DAY 2 WWW.WISPA.ORG 15 www.bekabusinessmedia.com the perception that FiberLight is tied to Texas. As demand for fiber grows south of Dallas and along key East Coast corridors like Atlanta to Ashburn, FiberLight is crossing borders to design new routes and to continue its aggressive expansion strategy. J Learn more by visiting FiberLight at booth 131 on the show room floor or go to https://www.fiberlight.com/. FiberLight Illuminates Fiber’s Future Infrastructure When FiberLight was acquired in April 2023, Bill Major stepped in as CEO. Since then, he and his team have reshaped the company’s trajectory, growing it from 170 to 229 employees and executing strategic network expansions. As the company expanded, Major made leadership changes to “reimagine the company.” He brought in Shane Ward as CFO, formerly with Lumos, and Chuck Girt as CTO, a longtime colleague, to “harden our network” and improve transparency in customer experiences. FiberLight’s network footprint also expanded rapidly, with more than 1,000 miles of fiber being engineered, permitted or constructed. Major is confident that during the next two years, FiberLight will grow beyond its 20,000 miles. The industry-wide AI boom has fueled data center development and fiber demand, particularly in rural markets where FiberLight has a strong presence. Major compared today’s AI-driven infrastructure buildout to the early days of the internet boom decades ago. “We’re in the infancy of AI,” he said. “These are just language learning models right now. We’re not even seeing AI’s full potential yet.” Major is confident that demand for highcapacity fiber connections will continue to grow as AI infrastructure scales. With billions of dollars in Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program funding flowing into the market, Major acknowledged its impact but clarified that FiberLight did not apply directly for funding. Instead, the company is wellpositioned to partner with last-mile fiber-to-thehome (FTTH) providers who received the funds. “Anybody that takes that money and thinks they’re going to construct 300 new miles of fiber at today’s costs is kidding themselves,” he said. Instead of overbuilding networks, many providers will look to lease or buy from existing middle-mile operators like FiberLight. Beyond BEAD, state broadband grants are also shaping the industry. “We’ve already partnered up and have been awarded as an underlying provider to enable fiber-to-the-home recipients,” Major added, signaling that FiberLight is playing a key role in these projects without directly taking on the risks of BEAD-funded builds. Looking forward, Major wants to move past
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