Telecom Construction as a Service

?? Estella Consulting – Phase One Completed!

We’re excited to announce the successful completion of phase one of a multi-duct, multi-service access network. What makes this project unique? At Estella, we manage everything in-house from consulting, design, and engineering to construction and maintenance. By consolidating these functions under one platform, we deliver high-quality execution and competitive pricing, reducing overall costs for our customers.? We provided a multi-market analysis, completed construction and installation of fiber facilities over a 7-month period.? About half of this network was drilled in rock.

?? In-House Expertise: ?

Our in-house approach allows us to maintain control over unit costs, resulting in lower product costs for our customers. Our platform uses real-time data for precise cost projections, ensuring that returns are achieved as long as the plan and revenue targets are met. Our network is designed for product flexibility, supporting both day-one services and shifts in technology.

?? Powerful Tools for Success: ?

We also provide a pricing and provisioning tool that allows clients to respond to customer requests in minutes, not days. This tool integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure, enhancing both performance and profitability.? Enterprise customers use this tool for capex projections and long-term network expense calculations.

?? Your Revenue Partner: ?

At Estella, we see ourselves as more than just a telecom contractor, we're a revenue partner. By handling everything in-house, we’re able to reduce costs and offer services that align with your revenue goals. Whether it’s RFP response, product development, construction, or maintenance, we’re here to support your success.

?? Disrupting the Market: ?

Though we’re a small company, our powerful tools and lean operational model have already begun to disrupt the market. We use our "Segment Value Analysis" to find opportunities for technology and cost optimization, ensuring that you get the most value out of your network investments.

?? Maximize Your Network’s Potential: ?

Service Providers - Let us help you monetize your infrastructure, compete with incumbents, protect your customer base, and expand into new markets. We’re committed to positioning your company to win.

Enterprise – Understand short term and long-term costs associated with operating a fiber optic network.? Estella has been collecting and documenting telecommunications data for more than 25 years.? This data has helped refine our model so that it remains flexible and will utilize what data you point at it correctly to ensure network provisioning motility.?

?? Phase 1, approximately 50,000’, is underground and supports high-capacity transport for service providers, enterprises, SMB, and residential broadband.

Narrative

Construction as a Service

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Over the years, I've sold various telecom products to numerous companies, and they often shared a common challenge: capital. For those building and selling telecom transport services, the industry has seen fundamental shifts in how data moves from point A to B, driven by innovations that make networks faster and more efficient. With demand for bandwidth continually rising due to consumer and application needs, companies will keep investing more capital.

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As a salesperson competing against well-funded startups and incumbents, I learned the importance of time and efficient investment in outreach. Understanding the basics of Outside Plant (OSP) and the financial models driving service and expansion became crucial lessons often learned through hard-fought experience. At the turn of the millennium, we were navigating new territory and discovering these insights as we went along. One consistent challenge was the unpredictability and cost of OSP construction.

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Those experienced in telecom understand how OSP costs can vary drastically due to factors like geography, civil landscape, or regulation. Driven by curiosity, I invested in equipment and built fiber optic networks with my own construction teams, gaining unique insights into the operating costs versus market construction rates for a simple transport route.

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I never sold construction as a standalone service. Instead, each project aimed to create an asset enabling service. After experimenting with this approach for two years, my idea has solidified: why should clients pay upfront construction costs when they ultimately seek reliable service? We build at cost, aligning capital with client expectations. Service is sold on a by-circuit, by facility basis, focusing on end results rather than upfront costs.

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Traditionally, a carrier and a construction company each aim to realize substantial margins, which ultimately raises the customer’s cost. But why contract for both construction and service when you only need the latter? Construction as a service allows carriers to focus on service delivery without the capital strain impacting customer pricing and experience.

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This approach can support typical telecom transactions like customer acquisition, private network builds, or new market expansion, all demanding time, capital, and execution. Recently, we completed the initial phase of a three-market build for a client, covering about 50,000 feet of underground construction, ensuring carrier diversity at the physical layer.? This network was designed and enabled day 1 to support the various services and contract levels needed to reach revenue goals.? It is then up to the customer to sell.?

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What makes this investment unique is our proactive approach. We understand asset cost metrics, allowing us to address market needs with competitive service levels from day one. This streamlined approach simplifies fulfillment for new requests, establishes unit costs, and avoids surprises like, unexpected construction needs, that can lead to higher costs and reduced customer satisfaction.

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This model isn’t for every scenario, but it’s worth considering for customer acquisition, market aggregation, and end-user services. Middle-mile and long-haul networks present different challenges; these segments require detailed evaluations for effective service delivery and monetization.

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The past two years have been eye-opening in understanding the baseline costs of delivering data. My career, spanning 25 years, has been dedicated to telecom, honing efficiencies that prepare clients for market success and competing at a high level against top-tier companies.

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For those I've worked with, I’ve listened to your insights—both constructive and cautionary, as this field is not without its grifters. I was fortunate early on to have a great mentor who taught me transport fundamentals, interoffice transport, and the standards that drive telecom network construction. Without understanding the underlying reasons, it’s hard to provide the right solutions.

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In conclusion, rethinking transport costs without immediate capital requirements could be a game-changer. It’s exciting to explore others’ networks, understand their creation, and craft monetization plans. For service providers with underperforming revenue and a need to explore new monetization avenues, we’re here to take a deeper look. Our goal remains simple: to seize opportunities quickly, precisely, and cost-effectively, empowering our clients to achieve sustainable revenue.

?? For discussion, reach out: [email protected]