk About It

Eric Snell, President and CEO of Georgia Public Web, with Will Mitchell, VETRO FiberMap CEO and Co-Founder.

At VETRO FiberMap, we make it a point to spend time engaged with telecom professionals so that we can understand what the challenges are, and how to solve them. Give us a call. We offer private, no pressure assessments of your company’s current processes, and if we see a way to reduce operational costs, we’re going to let you know what it is, even if our platform can’t solve it (though in a lot of cases, it can).

Click here to connect with us directly. We look forward to working in partnership with our industry to help shape the future of broadband together.