The Ps of Preparing for Network Construction

As the nation gears up for a historic wave of fiber broadband network construction, new owner/operators will face numerous issues, including labor shortages, project delays, and cost overruns. The solution to meeting these challenges, according to Mears Broadband, is a new definition of P3: People, Partnerships, and Preparation. 

“The biggest issue that we face today is the people piece,” said Trent Edwards, President, Mears Broadband. “If somebody tells you that they have people today, they’re lying to you or they’re not very good. Let’s just be honest. The people have been an issue for a while, from the age of the workforce to the younger generation coming into the workforce.” 

Edwards noted that a lot of preparation needs to go into addressing the critical workforce shortage for building and operating fiber networks, especially through recruiting and training personnel. Mears’ parent company Quanta runs a dedicated 2,200-acre campus in Texas for training of telecommunications personnel. The Lazy Q Ranch provides hands-on training with a ‘neighborhood’ environment designed to provide developmental training for all aspects of a telecom project.  

“I would advise folks to ask your contractors, ‘How do you get your people? How do you support them? How do you maintain your subcontractor workforce?’” said Edwards. “The subcontractor workforce is going to be critical for all of this build out, it is critical from the standpoint that it the higher majority of workers out there, compared to direct contractors like [Mears].” 

Partnerships mean that owner/operators need to engage and involve contractors early, especially with the coming wave of construction. “There’s going to be a shortage of contractors,” Edwards stated. “Not in the true definition of shortage, but with timeframe to get it. People are going to start choosing who they want to work with.”  

Establishing partnerships early leads to effective preparation. “The benefits of partnering early include the community engagement piece,” Edwards said. “Letting communities, municipalities, and the cities understand what’s going to take place. There are going to be [crews] out building, it’s going to be disruptive. It’s going to impact schools and cause traffic problems, but there are huge benefits from notifying the public when we’re coming.” 

To get the full and deeper discussion on P3, listen to the latest Fiber for Breakfast podcast.