Blog
Writing on broadband analytics, reporting, GIS and AI for fiber operators, from the team that builds the data platforms behind them.
Latest Posts
What BEAD Money Asks of Your Records
BEAD subgrants pay on milestones met and units built, not on what the work cost. What a BEAD compliance and reporting process actually needs from your systems, and why those records have to outlive the software that produced them.
AI Agents vs. Chatbots for Broadband Providers
For most providers, the AI they have actually used is a chat window, which quietly sets the expectation that AI is something you go and ask. The split between an assistant and an agent is what we spent the most time on at our FISPA webinar in August.
Why We Bought Into Fiber Homes
Last year we took on some backend engineering work for Fiber Homes. Getting deep into the platform is how we found what it actually holds, and why Broadband Insights is now an owner of Fiber Homes Holdings.
Where Does Subscriber Data Go When an ISP Uses AI?
It is the first question providers ask us, usually before anything else on the agenda. The one that matters more arrives when you stand up AI on your own data, and three things Databricks has shipped this year land on exactly that.
Why Your Metrics Should Roll Up to the Serving Area
Distribution area, fiber serving area, fiberhood. Every operator has a different word for the same shape, and at Metro Connect this year almost every reporting conversation we had came back to it.
Designed for Managers, Not Data Scientists
The person who needs the answer is usually the one furthest from the tools, and a two week wait quietly filters out the interesting questions. This year we got early access to something that closes that gap, and we packaged it for broadband as Rapid Dash.
Vibe Analytics for Exploratory Data Analysis
When an operator asks a question nobody has a chart for yet, the old answer was to come back in a week or two. At COLLIDE 2025 in Atlanta we presented how we close that gap, and where the approach stops being useful.
Why Your Metrics Never Live in One Place
Ask for footage built, homes passed, and take rate and you get three answers, from three systems, from three different people. There is usually no one person who has all three. At Fiber Connect 2025 in Nashville we walked two use cases from opposite ends of the build to show what changes once they sit together.
Stranded Assets on Fiber Builds and How to Avoid Them
Duct gets placed where the permits cleared, then sits. It is capitalized, it shows up as Footage Built, and it earns nothing until the rest of the route connects. A delay on one bridge crossing can strand millions for years.
Enterprise-Ready Data Apps for Broadband Providers
BBI did a webinar with Data Science Connect where we showcased our analytics platform and how it helps ISPs unlock deeper insights. The main highlight was an LLM powered chatbot integrated directly into the app, making it super simple to extract insights.
The Benefit of Time-Series Data for Broadband Providers
A live query tells you there are 15,000 subscribers today. It cannot tell you whether that is growth or decline, or what monthly ARPU looks like for commercial customers. We snapshot the tech stack daily so the history exists to ask.
The Challenge of Accurate Address Data
Address data is riddled with inconsistencies across systems, 123 Fake Street versus 123 fake st. We use the geohash to match and verify addresses between systems within set distance thresholds.
Municipal Audit Dashboard Sample
In collaboration with Katapult Engineering, we built a sample dashboard showing the feasibility of municipal fiber builds by using pole data from Katapult Pro
How We Use Analytics for Sales and Marketing Teams
Aggregating data from the broadband tech stack for sales and marketing is a top use case for BBI’s analytics platform. Check out our short video and key highlights.
Make Ready Assessment Dashboard
In preparation for Fiber Connect we finished up a “Red Yellow Green” make ready assessment dashboard in collaboration with Vulcan Line Tools.
BEAD Challenge Analysis
We published an interactive version of an in-depth analysis done by the Pew Center on the BEAD Challenge process.
ACP Analysis
With the ACP enrollment closed and the funding expected to run out in April, we wanted to release a map to show the impact if this program ends