- Fiber builds are more construction than tech, according to a Fiber Connect panel
- Operators often need multiple permits as they deal with pole attachment issues
- Knowing the right people – and some automation – can make the difference
FIBER CONNECT, NASHVILLE – As fiber deployments surge, so do the various challenges associated with building. Speakers on a Fiber Connect panel voiced their main deployment gripes, from permitting and poles to disrupting community infrastructure.
“Anyone who thinks a fiber business is a technology business is sorely mistaken,” said Greg Wilson, founder and CEO of Ripple Fiber. It’s more of a construction business, where any large project faces challenges with labor, permitting, regulation snags and the like.
Construction is a hot mess, according to Mitchell J. Campagna, president and CEO of architecture firm Mitchell J. Architecture.
“You’re basically going into an entire city and you’re going to mess up their entire roads, every road, every street," said Campagna.
Even if a provider has permits ready to go for laying fiber, it doesn’t mean much if the infrastructure isn’t left in tip-top shape. “All it takes is one truck that came in, messed up, put asphalt everywhere” and the company will have to clean up the mess before moving onto the next project, Campagna said.
When deployment delays hit, it’s key to have an “agile team that’s able to very quickly identify what the root of the issue is, and then also have the authority” to solve those problems, Wilson said.
“If you try and bring everything back up to the top for a decision, you’re never going to solve problems quickly,” he added.
The pain of poles and permitting
For many fiber operators, securing pole attachments can be difficult, stacking up permitting requirements, panelists noted.
Campagna said one of his clients is doing a hybrid fiber build that involves both aerial deployments and micro-trenching. “The only reason for that is that there are no poles in a certain section of this area that we’re doing.”
That fiber provider had to apply for two separate permits, a trend that’s becoming “more and more prevalent,” he said.
“Permitting is just such a wild card,” said Ethan Elyasian, VP of operations for LDA Fiber, a consulting civil engineering firm. That’s why it’s important for operators to “get in early” and understand all the players they have to talk to in order to get projects going.
“That’s the difference between a three-week delay and a green light right off the bat,” he said.
AI and automation can also lend a hand with permitting and pole pains, said Adam Kersnowski, co-founder and SVP at Airworks.
He explained his company uses machine learning and automated field mapping to better understand “what’s existing and how we design and build around it.”
That data can help operators better pinpoint the cost differences between aerial and buried fiber, and how those differences will impact project timelines and the cost of construction.
“Looking at a pole without investing a lot of money and understanding what’s on that pole is very valuable to our clients,” Kersnowski added.
Catch up on all the news from Fiber Connect 2025 here.