The following transcript has been edited for length and readability. Listen to the entire discussion here on The Broadband Bunch.
In this episode of the Broadband Bunch, we visit with James Rogan, Digital and Future Cities, Sector Lead at Bechtel. Join us as we discuss the Bechtel partnership with the UK’s City Fibre as well as some of the different infrastructure projects Bechtel is working on around the world. Topics include:
Craig Corbin:
Hello everyone. Welcome to another edition of The Broadband Bunch. Along with my colleague, David Campbell, I’m Craig Corbin. Thanks so much for joining us today. Any conversation involving the expansion of broadband services will invariably include the topic of infrastructure. Given the ever-increasing number of projects deploying digital platforms around the globe, expertise in delivering those projects is very much in high demand.
Craig Corbin:
Our guest today is part of an organization possessing just such expertise. Bechtel, one of the world’s leading engineering construction and project management companies, has for more than 120 years helped customers deliver projects that enable current and future generations to thrive.
Craig Corbin:
Since 1898, Bechtel has built more than 25,000 projects in countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world’s infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services … And in the process, they’ve helped make the world a safer and cleaner place.
Craig Corbin:
It’s an organization differentiated by the quality of its people, and a relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes aligning its capabilities to customers’ objectives. Our guest leads the digital communications sector for Bechtel and is responsible for strategy and marketing for their global business related to infrastructure installation of wireless networks, fibre, data centres, EV charging, and next-generation improvements to cities infrastructure.
Craig Corbin:
He’s been a member of the Bechtel team for more than two decades. And while now California-based for the past seven years, he has worked abroad including projects in the UK, and on a $1.6 billion transmission project in Alberta, Canada. It is a pleasure to introduce James Rogan, digital and future cities sector lead for Bechtel. James, welcome to The Broadband Bunch.
James Rogan:
Hey. Thank you very much, Craig. Very excited to be here. Thanks for that very kind intro. Excited to discuss all topics with you here. Thanks.
Craig Corbin:
Absolutely. And when we talk about Bechtel, it is so obvious that we could only scratch the surface with regard to the tremendous variety of projects going on in so many different sectors around the world. Those numbers in the intro are just mind-boggling when you consider the number of products that have been completed over so many years and so many places around the world.
Craig Corbin:
But our focus today, obviously, dealing with the communications world and infrastructure projects there. And so, excited to have your perspective. Just to give us a bit of an overview … If you would share your perspective of what Bechtel brings to the communications infrastructure conversation?
James Rogan:
Thanks, Craig. Yeah. Bechtel brings, I think, a number of things. Firstly, experience. We’ve been working communications business probably about 50 years now, and have worked all over the world on six of continents. Haven’t done anything in Antarctica yet, but we’ve worked on all the other ones.
James Rogan:
Our experience, I think, is what we bring. We bring good, qualified people. People who understand the business, people who have a can-do attitude to try and make things happen for our customers and for their end-users. I think those are the main things that we bring as Bechtel.
Craig Corbin:
Obviously, there’s such importance now on digital as far as the entire picture around the world. What is Bechtel’s view on the importance of digital?
James Rogan:
Well, it’s obviously very important to everyone around the world. It’s something that looks to the future. We’ve got digital communications expanding throughout the globe. I think we’ve seen recently, with things going on with COVID with lockdowns, we’ve seen an acceleration of the need for digital and connectivity throughout the world.
James Rogan:
But it’s changing, I think. It’s going from being a, “nice to have,” to a must-have. It’s gone from people needing faster internet connectivity so that maybe they could watch a movie faster or download things faster, to now it’s how we work and how we educate our children. I think those are some of the things that we see. There is a great divide it seems across the world with people who have and do not have access to high-speed internet.
James Rogan:
We see that cities and urban areas are probably better served than some other places around the globe. And that’s changing, but we think that there are opportunities around the world and in education. The way we work, developing future technologies, innovation, our health, our wellbeing as well, is going to be impacted by our ability to have access to digital communications.
Craig Corbin:
No question about that. One of the big efforts around the globe with the focus on just what you talked about was the digital transformation underway in the UK. I actually had an opportunity on an earlier edition of The Broadband Bunch to visit with Richard Thorpe, the chief delivery officer at City Fibre.
Craig Corbin:
They’re so involved in a project there. And we talked about the vital importance of partnering with Bechtel, especially given the scale and pace of their current program.
Richard Thorpe:
We looked at the rate of change and the growth that we as a company were going to have to go through. At the peak, we were going to be recruiting something like a hundred FTE a month, just to keep pace with the contract. Well, clearly, that’s just difficult in any industry.
Richard Thorpe:
And one that was moving so fast as this, we really did take a hard look at where we needed core competency, and where we needed to really shore up our organization to give us the real, best chance of delivering this thing to time-cost quality. We got to look around, and it’s fairly well understood that Bechtel is renowned for its project management and contract management capability. They’re just world-class at it.
Craig Corbin:
James, when you hear that from Richard, obviously that speaks extremely well for Bechtel. Your thoughts?
James Rogan:
Well, first of all, very kind of Richard to say. I think we’re very excited about the opportunity to work with City Fibre. It’s a fantastic organization. The opportunity to bring fibre to so many folks in the UK. And to have an impact on so many people’s lives there, I think it’s an honour and it’s a challenge.
James Rogan:
But I think Richard is spot-on with the needs that you have for such a large scale program. Especially, starting from a smaller base and moving as rapidly and growing as rapidly. You need to have the right project management skills in place, the right contract management skills in place. And I think we’ve been able to work very well together with City Fibre in bringing those skills.
James Rogan:
Maybe people from other industries who haven’t worked in communications and in fibre, but have worked with project-managing other types of builds. It’s having that ability to manage problems, anticipate problems, organize the project in the correct way so that you’re able to have things run as smoothly as they can.
James Rogan:
And also understanding that sometimes there will be problems. How you react to those problems and jump in and start solving them is really important. I think that’s what our teams are doing. I think they’re working together in a collaborative way to make this project a success.
David Campbell:
Hi, James. It’s David Campbell here.
James Rogan:
Hi, David.
David Campbell:
Hi. I noted your comment that you’re bringing scout people from other areas, other industries. This market is highly competitive. And with major players like BT and Virgin Media vying for a scaled engineering resource … Does the innovative approach that City Fibre have taken towards partnering give you assurance and some stability for you and your delivery teams over the coming years?
James Rogan:
I think it does. I think, whenever you’re able to look at something and say, “Hey, we’re not just looking at this for six months or a year or two years,” that we’re able to develop a real partnership. I think it allows the two organizations to work together in such a way that it’s seamless. Where the person who is in the role, doing the job, it doesn’t matter what it says on their paycheck or what badge their shirt has on it.
James Rogan:
It’s that they’re working towards one goal of City Fibre, to provide this infrastructure. And as far as stability, I think it does. It gives our people confidence, the employees of the various organizations, and I think it also gives a good, strong message to the contracting community as well. That they’re in this as well with us.
James Rogan:
There’s, I think, a lot of training that needs to be done with folks in the UK around this. With so much work going on, there’ll be some upskilling and some training that needs to happen. And in order for people to invest in that training, we need to make sure that they’ve got a longer view in some secured work that’s going to allow them to make that investment and have that investment pay off for them. I think, absolutely, it’s important for us to approach this as a partnering view rather than a transactional type of approach.
David Campbell:
That’s great. Thank you for that.
Craig: Corbin:
Also wanted, James, to get your thoughts on another comment from that previous visit that we had with Richard, with regard to the relationship between City Fibre and Bechtel.
James Rogan:
Richard was quite adamant about the critical importance of that partnership in order to demonstrate core competency of project management and solid contract management, not only to their stakeholders and board, but also to the government, regulators, and the industry.
Richard Thorpe:
We need to make sure that we can provide certainty, clarity on the plan, quality on the plan, cost control. Again, all of the great stuff that we know Bechtel are just really good at and is going to help us leverage it. Of course, it’s not all one way. The good thing is that Bechtel is also learning from City Fibre on the best way to put this model, this factory together.
Richard Thorpe:
We, as a result, are just uplifting the core competency of a whole organization as a result of the Bechtel partnership. All in all, the dials all really start moving in the right direction in terms of time, cost, and quality. And that’s providing nothing but real confidence in our investors, confidence with the government, and confidence across the industry. We’re a great partnership throughout.
Craig Corbin:
James, when you hear remarks about uplifting the core competency of an entire organization as a result of a partnership with your organization … That speaks volumes. Doesn’t it?
James Rogan:
Yes, it does. I think we’re working very well with City Fibre. I think that they’re bringing a fantastic organization and marrying up with our organization. It’s just a great relationship. I think Richard has said some very kind things about Bechtel in here.
James Rogan:
And we think that … Our job and the job of our team is, I think, to prove that everyone was right about this partnership. That Bechtel and City Fibre is going to work fantastically together and deliver on our goals, which, again, is working towards getting those five million homes fibre access as soon as we possibly can.
David Campbell:
That’s great, James. It’s David again. A great partnership throughout. Richard Thorpe and the City Fibre management team place great confidence in Bechtel. I’ve worked with service suppliers over the years, and I’ve seen good teams move around the market. Does this refreshing approach make it easier to attract and create, maintain high-quality project management teams?
James Rogan:
I think so, yes. I think knowing that you’re there for a long time, knowing that your customer wants you there and likes you … Everyone wants to work in an environment where you can put some of the politics aside, and you can focus on the job at hand. And the job in-hand in this case, again, delivering for the end-users here. The end customers.
James Rogan:
I think it’s helpful for maintaining talent. I think our employees, the Bechtel employees who’ve gone over there, are excited to be working on this and working with the City Fibre team. We’re six months into it now. We’ve done a good amount of team-building, and I think we are moving forward as one team.
James Rogan:
And it’s very helpful to retain talent and to grow talent if you have an environment that is welcoming, that is trusting, that there is learning that can happen and growth that can happen for all of our teams together. I think it’s a very positive environment.
David Campbell:
Yeah, that’s really good. I find it’s really interesting, because over the years you work with a contract, sometimes you feel that you just have those jobs stacked onto you. And, of course, you don’t feel part of a partnership. But, of course, if you’re working together with a project team on-site with your customer, I’m sure it must make an awful lot easier to get things done.
James Rogan:
Yeah. I think you’re exactly right. Yep.
David Campbell:
Thank you.
Craig Corbin:
You know, guys, when we look at projects such as the partnership between Bechtel, City Fibre, on such a huge scale … And, James, obviously there are many other examples that Bechtel has been involved in around the globe in this particular area.
Craig Corbin:
I’m curious about your observations on trends in the digital world and the challenges that you have seen in projects all across the globe. Your thoughts on that?
James Rogan:
I think trends that we’re seeing … Bechtel is, as I said, very focused on City Fibre, but we have done other work in other places around the globe, in the US and other places. As far as trends go, I see a big acceleration in fibre deployment. I think that people are recognizing it as the best way to connect people digitally. It gives the best speeds, the highest speeds, and I think that people are seeing that as a must-have.
James Rogan:
And we’re seeing around the world, different places getting connected. I was talking with some folks in Africa a few weeks ago, and a lot of progress has been made there for more fibre expansion. I think, when I look at what was going on in Africa five years ago, it was all about mobile phones. Now, there’s a lot of fibre that’s been laid there, and a second ring around the continent is underway.
James Rogan:
And so, I think we’re seeing more fibre, a lot of places. I think from a challenges standpoint … I think some of it we’re seeing short-term, just as a result of COVID. When I look back at what’s going on in the US, we’re seeing a lot of fibre. If you work in the industry, you see a lot of challenges around permitting. And sometimes that can take some time.
James Rogan:
I think a lot of the agencies in permitting that have been impacted by COVID have seen their business-as-usual approach, which would have been to go in physically into an office and get a permit that way, a lot of that has been turned on its ear. We aren’t able to have that kind of interaction. And so, people are now, I think, relying on more online permitting.
James Rogan:
And I think the agencies have done a fantastic job of adjusting to this new way of doing things. But that’s one of the challenges I see. And then, probably a larger challenge that I see overall is getting the labour trained to do this kind of work.
Craig Corbin:
No doubt.
James Rogan:
I think we’ve seen fibre being … I first started working in fibre 20 years ago, when we were building a lot of rings around cities and there was a big push at the beginning of the dot com boom in the late nineties, early two thousand. And there was this massive rush of getting people to be trained to use the tools. And these are skilled labourers. Right? This is not teaching someone how to use a hammer, using a boring machine.
Craig Corbin:
Right.
James Rogan:
It’s a very complicated tool. And you need to have things. You need to have the experience, and you need to have the ability to work with these tools. And so, upskilling this labour and having it be a market that people see as a career, I think, is something that we’re seeing the world over as a challenge.
James Rogan:
Someone who is able to use a boring machine and do the trenching and the other applications … To me, it’s a career. It’s not something you’re going to do for the next, two or three or four years. It’s something that young people today could take on and have a job for the rest of their lives. It’s a true skill.
James Rogan:
Sometimes it’s convincing folks to do it and making sure we’ve got the right training in place, I think, is something that we’re seeing as a challenge. Bechtel is hoping to be part of that solution in trying to train people, trying to define the opportunities for long-term growth. And City Fibre and other companies around the world are also recognizing that as a challenge and trying to be part of the solution.
Craig Corbin:
You’re listening to The Broadband Bunch. And we’re visiting with James Rogan, digital and future cities sector lead for Bechtel. You talk about other projects around the globe. With regard to city infrastructure projects, I know that Bechtel has, for the better part of a decade, been involved with the Smart Cities Council.
Craig Corbin:
So many efforts, everywhere you turn seemingly, by municipalities to better connect their citizens. Give us an overview, if you would, of the footprint of the work going on by Bechtel in the communications sector.
James Rogan:
Bechtel has a fairly large footprint in the Southwestern part of the United States. Working with a number of different customers, building out mobile networks there. And so, whether that be installing 5G on macro towers, building small cell sites, building fibre that supports both of those. And so, that’s certainly a key area for us for mobile technology.
James Rogan:
We’re also working with local cities and municipalities in that same part of the world. That’s out in the Southern California area, actually, working to try and improve the traffic flows. And to try and make sure that the municipalities are able to more effectively move the people around in their cities and in their County, to make it a better place to live and a better place for businesses to operate.
James Rogan:
We’ve done work in the Southeastern part of the United States and in the Northeastern part of the United States. In the Southeast, mostly around the fibre. Installing large fibre networks there has been an important part of our business. As well as the infrastructure in the Northeastern part of the United States. In New York City and other places, we’ve done a lot of work building out networks there from fibre and from mobile networks.
James Rogan:
But Bechtel is involved with trying to create smart cities and digital … Improving the infrastructure around the world. Projects that you don’t normally think of as communications projects. We’re doing a project in Serbia, building a motorway there.
Craig Corbin:
Interesting.
James Rogan:
Ten years ago, you would have just built a motorway. And you would have focused on the bridges and making sure that you’re getting the asphalt poured in the alignment. Now, you’re concerned about, well, how do I get cable in there? How do I get fibre optic cable? How do I lay fibre optic cable alongside this?
James Rogan:
And think about the other infrastructure that you’re going to need as part of building one piece of infrastructure like a motorway. That you’re going to need to build fibre optic cable alongside that. Maybe in the future, you’re going to see people thinking about EV charging stations and laying fibre and having 5G hotspots along there, to give the users of that piece of infrastructure and ability to access the internet wherever they are.
James Rogan:
We’re seeing this also in … We do a lot of work with airports and we’re seeing that this isn’t just building a building for people to wait while they catch their plane. Now, it’s about making sure that they have the right experience when they’re there. That they have access to the high-speed internet, that security measures are the latest and greatest and using the right technology. Whether it be facial recognition and other abilities, to allow for the customers of those airports to have the best experience.
James Rogan:
It goes into infrastructure. Some of the work is pure laying fibre optic cable or building a mobile phone tower. But we see it going into other aspects of our business as well, which I think is really an exciting thing to see. That convergence of different technologies. I think it’s something that Bechtel is proud to be able to demonstrate as what we think is one of our core competencies, is bringing that whole thing together for our customers.
Craig Corbin:
And I think you just hit the nail on the head because at least from my perspective, that’s part of the strength of what Bechtel brings to so many relationships. In particular, the one that we have mentioned on a couple of occasions in this conversation, that with City Fibre.
Craig Corbin:
The ability to have expertise in so many different sectors come to play with building such an immense project of infrastructure there in the UK. But the experience that Bechtel has had in so many other areas has been a positive influence on that. Obviously, something that the folks at City Fibre greatly value, the expertise and the partnership there.
Craig Corbin:
I’m always curious too, James, as we begin to wind down our visit, about what drives each of our guests in this particular pursuit of success with companies that are making a difference each and every day around the world. But I’m curious about what drives you personally. What’s your passion for the industry? If you could share that with us.
James Rogan:
Sure. Thanks. No, it’s a great question. I’ve worked for Bechtel since college. I joined almost 25 years ago. I’ll hit my 25 years in six weeks.
Craig Corbin:
Congratulations.
James Rogan:
Thank you. To me, it’s about being part of building something. Those were the types of companies I looked at joining after I left university, and still to this day find passion in. It helps you get up in the morning if you know that you’re building something and every day it’s going to be a little bit more improved, the thing that you’re building.
James Rogan:
I’ve worked in communications for probably half of my career and my other half in the building. As you talked about, transmission lines, but refineries and power plants and other things around the world. And the thing to me that holds it all together, is knowing that I’m building something that’s making society better and that is a useful asset for the customers that we’re working with. That, to me, is what gets me up in the morning.
Craig Corbin:
That is great. And so appreciative of being able to learn about what you’re involved in with Bechtel. We appreciate being able to get a small window on the relationship between Bechtel and City Fibre or the efforts there.
Craig Corbin:
And I certainly hope that we can visit again at some point down the line to get an update on projects, such as between Bechtel, City Fibre, and other efforts around the globe. It’s been an absolute treat to visit with you and greatly appreciate your time, sir.
James Rogan:
Hey, thanks so much, Craig. I appreciate that. And David appreciates hearing or talking with each of you. Look forward to a future conversation.
Craig Corbin:
Absolutely. On behalf of David and everyone here, I am most appreciative of the time. Thanks for letting us be a part of your day. We’ll see you next time, right here, on The Broadband Bunch. So long, everyone.
