NASHVILLE--As Ting, a competitive fiber provider, expands its focus, it has continued to garner relationships with various communities as a broadband partner.
The service provider, which is a subsidiary of Tucows, continues to make progress with its fiber broadband service.
During the first quarter, Ting reported $16.3 million in revenues, up 16% year-over-year. The company stated that the growth was driven by an increase in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and a 12% year-over-year rise in subscribers, resulting in 51,700 subscribers as of the first quarter, up from 46,100 in the first quarter last year.
CJ Ehrenreich, senior vice president of networks, Construction, Engineering for Ting, told attendees during the Fiber Connect show tech talk Operator Light Talk: The Future is Fiber: Bridging Divides, Building Tomorrows, that while it’s exciting to see new internet-based applications, there are still communities that have little or no internet options at all.
“We have AI infrastructure happening, but then we have communities that haven’t quite closed the gap on building infrastructure,” she said.
Ting is focused on working with local communities to build new fiber and wireless infrastructure that serves their needs.
“We realize we need to have new community partners in our past and partners for our current future,” Ehrenreich said. “Our partners are helping us build the infrastructure we have.”
California and Tennessee momentum
Community partners play a key role in Ting’s fiber build-out strategy.
Ting’s growth comes as the service provider shifts its strategy from building new markets to partnering with established ones, such as Tennessee and California.
The company previously informed investors during its first-quarter earnings call that the “growth to come primarily from partner markets going forward” would be in markets within Tennessee and California.
In Memphis, Ting serves as the provider for Meridiam’s mStreet fiber network, offering 2 Gbps symmetrical service to businesses and households throughout the city, regardless of residents’ income levels. Meridiam, a sustainable infrastructure investment firm, built the Memphis network.
“This is a powerful partnership,” Ehrenreich said. “If you've ever been to Memphis and talked to the people, they like the fact that the city has committed to partnering to build the infrastructure the city needed for a long time.”
She added that it is “transforming one of the least connected cities into a model of digital equity and opportunity.”
Likewise, in Laguna Village in California, a 55-plus community, Ting hopes to have a similar impact.
In May, Ting Internet signed a contract with GRF for a new high-speed fiber network in Laguna Woods Village. Construction will start this month. Once the network is complete, it will deliver speeds of up to 2 Gbps.
During a site survey, Ehrenreich said members of the community “asked what we were doing, and being able to share with them what we are going to do is important to us.”
Ting is working with Luck Grove, a design and engineering firm. “Luck Grove is helping us with scheduling fiber construction, pole placement and testing,” Ehrenreich said.
Ehrenreich said Ting’s overall goal in Memphis and Laguna Village, and other communities, is to drive “economic development in communities we serve.”
She also emphasized the importance of a service provider being connected to the community they are serving.
“You can’t just show up and say here’s your internet and then leave,” she said, adding that “you need to stop and make sure the community is taken care of.”
A pivotal moment
Through its partnerships with local communities, Ting aims to bring high-speed fiber broadband to areas that have been left either unserved or underserved by larger providers.
The digital divide refers to the gap between those who have access to technology, the internet, and digital literacy training, and those who do not. It affects all generations – both rural and urban communities.
Ehrenreich said that Ting can help bridge that divide as a community fiber broadband provider partner.
“This is a pivotal moment that we’re in, and what we’re doing is essential,” she said. “We are developing strategic partnerships, tailored solutions, and the digital divide is closing.”
Anecdotally, Ehrenreich said it is exciting to see a fellow conference attendee show her a new AI application, but the reality is that there are still communities that can’t access any internet services, a key element for accessing essential education resources and job opportunities.
“A gentleman came up earlier during the conference, highlighting how he could access Chat GPT and AI on his phone,” she said. “Being able to do that in this day and age, where we still have communities that still don’t have basic internet, is an opportunity to make sure we can close the digital divide.”
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About the Author
Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategies of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report across their websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.