Happy almost-August, fiber friends! This very different summer has been flying by, and we hope that you've had a chance to enjoy your favorite summer things. Here at VETRO HQ in Portland Maine, we love to venture into the woods for a secret swimming spot or enjoy some socially distanced beach time. But whatever you decide on, we wish you a fantastic weekend from the VETRO team!
Let's dig into this week's news.
First up, the VETRO team is excited to have been chosen for the fourth year in a row for Broadband Communities magazine's FTTH Top 100 fiber leaders and innovators. Check out the full list of Top 100 companies here!
We're also super excited this week for the state of Mississippi! 13 electric coops in the state have been awarded funding to enable the construction of almost 3,000 miles of fiber by the end of 2020, with additional miles added by 2021. Congratulations, MS coops! Now you've gotta get to mapping (call us, we know people...)!
It can be fascinating to look back in time at the cultural trends that are currently driving big changes in broadband. This piece from Wired, cleverly tagged "farm to cable" on their site (we love puns here at VETRO) dives into the DIY culture and synergy with electric coops that back in 2018 helped reboot the landscape for rural broadband initiatives happening right now.
Telecom tech services firm Fierce posted a piece this week quantifying the varying successes of broadband funding initiatives in the US, including CAF II, Google Fiber's efforts, local municipal efforts and more. It's an interesting stock-taking worth a look for fiber operators planning outside funding.
Have a great weekend, from the VETRO team!