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People are at the heart of everything we do. Each team member brings their own unique experience, perspective, and passion to the table. That’s why we love taking a moment to spotlight the faces behind the work. This time, we caught up with Ed Bagnall, Managing Director for the EMEA region, to chat about his background, thoughts on the industry, and what he’s excited about in his new role.
The 3-GIS team just spent the week with over 15,000 geospatial professionals from 130-plus countries at the 2025 Esri User Conference.1 The show brought about conversations discussing integration, fiber rollout hurdles, and the always encouraging success stories. From the booth to speaking sessions and side-hall conversations, a few consistent themes emerged: how can we scale networks faster, protect critical assets, and navigate volatile funding with proven, integrated tools. Here’s a look at the biggest insights and standouts from the week.
The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) promises a potentially significant step forward for asset owners, utility providers, and network operators across the UK. Designed as a centralised platform for underground asset data, NUAR is poised to enhance safety, reduce project delays, and improve coordination across industries involved in digging and construction.1 Although infrastructure mapping has typically occurred in silos, NUAR introduces a new opportunity for greater integration and cooperation among asset stakeholders.
When the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice in June 2025, most attention focused on changes to funding priorities and fiber-first policies. But buried deeper in the guidance is something with real operational weight: a new federal requirement for environmental permitting coordination.
As of now, every BEAD awardee must use the NTIA’s Environmental Screening and Permitting Tracking Tool (ESAPTT) for any project requiring review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).1 According to NTIA, this move will “significantly reduce the time and effort required for broadband permitting.”2 That could mean cutting 3–6 months off approval timelines—if awardees have their network data ready.
The stakes are high for fiber service providers: contracts come with strict service-level agreements (SLAs), customer expectations around reliability are increasing, and the cost of delayed fault response—both in dollars and reputation—is growing. Fiber may be more resilient than copper, but it’s not immune to cuts, degradation, or equipment impacts.
But even with sophisticated systems in place, many operators are still relying on manual fault response workflows—waiting for alarms to stack up, dispatching trucks without a confirmed location, or hearing about issues from customers first.
It’s an approach that isn’t just inefficient—it’s costly too.
June was anything but quiet for telecom. Policy shakeups from NTIA are reshaping how $42.5 billion in BEAD funding can be used, fiber expansion continues in rural markets, and new AI-related bills are tying broadband dollars to regulation. Add in growing sentiment for fiber in underserved areas and a big acquisition in Virginia—and it’s clear the landscape is shifting fast.
In a world increasingly defined by speed, connectivity, and digital equity, building faster broadband infrastructure is a national and social imperative. Governments across the globe are pushing for widespread fibre deployment to close the digital divide and supercharge economic development.1 But as telcos race to deliver, one big question looms: How do we scale quickly, affordably, and sustainably?
The answer, in part, lies in better collaboration, specifically in smarter ways of managing shared fibre infrastructure. But here’s the catch: sharing infrastructure only works if the systems that underpin it are modern, live, and interoperable. Too often, they’re not. And the consequences can be surprisingly disruptive.
Back in 2021, Congress allocated $42.45 billion to the NTIA to create the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program—or BEAD. This was done to bring 100/20 Mbps service to every unserved and underserved location in the country.¹
Why the major investment in fiber? Because our communities depend on it for growth, adding over $1.6 trillion in household income and 380,000 in new jobs, according to a Fiber Broadband Association study.²