Wireless Cowboys

Stories from the Wireless Broadband Frontier

Stories from the Wireless Broadband Frontier.
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Painful and Expensive Lessons in Fiber Construction

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A couple of years ago, our leadership team made the decision to drop our wireless only focus and pursue fiber broadband projects. While the common wisdom is that fiber is the future and has the best long term return, this was a tough choice for us for a few reasons:


1) We have 25 years of experience with fixed wireless deployment and substantial existing infrastructure
2) The low cost and rapid timeline for fixed wireless deployment has always been a key differentiator for our company
3) Fiber deployment takes a long time, consumes all available money and requires us to build new relationships with vendors, contractors, engineers, grant writers and government entities
4) We had very little experience with fiber construction


Once decided, we jumped head first into fiber deployment and built our first small town. We learned a ton of lessons about how to deploy aerial fiber in a small town and had a good contractor to work with as we fumbled our way through the deployment. We finished about a month before the ILEC completed their fiber build in the same area and after adding new customers and converting wireless customers in the footprint we reached a penetration rate that could justify the investment.


Unfortunately, our luck ran out as we launched our next round of fiber deployment projects. Issues with Right of Way, pole make-ready, contractor performance, inventory management and design considerations piled up. Our financial performance suffered and timelines were pushed back as we scrambled to make corrections and get the projects back on track. I haven’t done a full audit of all the costs, but between the sub-optimal designs, wasted labor and inventory issues we probably wasted between $700K and a million dollars.


This has been a very trying time, but we emerged from this challenge with better processes, improved project management, great tools and the right team of people to meet the challenges of fiber construction. A few takeaways for people new to fiber construction:


1) Getting the design right can be hard, especially when you are new to the game. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and look for ways to be more efficient. Once you get it figured out, develop style guides for each type of deployment (aerial vs underground, rural vs suburban vs urban, etc) and make sure your design matches your style guide.
2) 2/3 of fiber project costs are in labor, so finding ways to be more efficient with labor will have more impact on project costs than saving a little on materials. We saved a little money on “spider fiber” and spent far more on splicing due to the extra labor required. Won’t make that mistake again.
3) No matter how good your contractors are, project managers are a necessity. Without supervision, materials disappear or don’t get used in the right place, work gets done in the wrong places, timelines go astray and costs escalate.
4) Construction software is a necessity. Trying to manage a complex fiber project without dedicated management software turns into a nightmare. We settled on Ocius-X and it has been a game changer for us.
5) Documentation is incredibly important, and tools like Vetro are incredibly valuable for accessing information on, maintaining and augmenting your fiber network.
6) Integrating documentation and construction management makes everything run much smoother! Now our designs start in Vetro, get exported to Ocius-X for construction and get exported back into Vetro as they are built. This is the way!
7) Make sure everything happens in the right order. Get final design and permitting done and get your contractors lined up before ordering materials. All of those steps need to be in place and ready to go before starting a project.
8) Develop as much in-house capability as you can. Some of the capabilities we have developed internally over the last year include:
a. Splicing
b. Basic Design
c. Permitting
d. Testing and Turnup
e. Project Management
f. Inventory Management
You don’t have to do everything yourself, but if you have too many dependencies your company’s reputation is in the hands of other entities. Remove leverage wherever possible.


I’m sure we have so many more lessons to learn, but these are just a few that stand out above the rest. One of my favorite sayings is “Never waste a good crisis” – and I’m very proud that our team faced these obstacles, got multiple projects completed and developed more valuable skills that will serve us well as we continue our broadband journey.

The Experience Providers

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At the October 2024 Calix Connections conference, Calix CEO Michael Weening declared “the era of speed is over” – saying that no one needs a gig and that Internet Service Providers needed to transition into Experience Providers.    I am in full agreement that the era of speed is over and that no one needs a gig.   I also agree that it is important to provide broadband customers with a great experience.   But I see these revelations from a little different perspective.   

It is interesting to see the transition from “speeds” to “experience” that is going on in the fiber broadband world.  Took them long enough!   Most WISPs have been focused on doing this for years, with a much more personalized focus on the customers and communities that they serve and attention to what the customers are wanting.    At first, we followed demand and just getting service established was the priority, but if you want to keep those customers you have to make sure that the service is reliable and that their services work the way that they expect them to.   Many years ago we determined that tremendous value was gained by spending extra time with the end users during installs and service calls to ensure they were having a good experience.  That is the cornerstone of good customer service and should always be the priority over extra services.

Weening goes on to talk about the need to protect customers from threats.   We agree on that, but the implementation goes in a very different direction.   He is talking about cyberprotection services getting added to connections and even highlights one provider that requires an “opt-out” to have cybersecurity services not added.    It is an interesting approach and it is no coincidence that it just happens to correlate with the services available on their platform.   Our primary form of cybersecurity goes back to the very beginning of our network setup, when we put our customers on CG-NAT, which blocks the vast majority of remote cyberattack incursions at the edge of our network and has kept our customers safe for 20+ years.    We do offer public IPv4 and IPv6 for the customers that need them, but CGNAT has been one of the easiest and most effective ways of protecting customers from direct attacks.    And we have been using best-in-breed Quality Of Experience appliances for several years to assure the best broadband experience to our customers.   WISPs have always valued the need to optimize network performance-that is how we continue to grow and thrive in places where the experts said that fixed wireless would never be competitive.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for giving the customer what they want, but we have had very little request for the kind of services some of these companies are pushing.    Marketing applications get really annoying to end users – do we really need more “targeted marketing campaigns and personalized offers”.    No thanks.   Applications that use “real-time network data” sounds like a different way of saying “we are real-time mining your customers data and usage habits.”      

The most important experience?   Paying an appropriate price for a reliable connection that meets the needs of the customer.   The biggest reason for the growth in fixed wireless access is because the average cost per connection for fiber and cable providers continues to rise and the push for better experience is to justify those cost increases.    The ultimate goal – $150/month subscriptions.    Doubling ARPU sounds like a great experience for the provider – not such a great experience for the customer!

The “experts” keep pushing the message that we have digital divides and need to spend billions on more fiber because if it isn’t fiber it isn’t broadband – but more customers are voting for fixed wireless because it gets the job done and doesn’t come with a $150/month price tag.          

Doug Dawson gets it wrong…again!

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I like to read a lot of content with different perspectives about the broadband industry to understand what people are thinking and make sure that my own viewpoints can be sharpened up. It is refreshing to read something that challenges my views and makes me want to reconsider what I’m thinking.

However, once in a while I come across something so far off-base and uninformed that it makes me want to throw things at my monitor. This has happened a lot lately when I read Doug Dawson’s blog about “Broadband for All” and he talks about fixed wireless. His latest post about “Fixed Wireless in Cities” pushed my button, and instead of destroying my monitor, I decided to destroy his arguments.

Here goes….

First, Doug states that licensed spectrum can provide better broadband results. This is not the case. Unlicensed spectrum is more accessible and there are a myriad of options available that make it more useful to deliver high capacity and reliable broadband than licensed spectrum. The latest generation of PTMP fixed wireless platforms like Tarana and mmWave fixed wireless are two pieces of fixed wireless tech that refute the licensed spectrum argument. The owners of licensed spectrum don’t want to hear this because it devalues the spectrum that they have spent billions on so they can control it.

Second, line of sight is a consideration for wireless but can be worked around in a citywide environment, especially if the city has full control over key infrastructure elements such as street lights and utility poles. Towers are not necessary when rooftops, street lights and utility poles are available to supplement coverage when needed.

Third, fixed wireless is great for multi-tenant buildings as Google and others have proven. It requires a good connection to the building and use of the internal building infrastructure to distribute to tenants, but the model is proven and works well.

Finally, a good fixed wireless system that is professionally installed doesn’t have to deal with “dead spots” like the mobile and self-install FWA systems used by cell carriers. A professionally done fixed wireless installation has more capacity, higher reliability and a known level of quality than mobile or self-installed systems.

The real bottom line is that there are serious issues with using a fiber-only approach for citywide networks that make them a risky investment. The cost, long time of deployment and long term push toward a monopolistic competitive environment with fiber-only networks puts a heavy burden on taxpayers and forces communities that are currently suffering from accessibility or affordability issues to wait even longer for a solution.

Do better, Doug.

Five Weird Tricks for State Broadband Directors

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The job of a State Broadband Director is hard. Giant Federal Programs to deal with the Digital Divide are looming, with the promise of government money frothing up lobbyists, consultants and providers into a swarm that wants to get your attention. So much money! So much fiscal responsibility! There are complicated rules, state and federal maps that don’t agree with each other and the constant din of fiber vs wireless vs cable vs mobile providers waging warfare for market share and political power. And don’t forget that there there are angry people in the state that either don’t have access to quality broadband or can’t afford it. Even though this is a giant task, your state government only wants to provide the bare minimum of financial resources and manpower to accomplish these goals. What is a State Broadband Director supposed to do?

Fear not, I have five weird tricks that will help you make a big difference for the people in your state.

ONE: Don’t Believe The Hype

You are going to hear things like “If it’s not fiber, it’s not broadband” and “government-run networks are failures” and “everyone needs gigabit speeds” – none of these statements are true, no matter how many times they are repeated. Have an open mind and look beyond the hype to find the best solutions for resolving broadband issues in each scenario. Fiber makes sense in some places, fixed wireless makes sense in others and in some places you need both. Public private partnerships or municipal projects will work in communities that have the resources and willpower to see them through – other locales have good private companies with a history of service that can take on the challenge. 100/20 speeds that can be deployed quickly and inexpensively to unserved locations are more valuable than gigabit networks that take several years to be build and cost exponentially more. Find the truth for each situation!

TWO: Organize a State Broadband Conference

Want to see progress made in a short period of time? Put providers, vendors, policymakers, public service commissioners, local government officeholders, educators, tech businesses, students and every day citizens in a big room to interact for a couple of days and watch the sparks fly! Find a few good speakers and present the latest information available about your state, share your goals and present a vision. Put together some spicy panels that will get people talking. Don’t just put three or four of the same kind of speakers on a panel where they just agree about how smart they are, put some mortal enemies on the stage and let them duke it out for everyone to watch! Bring in journalists to write about the event and offer free admission to students. Set up a dunk tank where angry consumers can drop a Lumen or Spectrum VP into cold water! If the state meeting goes well, consider smaller regional versions throughout the year. Get creative!

THREE: Hit The Road

Don’t be a stuffy bureaucrat sitting in a comfy office setting rules and making decisions while avoiding the public. Get out there and meet the people! There is no better way to make connections and gain a better understanding of the issues and concerns people have than to meet them where they are. When the time comes to put together solutions, you will have valuable perspective, better information and a set of relationships all over the state that can help enact positive change. The map is not the territory, go explore for yourself.

FOUR: Interns, Interns, Interns!

Motivated, well-meaning young people are a vastly underutilized energy source, and access to broadband is near and dear to their hearts. Put together an army of young people to help augment your beleaguered staff and help sell the message of broadband for all. They are a force multiplier – never miss an important meeting or fail to return a call. Give them a fantastic experience that shapes their future.

FIVE: Remember Who You Work For

This should go without saying, but remember this simple fact: You Work For The Citizens of Your State. All of the federal money and political manuvering can be intoxicating and distracting, but that is not your job. Your job is to get broadband out to people in your state! Don’t twiddle your thumbs waiting for a federal agency to set rules on the latest big funding program – figure out how to make a difference without it. Make connections and develop strategies for your state and your situation and keep focused on that goal. Money, especially public money, doesn’t solve the broadband problem – sometimes it makes the situation worse! Smaller programs with shorter timelines (see Cares Act projects) can make a big difference, especially if they are focused on results. Bigger programs favor larger companies that are more interested in extracting money from government and your fellow citizens, and carry a larger regulatory burden for both parties. Eyes on the Prize!

Good luck!

2020 Has Been a Rollercoaster!

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Saying that 2020 has been a rollercoaster is probably an understatement. Covid-19 threw the entire world into a panic and the repercussions of its effects on our lives will be with us for decades. In many ways, it forced us to look at different ways to do things and put several technologies on fast forward while putting a hard stop to many things that we took for granted would always be available to us.

The importance of reliable and capable broadband went right to the forefront of issues to deal with. People working from home, students learning from home and everyone trying to stay occupied during quarantine events increased the load on broadband networks 25-50% at different times during the day. Moderate peak hour increases were exceeded by huge increases in demand during daytime hours as more people were using home connections. Any providers that had not been diligent in upgrading their network started to see minor issues turn into bigger ones overnight.

At Vistabeam, several major upgrades had just been completed before Covid hit and we were able to meet the demand. Even after shutting down installs for a period in March, we were met with record demand for new service throughout the rest of the spring and into the summer. As we scaled up to meet the demand, CARES Act funded broadband grant programs were established in Nebraska and Wyoming and we responded with the intention of getting as much high capacity broadband as possible into the areas of those states that we could deliver it to. By mid October, we were as busy as we had ever been, even after onboarding 16 new employees since the beginning of the year.

Then, Covid-19 hit our area. After a relatively uneventful summer and start to the school year with few cases in our region, it took off. I went from not knowing anyone who had it to knowing 20+ people that had it within a week. As we implemented work from home policies and curtailed field work, it was clear that we were not going to be immune from the negative effects of the pandemic.

Our country and world will not be the same, but I hope we are able to figure out positive ways to get through these challenges. This has been a rough year, but humans are resilient and capable and we will figure out how to make the best out of a difficult situation.