- Hotwire, recently acquired by PE firm Brookfield, is looking to shake up the crowded fiber landscape
- It has an advantage in being a fiber-only ISP with footholds in multiple verticals, an analyst told us
- Hotwire exec David Ramos talked up the company’s both AI and human-centric customer approach
The fiber market is sweltering with a myriad of players and private investment – and Hotwire Communications is in the thick of it.
The Florida-based provider, which operates as Fision Fiber, is one among many fiber operators that have fallen on private equity’s radar. Blackstone, which has owned 50% of Hotwire since 2021, is selling that stake to Brookfield Infrastructure in a deal reportedly worth around $7 billion. Rumor had it T-Mobile and KKR – who formed a joint venture to acquire Metronet – were potential bidders for the company.
So, what’s the hype with Hotwire?
Founded in 2002, Hotwire got started as a cable TV, phone and internet service to multi-family apartment communities. It kicked off its fiber-to-the-home ambitions shortly thereafter and now offers fiber across multiple states and verticals, from single homes to commercial properties, schools, public safety, “you name it,” David Ramos, president of Hotwire’s Fision Florida division, told Fierce.
“Blackstone was the first a few years ago to take a chance on us, and that relationship was a great relationship…[allowing] us to expand and grow and learn and really elevate our game,” he said, noting Hotwire was one of the first ISPs to build fiber-to-the-home in Florida. The operator has also collaborated with Nokia in testing 25G and 50G PON speeds over its live fiber network.
Indeed, Hotwire has demonstrated “scalable growth” by expanding from just the southeast U.S. to nine states, said Recon Analytics Principal Roger Entner, noting the operator’s footprint includes major markets like Texas, California, and Pennsylvania.
“Its approach targets commercial properties, multi-family living communities, and ‘anchor tenants’ like homeowners’ associations and mixed-use developments, which helps secure recurring enterprise revenue streams,” Entner explained.
With private equity’s ever-growing interest in fiber and operators acquiring each other left and right, the telecom consolidation wave is in full force. And Hotwire has also dabbled in the game.
“You’ve got smaller ISPs which we’ve purchased quite a few in the last couple of years, we just keep it very quiet,” Ramos said. He added there’s “always some value that can be extracted” from these M&A deals, whether it’s a traditional sale or even a provider fresh out of bankruptcy.
Another plus for Hotwire is it’s a fiber-only operator with no copper, Entner said, making the company and similar ISPs even more appetizing for PE firms and operators like T-Mobile. The latter, now in the process of acquiring Minnesota-based U.S. Internet, has expressed intent in chasing more pure-play fiber assets.
Regarding the current state of fiber M&A, Ramos said, “there are some really impressive providers out there that have done business the right way, like we have, that are really good candidates for or targets for larger companies…I wasn’t expecting it to happen in this form and fashion and at this rate.”
Hotwire touts customer experience edge
When it comes to competition, Hotwire is “fighting the fight on all fronts,” Ramos said, competing with the likes of other fiber overbuilders as well as traditional cable companies.
The playing field is only growing more crowded – and complicated. The biggest challenge providers like Hotwire will face in the coming years is figuring out how to “tell our story” amid all the noise.
“To a consumer it gets a little confusing and exhausting trying to navigate who’s who in a crowded field,” he said.
Hotwire sought to stand out in a couple of ways, both involving enhancing customer experience. The company decided to embrace AI early on in its business model, integrating it into “almost everything we do,” Ramos explained, from billing and maintenance tools to back office processes.
At the same time, Hotwire didn’t want to forego the human element of customer service. Ramos touted the Hotwire team has forged good relationships by frequent in-person visits and hosting social events to emphasis “we are always accessible.”
He also stressed the importance of walking customers through the transition from legacy technologies to fiber. “We have educators, whether it’s one-on-one in person, via Zoom or in a group town hall setting, literally training you how to use our technology for as long as you need us to be there,” Ramos said. “We leave nothing to chance.”
So, even as fiber builds escalate and consumers are pressured to pick and choose among providers, Hotwire is all for the challenge.
“It’s fun. I think we learn a lot from our competitors, they learn a lot from us,” he added. “We happen to know each other in many instances and we keep it healthy.”
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