Pete Kalnins

🚨Another consolidation move is underway. While footprint plays a significant role in achieving the multiple. Integration, churn, and ARPU trajectory are essential factors that are often underplayed. The operators poised for success at exit are not those who constructed the most infrastructure; it’s the ones who prioritized building strong unit economics throughout the process.

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As the U.S. Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program winds down, some states are still working to close the digital divide in hard-to-serve areas with cost, terrain, or permitting challenges. Taara Lightbridge helps providers connect these last pockets more quickly, cost-effectively, and without compromise on performance - delivering fiber-like speeds and capacity whether for BEAD-funded builds or other broadband initiatives. We’ve put together an overview originally developed for BEAD applicants, but relevant to any project needing a fast, reliable, and scalable middle-mile solution: https://lnkd.in/gkSQVmgF If you’re working to get projects across the finish line - BEAD or beyond - please reach out. We’re happy to help deliver the highest capacity, at lower cost, to support your last-mile fiber or next-gen wireless backhaul.

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🚨 Broadband Update for Arizona: The Arizona Commerce Authority’s State Broadband Office has released its draft BEAD Program Final Proposal, detailing how the state plans to use federal funds to expand high-speed internet access. The proposal outlines a plan to connect 184,066 broadband serviceable locations, with 75% receiving fiber connectivity, and includes details on the subgrantee selection process, scoring criteria, and oversight measures. Public comments are open now through Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, at 5:59 PM AZ-MST. Don’t miss your chance to help shape the future of broadband for Tribal Nations in Arizona. 📢 Exhibits showing the final list of BSLs, projects, and awarded entities are located at the bottom of the Final Proposal web page and can be viewed in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dnN2DeCR Submit comments here: https://lnkd.in/e8jvWYbJ

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Texas Fiber Design Group supports OSP teams with construction prints, redlines, permit revisions, utility conflict updates, and plan/profile drafting. The goal is simple: Clear prints. Clean coordination. Faster builds. When the drawings are clean, the field has a better shot at staying productive. #OSPFiber #FiberConstruction #TelecomConstruction #OSPDesign #FiberOptic #ConstructionPrints #UtilityCoordination #PermitSupport #TexasFiberDesignGroup

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2026 is quickly becoming a momentous year for fiber - I explain why in my latest @Broadband Communities article: https://hubs.la/Q045T0C20 Three forces are converging in a way I haven't seen before in my decades in this industry: First, AI is hungry for fiber. The U.S. will need roughly 2.3x more fiber to meet the performance and latency demands of AI workloads alone. New short interconnections, upgraded long-haul routes, increasing capacity demands are all happening in real time. These buildouts are real and accelerating. Second, quantum is no longer theoretical. We're watching quantum technology move steadily from the lab toward real-world deployment. Fiber is the only infrastructure that can support what comes next - whether that's quantum networking, AI-at-the-edge, or the 6G era. Third, BEAD is finally moving. After years of planning, federal funding is flowing from NTIA to states. This is the infrastructure investment many communities have waited decades for. Fiber passed 11.8 million homes in 2025 - a new record. But we're just getting started. With 100% bonus depreciation back in play, providers like AT&T and Verizon are accelerating deployment. The economics have never been clearer: first to fiber wins. I'll be exploring all of this and more at Fiber Connect 2026, May 17–20 in Orlando. Come join the conversation with me: https://hubs.la/Q045SZzC0

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T-Mobile and NATE just signed a major agreement that directly impacts tower contractors and crews on the ground. Highlights: * Site-specific and regional pricing replaces the one-size-fits-all matrix * 6% rate increase until new RFPs are finalized by end of year * "Scope to Quote" tool launches by Sept 1 to define job-specific SOWs * 30-day pay terms with 50% upfront billing at job start * Relief from Avetta, Ariba, and PaymodeX fees for small businesses * Crackdown on 1099/undocumented labor—reporting and enforcement tools coming * Limits on tiered subs and a move away from "Super GC" and turf vendor models These changes didn’t come easy—NATE pushed hard to get them. This is a win for the people building the network. Now let’s hold them to it. #TowerTechs #WirelessContractors #NATE #TMobile #BuildAmerica #TelecomConstruction #FairPay #TowerSafety

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FTTX Work Possibilities and Current Situation in the U.S. The U.S. FTTX (Fiber to the X) landscape is experiencing unprecedented growth. With over 50 million fiber broadband connections as of 2024 and a projected $125 billion investment in fiber infrastructure by 2026, demand for skilled professionals is at an all-time high. Driven by government-backed programs like BEAD ($42.5B) and RDOF ($20.4B), the push for high-speed internet in rural and underserved areas has created a surge in FTTX projects across all 50 states. This growth opens diverse job roles in fiber planning, design, GIS mapping, splicing, and civil construction. The industry currently faces a shortage of over 200,000 skilled telecom technicians, signaling strong opportunities for trained professionals in fiber deployment, especially those with knowledge in GPON, ArcGIS, and network architecture. FTTX is not just a trend—it's the foundation of America's digital future. #FTTX #FiberJobs #BroadbandExpansion #TelecomCareers #GIS #FiberToTheHome #5GReady #USInfrastructure #BEAD #DigitalDivide

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🚀 Arizona Leads with Nation’s First Broadband Permit Finder Congratulations to the Arizona State Broadband Office on launching the first-in-the-nation Permit Finder—an innovative tool that streamlines permitting and accelerates broadband deployment statewide. 💭FBA President & CEO Gary Bolton said it best: “Permitting remains one of the broadband industry’s major pain points, but innovations like Arizona’s Permit Finder can remove months of uncertainty from broadband builds. Arizona is setting a great example—driving transparency, speeding construction, and delivering the connectivity families and businesses deserve.” A strong step forward in helping communities access fast, reliable fiber. 🔗Read the full release here: https://bit.ly/4r0E1K9 Arizona Commerce Authority #FiberBroadband #Fiber #Broadband #FiberBroadbandAssociation

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In communities along the North Coast of California, our joint-build partner Vero Networks is working to build more than 23 miles of broadband fiber, spanning from Eureka to Trinidad. #MiddleMileBroadbandInitiative #TeamCDT #BuildingCA Liana Bailey-Crimmins

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One thing I keep hearing from state broadband leaders is this: the real challenge in BEAD isn't getting to award—it's maintaining control and context as programs scale over the next 4-8 years. The programs that succeed long-term are the ones that build durable systems early. Not just software, and not just consultants, but the combination: embedded expertise working through systems that preserve institutional knowledge as teams change and programs grow. At Ready, our team brings the expertise and execution discipline, and ARC provides the system that carries it forward. Together, they strengthen state teams, preserve context, and support durable execution at scale, not replace the people doing the work. Drawing from deployments across multiple states, I've seen what separates programs that stay in control from those that lose momentum. It comes down to five principles that address the realities of multi-year execution. I wrote about them here, with the goal of helping state teams think through what "staying in control" actually requires: https://lnkd.in/g3eAcNyX

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California’s Middle Mile Fiber Network California initiated its Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative (MMBI) in July 2021 with $3.25 billion in funding authorized by Senate Bill 156. On April 2, Governor Newsom announced that the first portion of the network would be activated and ready to provide wholesale broadband access. MMBI is an extensive fiber network that stretches across the state, as shown on the map below. What’s not obvious on this map is how the network reaches throughout cities like Los Angeles to reach underserved and low-income neighborhoods....

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Wecom Fiber Secures $195M for Arizona Broadband Learn more & see why it matters 👇 https://lnkd.in/g4-_yFpP "This historic broadband investment will change lives for the better across Arizona by ensuring every corner of our state has access to reliable, high-speed internet." - Paul Fleming, CEO at Wecom Fiber "Opportunity for every Arizonan means access to fast, affordable, reliable internet, no matter your zip code." - Governor Katie Hobbs, State of Arizona "This is a transformational moment for Arizona. With final BEAD approval, we are moving full speed ahead to connect every household and community with high-speed internet." - Sandra Watson, President and CEO at Arizona Commerce Authority #SoTNews

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City of Flagstaff, Arizona, transformed its broadband landscape by leveraging $2 million in ARPA funding and existing conduit infrastructure to attract a strategic private-sector partnership with Wecom Fiber. By utilizing innovative construction methods, Wecom is successfully deploying a high-speed network that will reach over 30,000 locations and extend 815 miles into the surrounding rural county. This public-private model modernizes municipal operations and is also projected to inject $100 million into the local economy while creating hundreds of jobs. https://lnkd.in/gdk7PdDX Paul Fleming, Scott Davis, Tory Bauman Castell, CPA

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More from the Connected Minnesota event--this time regarding how to allocate the left over funds from BEAD (Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program), that was not given to broadband operators! Apparently New Mexico has a state led ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program) initiative, so that people who are economically challenged can have the same access to suitable broadband. This helps adoption so every citizen can be fully apart of the American economy and better enjoy their leisure time. It helps people building fiber justify builds for operators because of increasing take rates for residential customers. Overall seems like a win for everyone involved! Would the leftover funds from BEAD be best served re-creating the ACP on a state level? Or are there any other ideas? #BEAD #ACP #Fiber #internet

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The first phase of a fiber network upgrade in Evanston, Utah has been completed, according to internet provider All West Fiber.

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