Gregg Rowe

The game changes before most leaders see it. Fibre broadband isn’t an upgrade—it’s a strategic asset. Those who think several moves ahead shape the market. The rest respond to it.

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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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Great reporting from Doug Adams on the problematic micro-management of this grant program by NTIA. Once envisioned as a “decentralized” program in which the federal Government recognized the states know their own markets better than a DC bureaucrat, BEAD is now looking more and more like a badly run reverse auction. This needs to be stopped.

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AT&T completed the acquisition of the Lumen consumer FTTH division and Verizon completed the acquisition of Frontier. Next up is Cox+Charter. A lot of consolidation in the ISP space. Lot of changes in the cellco space as well. The big keep getting bigger - not better, just bigger - with hardly any anti-trust scrutiny. AT&T has far more market power now than it did in 1982 (they were divested in 1984).

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Headline: 📡 Broadband Bytes: January 2026 Industry Update The fiber industry isn’t slowing down. As we kick off 2026, the latest issue of Broadband Bytes from UCL Swift NA highlights a massive wave of M&A activity and infrastructure expansion. Key takeaways from this month's issue: 🚀 Record Growth: 2025 set a new record with 11.8M new homes passed. Fiber now reaches over 60% of U.S. households. 🤝 M&A Heatwave: Major moves from Cable One (Mega Broadband & Clearwave), the completion of the WOW! take-private deal, and TDS Telecom's shift toward strategic fiber acquisitions. ⚖️ Regulatory Roadblocks: The GAO has ruled that recent BEAD program changes require Congressional approval, adding a layer of uncertainty to federal funding timelines. 🌎 Global Impact: Starlink steps in to provide free internet in Venezuela following recent geopolitical shifts. Check out the full breakdown of funding, expansions, and technical news here: https://lnkd.in/eJNmD9gW #UCLSwift #Broadband #FiberOptics #Telecommunications #BEAD #Fiber #BroadbandBytes

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#UnitiWholesale is proving that connectivity isn’t just about fiber—it’s about people. In the second episode of the Trusted Connections podcast, Greg Ortyl, EVP & President, Strategic Accounts, shares what life looks like inside the newly combined Uniti + Windstream family. Listen to the full episode as Greg shares how leadership, trust, and teamwork drive real partnership, and how a bigger network can still feel personal: https://okt.to/R3UzGw #BetterTogether #PeopleFirst #Connectivity #Partnerships

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Let’s keep BEAD from building yesterday’s networks tomorrow... Congress defined Priority Broadband Projects with two prongs: 100/20 Mbps today, and the ability to easily scale for tomorrow. That second prong only applies to PBPs — and it’s what makes them “priority.” If states don’t enforce it in SUBGRANTEE AGREEMENTS, they risk legal challenges, clawbacks of provisional awards, and wasted taxpayer dollars. (Full explanation in the first comment ↓)

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Most telecom cost reduction projects miss the mark. Everyone chases a smaller invoice. Nobody asks why the cost creeps back in. Here's the problem. You negotiate hard, trim some lines, swap a vendor or two. Three months later, your spend jumps. A year later, it's back to square one. Sometimes worse. Why? Because the real killer isn't the carrier rates. It's the chaos in your process. No owner. No controls. Shadow IT adding lines. Nobody auditing old services. No system that flags waste before you bleed cash. Until you fix this, you're stuck in the same loop. Endless RFPs, endless "savings" that never last. The fix isn't a better deal. It's ownership, workflow, and visibility. I've seen companies cut six figures just by installing simple controls. Stop hunting for pennies on your bills. Start controlling the process that creates the bill in the first place.

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#UnitiWholesale is proving that connectivity isn’t just about fiber—it’s about people. In the second episode of the Trusted Connections podcast, Greg Ortyl, EVP & President, Strategic Accounts, shares what life looks like inside the newly combined Uniti + Windstream family. Listen to the full episode as Greg shares how leadership, trust, and teamwork drive real partnership, and how a bigger network can still feel personal: https://okt.to/IiX9Gr #BetterTogether #PeopleFirst #Connectivity #Partnerships

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One of the most overlooked - and most urgent - needs in the shift from BSP to BXP is developing a strong pipeline of local talent.    As my colleague Jeannine Lyons shares below, building a clear path from Project Manager to General Manager (PM to GM) is essential to meeting the growing expectations of the communities we serve.    At Calix, we’re empowering our customers to identify, upskill, and retain the next generation of broadband leaders - those who can bridge local insight with operational excellence.    Through AI-readiness assessments and performance-based training, we’re helping build the bench of PMs to GMs that will shape the future of the broadband experience.    👇 A must-read on how Calix University is supporting this critical transformation.  #BSPtoBXP #BroadbandTalent #ProjectManager #GeneralManager #AI 

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