Some specialized national contractors are seeing big results from new fiber-optic work aimed at the design and construction of superfast, gigabit-per-second broadband networks across the U.S. Mastec says it has become the biggest gigabit-network contractor in the country on the back of a race to build out the next generation of internet hardware. Dycom Industries can boast of a record 12 months for revenue and backlog numbers that are driven by “a broad increase in network upgrade demand from several top customers,” including AT&T, CenturyLink, Comcast and Verizon.
The new market carries risks. Legal disputes between internet service providers (ISPs) and tension between the public and private sectors over legacy ownership of networks means gigabit construction has turned political. Public officials are pushing high-speed, low-cost internet access as a necessity, not a luxury. The public should own networks, like other utilities, they add.