Telecom and utilities news and perspectives

• Fiber network industry and markets
• GIS

Connecting Canada: How local fiber networks are shaping national progress

Across Canada, fiber projects are reshaping how people connect, learn, and work. But behind every new strand of cable lies a complex story of planning, mapping, and coordination. Building a national network means aligning hundreds of local efforts under one connected vision.

That local momentum is adding up. National targets aim to connect 98% of Canadians by 2026 and achieve universal access by 2030.¹ It’s a goal built on collaboration, where municipalities, service providers, and engineering teams each play a part in shaping a connected Canada.

• 3-GIS utilities solutions
• GIS
• Press

Powerful new capabilities now available in 3-GIS | MIMS and Productivity release 5.4

Release 5.4 of 3-GIS | MIMS and 3-GIS | Productivity introduces enhancements in mobile GIS functionality, enterprise network information management support, and user experience optimization. These updates extend the capabilities of both platforms while maintaining compatibility with the latest Esri technologies. 3-GIS | MIMS (formerly SSP MIMS) and 3-GIS | Productivity (formerly SSP Productivity) are now fully aligned under the 3-GIS software portfolio.

• Telecom technologies
• GIS
• Employee spotlight

Employee spotlight: Ed Bagnall

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.

• Esri
• Fiber network industry and markets
• GIS

Our top takeaways from the 2025 Esri User Conference

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.

• Fiber network management
• Broadband funding
• GIS
• FTTH

Why your BEAD build needs a GIS fiber asset management system

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

• Fiber network industry and markets
• Telecom technologies
• GIS

How GIS transforms fiber proposals - Part 3: Creating accurate cost estimates

Cost miscalculations. The silent deal-killers of the fiber proposals process. Following our exploration of slow, manual processes and asset visibility challenges, we now address the most problematic factor that 37% of organizations we surveyed in a recent webinar identify as their biggest hurdle: creating accurate cost estimates.

• Fiber network industry and markets
• Telecom technologies
• GIS

How GIS transforms fiber proposals - Part 1: The cost of manual proposal methods

Ever wonder why some fiber providers consistently win contracts while others struggle to close deals? In a recent webinar, we pulled back the curtain on what's really happening in the proposal process. The (not so) shocking reality? Many providers are losing winnable deals due to slow, manual processes, poor visibility into their network assets, and proposals with cost estimates that miss the mark.

• Fiber network management
• Telecom technologies
• GIS

Making maps inclusive: Supporting colour vision deficiency using GIS

GIS is essential for network planning, management, and optimisation. Telecom professionals rely on these tools to make sense of complex spatial data, helping them make informed decisions to keep networks running smoothly. But one aspect of GIS can easily get overlooked: accessibility.