Among the items that seem to have gotten caught up in ongoing and pervasive supply chain issues (the latest I was aghast to hear were French fries- the horror!) have been supplies critical to broadband deployment.
For more than a year, NTCA has heard consistent concern from across our membership regarding the availability of various supplies, including but not limited to fiber. We watched the early creep from weeks to months for order fulfillment and even saw some NTCA member companies being told the wait would be a year. Yikes! We also know the pressures that our members are under with construction crew availability and government deadlines and that has increased the pressures. As we consider ways we can help members with such concerns in addition to advocacy on the issues, we have been talking with various manufacturers about potential programs that might help in fulfilling NTCA member demand for certain supplies.
This is where NTCA members can step in to really help themselves. Any of these discussions we are having with vendors really necessitate getting a real handle on what the demand and expectations for fiber needs are, and no one is better poised to give us their best sense of demand for that than all of you.
The NTCA Fiber Demand Survey represents an important step in this process by helping us to evaluate demand for various kinds of fiber over the next several years. To capture as accurately as possible the level of demand and interest in potential NTCA solutions, however, we need substantial participation in this survey from across the NTCA membership. Without active participation and a strong response, we will have less ability to advocate for the constructive next steps we are hoping to see from the fiber providers.
To encourage participation, we are extremely grateful to Corning for providing a total of $6,000 in Visa gift cards that will be made available in varying amounts as described in the survey documentation to winners in a drawing from among those that complete the survey. For official contest rules, visit our website here.
Who should take this survey?
The questions in this survey require an intimate knowledge of your fiber network including project forecasts and product selection. The right person may be an outside plant manager or network engineer, and input from multiple people may be required. To minimize the impact of over forecasting potential demand, we request only one survey response per company. If data collection from multiple people is required, we recommend you collaborate internally to give the desired response.
The NTCA Fiber Demand Survey is currently scheduled to close on January 26 at 5 p.m. Eastern, and eligibility for gift card awards will end as of that date. Questions about the survey should be directed to Mike Romano at [email protected] or 703-351-2016. I love that Mike is always willing to take the hard questions.
I want to thank you in advance for your participation. And I hope you take advantage of being part of your own possible solution to supply chain woes!
