The following transcript has been edited for length and readability. Listen to the entire discussion here on The Broadband Bunch. The Broadband Bunch is sponsored by ETI Software and VETRO FiberMap.
Joe Coldebella:
This episode of The Broadband Bunch is sponsored by ETI Software and VETRO FiberMap.
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Broadband Bunch. I’m your host, Joe Coldebella. We are at Calix ConneXions 2023 in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada.
Joining me is Brian Stading, the CEO of Lumos. Brian, welcome to The Broadband Bunch.
Brian Stading:
Great. Thank you, Joe. It’s great to be here. Thank you.
Joe Coldebella:
Hey, it’s really exciting to have you here.
Before we dive into your company’s story, I would love it if you could share your background. I find people are one of two camps. Either they’ve been in the industry for quite a while, or there are some folks that sort of stumble their way in. We would love to hear your story.
Brian Stading:
Yeah, it’s an interesting story. So I joined right out of college. I have my undergrad degree in business. I met a contact. It’s just right when Ma Bell was breaking up and telecommunications was taking off. And he asked me if I knew anything about electronics. And I told him that I knew enough to stay away from them.
But anyway, I ended up basically coming on as a technician. And so I’ve worked my way up from the ground up. And I wouldn’t change a thing. So I got in it early on. I’ve been in it for a while, but it’s really exciting right now what we’re doing.
Joe Coldebella:
It’s crazy. It seems though, just listening to folks, that the breakup of Ma Bell was a big, transformative thing for the community and industry as a whole.
Brian Stading:
Yeah, without question, right? Because everything was going through AT&T as a monopoly. It opened a door to MCI and Sprint and all these other competitive providers. So it created the competitive landscape in the United States as we know it.
Joe Coldebella:
And was that an incredible time in terms of innovation? Or was it the Wild West?
Brian Stading:
Yeah, it became a little bit of the Wild West, for sure. You had all these startup companies trying to make it. I worked at the Chicago Board of Trade. We started our own phone company. So a trading firm could come in, and they could either use Illinois Bell or Ma Bell. Or they could use Chicago Board Trading, our telecommunications company. And so we got a chance to see all aspects of the whole industry early on, so it was an interesting experience.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. And so now you’re the CEO of Lumos. Can you share the story of Lumos? Where exactly are you guys based out of?
Brian Stading:
So we are based out of High Point, North Carolina, but we also have headquarters in Waynesboro, Virginia. We’re the combination of Lumos networks in Virginia and NorthState Telecommunications out of North Carolina.
So those companies came together and formed a company called Segra. Segra was sold to Cox Communications, and then Cox kept the enterprise, the B2B side, and we spun out the residential and small business side to create what is now called Lumos.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. Okay.
And so Brian, just doing a little research, you guys have a pretty audacious goal by 2026. I would love it if you could share that with our audience.
Brian Stading:
Yeah, we’re backed by a very responsible, fiscally sound private equity firm, EQT. We made a commitment when we spun out to try to build fiber to a million homes in the next five years off of our platform, starting where we did with Lumos Networks and NorthState. We now have about 275,000 homes that pass by fiber, so our goal is to get another 825,000 in the next few years.
Joe Coldebella:
Wow, that’s awesome. It must be super exciting. I think that putting a sort of an audacious goal out there like that, it’s got to be motivating as well.
Brian Stading:
It really is. That’s our goal. There’s a growth mindset. We’re adding people and giving people jobs. We are employing people in the community.
But really what I tell everybody more importantly than the numbers behind that is with this technology, we’re changing people’s lives. And we’re bringing fiber broadband to people who don’t have access to good internet. They’re unserved or underserved. They don’t have access to good fiber internet, and you need that in your daily life, for your homeschooling, working from home, telemedicine, and entertainment. Our lives really revolve around having great internet. That’s what our mission is.
Joe Coldebella:
Yeah, I was on your website. And one thing that I thought was fantastic was the number of homes passed. The city sizes were different, but I saw 12,000 homes and then right next to that was 548, and then next to that was 28,000. So I see that you guys are really committed to bringing fiber to everyone, which is just awesome.
Brian Stading:
It really is. And as we go out, and we expand into some of these larger markets. Then we can apply for some of these state grants or county grants to now serve communities that you wouldn’t normally be able to serve without being able to have that footprint that allows you to expand more cost-efficiently. And so we have some great programs going on in Virginia with VATI II and some of the GREAT Grants in North Carolina. So we really are committed to bringing fiber to every community that we possibly can. It’s a core part of our strategy.
Joe Coldebella:
That’s awesome. I would love it if we could touch on each state. I know that there’s definitely been some evolution in the states. So, Virginia, it seems like from all the states that we have talked to and all the folks that we interviewed, they really had their ducks in a row when this all went out. Have they been ahead of the curve?
Brian Stading:
Absolutely. For sure. That’s great feedback.
So I would say from the Virginia Broadband Office, North Carolina Broadband Office, and even now we’re moving to South Carolina. Their broadband offices are, from our perspective, ahead of the game. And they’re very well run, very well-organized, and even the BEAD program that’s going to go through the state broadband offices. So having organized broadband offices is critical. So yeah, Virginia we found to be very, very effective as well as North Carolina and South Carolina.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. So you guys are definitely doing funding. But you’ve partnered with some folks in Europe, and there’s a sustainability component to that. Can you unpack that for us as well?
Brian Stading:
Yeah. We’re very, very fortunate that we have the private financial backer that we have. They’re very large and based in Europe. They’ve done a lot of this, secured financing. We are really the first company in the US to be able to do this type of financing, largely because of the private equity backing that we have.
But the interesting thing is there are very distinct ESG requirements that we have to meet to continue the funding. So we have very strong sustainability benchmarks that we’re going to be measured on every year to ensure that this financing stays put. So it is very exciting.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. So you’ve got a commitment from them in terms of looking out for the environment. But for Lumos, it’s more than that, right? Community involvement is really important for you guys as well. Is that correct?
Brian Stading:
Yeah, community involvement is everything because that’s where our employees live. Having that community relationship allows us to actually expand our fiber more quickly because you have to get access to the permitting. You’re tying up resources in the community office and municipalities. And so having that commitment allows us to partner and roll out the broadband services and the internet services more efficiently. So that is an absolute focus. In fact, the first thing we look for when we look for a new community is how effectively they’re willing to partner with us.
Joe Coldebella:
Right. I interview a ton of folks, and I was talking to someone yesterday. They were saying that sometimes the hardest hurdles are the local communities because they don’t see the benefit. I think some of them tend to be, I’m not calling out any specific communities, a little short-sighted. They don’t see the big picture.
Brian Stading:
You know, there are definitely some of those situations. And we’re not going to call them out by names. But yeah, you get into licensing fees and things like that that are short-term revenue gains, but not really long-term beneficial to the community within the municipalities.
But there are some that are really, really forward-thinking. They understand it, and they understand that there’s going to be a little bit of a mess. When you’re deploying fiber, you’re digging up sidewalks, driveways, and roadways. But at the end of the day, we’ll put it back together, and that will be better for the community.
Joe Coldebella:
You know and the great thing about the broadband ecosphere is that you’ve got communities competing against each other in sort of a way where hopefully what that’ll do is that when some community gets full fiber, then, all of a sudden, they’re next door neighbors realize that they are falling behind. That’s a great motivating factor.
Brian Stading:
It really is because that means people are looking to expand by adding new households and looking to bring businesses in. You have to have that digital infrastructure to support the future and future growth. So there’s no question that’s part of it.
Joe Coldebella:
And I think we’re really at the start of what we’ll be able to do with fiber. And it’s really important that folks understand that in order for us to move forward and embrace all the technology that really is coming down the pike, they really need to understand that it’s important to build fiber and start now.
Brian Stading:
Yeah. It’s only going to continue to grow, right? The internet and things that are growing at the rate it’s growing, and how important it becomes part of your life continues and advances and continues to grow. So there’s no question that the time is now. And it is growing right now. You’re seeing a lot of providers out there.
You asked before about the industry and what it is like. You know, I worked in big companies in this industry when I started out. Now I’ve been part of the fiber broadband, broadband service providers as Calix likes to call them. It’s really an interesting time because I’ll say that cable companies have a culture and wireless companies have a culture. Broadband service providers have a culture, too, and it’s really aggressive. And it’s something that’s really exciting to be a part of.
Joe Coldebella:
Yeah. One of the things about the industry that is crazy is just how many different balls are in the air. You’d be amazed at how many different people I talk to in the different industries and somehow it gets done. It is really a testament to everybody in the sense that we’re sort of behind the scenes, right? And things get done, and the general public doesn’t know that there’s a lot that goes on.
Brian Stading:
Yeah. There’s no question about it. It’s hard work. Building fiber is a lot of hard work. It is a lot of construction, and it takes a lot of resources and a lot of supply chain activity.
Joe Coldebella:
No, that’s an awesome point because I think that a lot of folks say, “Oh, fiber’s coming into my area.” And they think it’s a light switch that can be switched on. Unfortunately, there are long timeframes. So all this money that’s coming into the space, everyone says, “Oh, hey, listen, we’re going to get fiber right away.” But it doesn’t work that way.
Brian Stading:
Yeah, it takes time. It’s a lot of work and a lot of construction and permitting as we talked about before. But it is. It is definitely a technology that’s worth the wait. It really is.
Joe Coldebella:
So everybody is sort of popping and ready to move in the direction of bringing broadband to their areas. That brings the question of the workforce. Has that been something that you’ve had a problem with or you’ve been working through? It seems to be pervasive throughout the industry.
Brian Stading:
Yeah, there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of moving parts. I will tell you that we feel very fortunate based on the scale that we’ve been expanding.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome.
Brian Stading:
We’ve had a lot of partners both from the engineering and construction side stepping up and wanting to work with us and committing resources to us. Ultimately, we’re going to have to continue to train and grow the resources to educate as we continue expanding this. But right now, we feel really good about where we’re at with our resources.
Joe Coldebella:
That’s awesome.
Brian, do you see yourself as a fiber company or as a technology company?
Brian Stading:
Yeah, that’s a great question. Clearly, fiber is the best technology, and I tell everybody for the foreseeable future, I can’t see a better technology coming down the line than fiber.
But I actually look at it as we’re a personal company because we are changing people’s lives by providing this technology. And it’s allowing people to live a life differently. I can tell you story after story about the one story. In our neighborhood, we had a preemie baby that the hospital would not let the couple bring her home because the device that was attached to her for the monitoring had to have a certain latency. And the cable does not provide that latency, and our fiber technology does. So they called us. And within that day, we had fiber installed at that house, so that they could bring their baby home. So it’s really things like that that motivate me and get us up every day.
Joe Coldebella:
It must be super gratifying. Obviously, these parents are having this incredibly huge crisis and you were able to help solve it. That is great.
Brian Stading:
Yeah, and it is something that our technology solves. Since we are involved with the community, they know they could call us, and we would turn around and deliver. That is the type of customer experience that we provide that really differentiates us. Technology is technology at the end of the day. It’s really the customer experience that you provide for that.
Joe Coldebella:
It really is. That seems to be a theme here at this event. Everyone seems to put the subscriber first, especially for the smaller guys. You understand that you’re up against these big giants, and you got to be a giant killer.
Brian Stading:
Yeah, absolutely. BSP culture is really about being extremely aggressive and doing whatever it takes to take care of the customers.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. You’re listening to The Broadband Bunch podcast. Let me give a quick shout-out to our sponsors, ETI Software and VETRO FiberMap. We are joined by the CEO of Lumos, Brian Stading.
Brian, so you’re here at Calix ConneXions. How’s the show been going for you so far? I’m sure the folks who are listening to the podcast right now can hear the energy in the background, but it really is an awesome show.
Brian Stading:
It really is, and Calix has really taken it to the next step over the next several years. They’ve continued to expand. They continue to be extremely innovative. And they listen to the customers more than any company I’ve ever seen in terms of what they try to develop, future roadmap technology. They provide a great product; they’re a great partner.
I tell everybody that the reason we have great customer experience is because of our employees and because we put the best technology into people’s homes. Essentially, the end user thinks the internet is Wi-Fi, right? And if you have problems with Wi-Fi, they think it’s your internet. And so having that great technology in the home is what makes a difference for us, as well as having the great employees that we have at Lumos. So yeah, they’re great partners, and we look forward to growing with them.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. One of the things that you spoke about today was the Calix MDU. I was wondering if you could unpack that for us. When you think of a multi-dwelling unit, I think naturally everyone thinks of apartments. But it’s more than that.
Brian Stading:
Yeah, it really is. It’s multi-use tenants, if you will, right? Because you have apartments, condos, small businesses, and medium-sized businesses that we serve. And so it’s really providing the technology and in a lot of cases providing the Wi-Fi in a way that is simple and easy for people to use. And then Calix is looking at it the right way.
They partnered with us early on in our development at a previous company of an instant-on product where if you moved into your MDU, you could just open up your laptop, enter your house or your room number, enter your credit card, and go. So it’s instant internet activation. So we partnered with Calix on that. And they’ve continued to expand that. If you look at where the development of growth is going, we’re looking at 20% of probably the homes that we pass in the future are all going to be multi-dwelling units. So having a great simple, easy solution is critical.
Joe Coldebella:
Are they doing this not only in major cities and big apartment complexes but in the small units as well, so everyone sort of gets that fiber experience?
Brian Stading:
Yeah, absolutely. And it’s a little bit of a different business model because you have to work with the developers and property managers and develop those relationships. But we have found that if you provide that technology, it really is a differentiator for them and being able to rent their properties.
Joe Coldebella:
So is the idea that it’s fiber to the premises, and then from there it is a Wi-Fi component?
Brian Stading:
Correct. Correct. You bring fiber to the unit. You have a Wi-Fi component through the router, and then you have to have a mesh. People are looking for mesh Wi-Fi now. So if they’re in their apartment, and they want to go down to the gym or the pool, they want to make sure that they’re still seamless in using their Wi-Fi. So it’s that whole mesh Wi-Fi.
Joe Coldebella:
Okay. Can you explain the mesh? Is the idea that you’ve got your own personal in your dwelling, But if you were to, say, go to the gym or the pool, you’d still have connectivity. But it would not be locked in.
Brian Stading:
Yeah. Well, it did transfer to you so you could recognize through your IP that this is your personal Wi-Fi over the more share Wi-Fi.
Joe Coldebella:
Okay. I’m new to the industry, so I’m still learning everything. So thanks for that clarification.
So obviously, you spoke for the Smart MDU, but you’re also partnering with Calix in regards to the SmartTown. I think you’re doing some really great things with that.
Brian Stading:
Yeah. This is a kind of combination of the smart home and SmartTown solutions set that they provide. But in High Point, North Carolina through the University of North Carolina Greensboro and the Technology Data Institute, they received a grant to provide efficient-cost Wi-Fi to underserved students or students that qualify for that.
So what we’ve done is we’ve partnered with Calix to provide an economically based price, internet fiber services for these students and get support from basically the grant to allow to do that. So it’s really cool. And we’ll be putting out some different technologies on top of it to ensure that there’s security, privacy, and all that’s taken care of.
Joe Coldebella:
That’s awesome. I’m a true believer that the internet is the great equalizer. You just have to give people the opportunity to get access to it, and then you let them run. I think that what you guys are doing is phenomenal.
Brian Stading:
Thank you very much. Yeah, I couldn’t agree more.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. So this has been a phenomenal visit. If folks want to learn more about Lumos, where can they go?
Brian Stading:
Go to lumosfiber.com. We just turned up our brand-new website. It’s clean; it’s slick; and it’s got all the information you want.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. Brian, thank you so very much. Maybe we’ll talk next year. But for sure, we’ve got to get you on before 2026 because I’m really excited for you, guys. It’s an audacious goal, and I’m looking forward to watching you guys chase it.
Brian Stading:
I appreciate it very much. Thanks for your time.
Joe Coldebella:
Awesome. That’s going to wrap up this episode of The Broadband Bunch. Until next time, we’ll see you guys later.
