Presenters:
Craig Culwell, Director, Market Development, Broadband, CommScope
Joseph Phelan, Grants Development Consultant, Grants Office, LLC
Overview
Low-density rural fiber deployments are no longer out of reach. With billions of dollars available through federal subsidies and grant programs to fast-track broadband deployment and improve internet access in underserved and unserved communities, providers can achieve compelling ROI in rural environments.
CommScope offers innovative FTTH deployment architectures and technologies designed for a variety of deployment applications, to optimize total cost of deployment, improve return on investment (ROI), and ensure network longevity. The CommScope Grant Funding Navigation Service connects customers with grantwriting experts from Grants Office, providing complimentary grant funding navigation services to help secure grant funding for building out FTTH projects—regardless of deployment environment.
Context
The presenters explained how providers can choose the best network architecture and leverage government funding to optimize the ROI of rural broadband deployments.
Key takeaways
Improved technology and government incentives benefit rural fiber deployment.
The fiber industry has traditionally been focused on deployment in dense urban to outer suburban environments, as low-density rural FTTH deployments were previously cost-prohibitive. However, in recent years, improved technology and the availability of government funding have opened opportunities for cost-effective rural deployment projects.
To meet network requirements and deliver a positive return on investment, cost considerations such as housing density and labor pool availability must be balanced with projected take rates, service offerings, and relevant government financial incentives—the last of which contributes significantly to an increasingly more attractive equation for deployment in rural environments.
“As we move into those rural environments, those costs go dramatically up, but . . . government funding [can] help counterbalance that—and result in a positive return on investment.”
– Craig Culwell, CommScope
Figure 1: Balancing the deployment business case
(Source: Efficient FTTH Deployment & Grant Funding Strategies, presentation slide 5. © 2024 Commscope Inc., all rights reserved.)
Network selection will impact total cost of deployment.
When selecting deployment technology, it is critical to understand the resource constraints of the entire project. Network operation and maintenance requirements impact the total cost of ownership (TCO) and differ between deployment architecture options.
Figure 2: CommScope supports six architectures to choose from for optimizing deployments
(Source: Efficient FTTH Deployment & Grant Funding Strategies, presentation slide 6. © 2024 Commscope Inc., all rights reserved.)
To illustrate the impact of architecture selection on TCO, CommScope modeled each of its six architectures against the three primary deployment environments: township (or urban), subdivision (or suburban), and rural. The models employ high-level assumptions to ensure all deployments are as consistent as possible and that actual resource and operational costs are applied.
The models demonstrate that different architectures impact materials and installation costs in all environments. For example, in the modeled township deployment, centralized architecture is both the slowest and most expensive. It is important to note, though, that the cost difference between centralized and cascaded optical tap architectures is small enough that other factors, such as take rates and services offered, could ultimately make centralized the best architecture choice to optimize ROI.
In comparison, the cost of cascaded optical tap architecture in the modeled rural deployment is significantly less than that of the centralized architecture, likely making the choice of architecture more obvious—especially when adding in potential funding from government programs for rural deployment projects.
Figure 3: Estimated TCO for a modeled township deployment
(Source: Efficient FTTH Deployment & Grant Funding Strategies, presentation slide 17. © 2024 Commscope Inc., all rights reserved.)
Figure 4: Estimated TCO for a modeled rural deployment
(Source: Efficient FTTH Deployment & Grant Funding Strategies, presentation slide 21. © 2024 Commscope Inc., all rights reserved.)
Grants Office helps organizations find and apply for grant opportunities.
Through the free-of-charge CommScope Grant Funding Navigation Service, Grants Office offers four core services that can be leveraged independently or via a sequence of steps:
- Funder prospecting. Grants Office learns about the customer organization and the organization’s technology needs. Using this information, all federal- and state-level funding opportunities for which the organization is eligible are identified and compiled into a comprehensive report.
- Grant readiness coaching. Grants Office works with the grant seeker to identify relevant details (e.g., materials required, award amounts, cost-share expectations, number of awards, etc.) for each opportunity to develop the most competitive application.
- Project-specific consultation. From high-level strategizing focused on grant relevance, to detailed coaching and application development, Grants Office works closely with customers to review and pursue the grants that best fit a specific project.
- Proposal development assistance. Grants Office reviews grant application drafts, conducting a deep dive into the content and offering feedback on areas of improvement. (For a separate fee, Grant Office will write the grant application on the customer’s behalf.)
“Grants Office, working with CommScope . . . helps you find grants, put the pieces together, and make sure everything is ready to go.”
– Joseph Phelan, Grants Office
Figure 5: Grants Office offers four services for grant seekers
(Source: Efficient FTTH Deployment & Grant Funding Strategies, presentation slide 31. © 2024 Commscope Inc., all rights reserved.)
Additional information
To learn more about CommScope, visit commscope.com.
