How COVID-19 Has Impacted Telecom
As telecommunication providers continue to expand and maintain critical infrastructure we face new challenges to keeping our communities connected, working, and learning. Our industry is facing obstacles we have not seen in the last 20 years. Consumer demand, material lead times, labor safety issues, limited customer interaction, increased regulation, and even social unrest are challenges that have worked together to thwart our daily effort to bring broadband services to our customer bases. The response to this virus has changed our daily operations, customer interactions, and recently we have even seen the impacts of the virus on the supply chain for OSP materials. In October of 2020, bidding will open for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, or RDOF. RDOF will invest over $20 billion in digital infrastructure to facilitate 25 Mbps and greater speeds for underserved areas of the United States.
"The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund will award up to $20.4 billion to connect millions of rural homes and small businesses to high-speed broadband networks in a two-phase approach. The Phase I auction (awarding up to $16B), which is scheduled for October 2020, will target census blocks that are entirely unserved by voice and broadband with download speeds of at least 25 Mbps. Phase II will cover locations in census blocks that are partially served, as well as locations not funded in Phase I. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund prioritizes higher network speeds and lower latency, so that these networks will be able to handle Internet applications of the future."
Source: https://extension.psu.edu/rural-digital-opportunity-fund-phase-i-auction-904-tutorial
The FCC has numerous resources for those wishing to participate:
A majority of those participating in the auction will begin the construction of new network infrastructure in 2021. This will significantly increase demand across all Telecom Material Products which are already in high demand. The current demand for materials has resulted in lead times for fiber optic cable of 20+ weeks. NovaLight was fortunate to anticipate this demand and we have an inventory of most fiber counts from 2-count drop to 864-count in stock. As we approach 2021, many participants are joining consortiums to apply for funding and secure regulatory guidance through the RDOF program.
As we enter this new phase of Telecom infrastructure expansion, NovaLight has expanded its relationships with additional fiber manufacturers as well as securing additional manufacturer allotments for fiber optic cable from existing manufacturers.
Your team may not be participating directly in the RDOF bidding and filing, but the demand for materials will likely affect everyone.
At NovaLight, we are working diligently to ensure we have materials available for your OSP projects.
Our current fiber cable list is always available online - and our Account Managers can review the current inventory to find an effective material solution for you today!