FFB 2025 Week 28 – The Critical Role of Underground Construction in the Rush to Install Fiber

For the past several years, fiber installation has continued to push forward to new levels of demand. Horizontal directional drilling (HDD), the construction medium seemingly made for fiber installation, has desperately been trying to keep up with booming project appetites across America. While micro-trenching and other construction methods are also being employed as part of the fiber construction tsunami, HDD, due to its environmentally friendly qualities combined with speedy construction process, remains the preferred installation method.

The need for speed has spread to every corner of the country. Fiber represents the economic engines for small towns as well as huge metropolises. Thus, small rig HDD operators are being stretched to their limits even as new contractors are entering the HDD market in hopes of riding the fiber wave to prosperity. The problem is that often inexperience brings a new set of challenges to the jobsite.

Adding to the already red-hot fiber installation market is the pending BEAD funding program for rural and underserved areas. When BEAD does finally start being released, the HDD market is bracing for another era of accelerated workload demands.

In the next episode of Fiber for Breakfast, Mike Render, president of RVA Market Research and Consulting, and Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief of Underground Infrastructure magazine, join Gary Bolton, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association, to share insights from the publication’s 27th annual HDD Survey—revealing a strong market grappling to meet growing demand.

With Special Guest:

Michael Render, CEO & Principal Analyst, RVA LLC Market Research and Consulting
Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief, Underground Infrastructure