Telecom and utilities news and perspectives

• Fiber network management
• Fiber network industry and markets
• Telecom technologies

How the telecom skills gap is reshaping operations

Telecom networks are expanding faster than ever. Today, fiber is available to more than half of U.S. households, a share that continues to grow as public and private investment ramps up.¹ Fiber is pushing deeper into communities, funding programs are compressing build timelines, and expectations for reliability keep rising. 

At the same time, the people who know how these networks actually work, and more importantly how to keep them running, are becoming harder to find.

• Fiber network industry and markets
• Telecom technologies
• Press

Telecom industry pulse: December 2025 recap

Network news roundup

December closed the year with a familiar mix of momentum and friction. Operators kept pushing fiber deeper into markets; states worked to clear long-standing permitting bottlenecks, and AI-driven demand continued to shape backbone decisions. At the same time, uncertainty around the U.S. Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program crept back in, and big carriers made it clear that internal restructuring is far from over.

• Telecom technologies
• 3-GIS utilities solutions

Lighting the way for 5G joint use

Editor’s note: Originally published by SSP Innovations under SSP SPANS. Updated by the 3-GIS Team with the current product name, 3-GIS | SPANS, and other revisions.   

5G is here. One after another, carriers are announcing go-live dates for new 5G networks, racing to meet the demand for faster speeds. For the average user, the goal is simply more bars on their phone. But behind the scenes, the implementation of 5G is complex and creates unique challenges for providers. 

• 3-GIS utilities solutions
• GIS

How utilities are making their field tools easier to use and manage

Editor’s note: Originally published by SSP Innovations under SSP MIMS. Updated by the 3-GIS Team with the current product name, 3-GIS | MIMS, and other revisions. 

Mobile technology continues to evolve, and in the utility industry, mobile solutions are now everywhere. Many utilities run multiple applications from different vendors, often without a cohesive strategy for managing them. Some are essential, others overlap, and a few may even duplicate functions. So how do you get control of your mobile environment and make sure it supports your goals? The answer is to develop an enterprise mobile strategy. 

• Fiber network industry and markets
• Telecom technologies
• Press

Telecom industry pulse: November 2025 recap

Network news roundup

From workforce pressures to new federal rules, inland long-haul routes, and aggressive fiber builds tied to AI, November’s headlines showed the same core trend: the market is moving ahead, but the economics and staffing behind those builds are getting harder to ignore. 

• Esri
• 3-GIS utilities solutions
• 3-GIS telecom solutions

Our top takeaways from Esri IMGIS 2025

The Esri Infrastructure Management & GIS Conference (IMGIS) brought together telecom, utility, and infrastructure professionals looking to build smarter, more connected networks.

For 3-GIS, this year marked a milestone. With the addition of our full utility product line, both telecom and utility teams came together under one roof for the first time. That shared presence reflected what’s happening across the industry as fiber and utility networks converge, facing the same challenges in data accuracy, field coordination, and system integration.

• Fiber network industry and markets
• AltNets

INCA Summit 2025: Building value, not just fibre

After years of rapid expansion and ambitious build targets, the UK’s AltNet landscape is shifting from a race to connect homes to a battle to deliver sustainable value. With competition intensifying, funding pressures mounting, and customers expecting more than just speed, independent network operators are rethinking what growth really means. Questions around consolidation, service differentiation, and operational efficiency now dominate business conversations, marking the next stage in the sector’s evolution.

• Esri
• Fiber network management
• Telecom technologies
• 3-GIS telecom solutions

What is Esri’s Telecom Domain Network (TDN)?

When Esri introduced the Telecom Domain Network (TDN), it marked an important step forward for modeling communication networks within the ArcGIS Utility Network (commonly referred to as the UN). At the same time, it also raises new questions about how the TDN relates to existing fiber asset management systems, including 3-GIS | Web.

3-GIS has long worked within the Esri ecosystem to help telecom providers get the most from GIS technology. With the TDN emerging, we’re helping lead the conversation on what it means for the future of network management.