Jeff DeMond believes in the power of fiber and in super-serving the customers who buy internet and phone service on it. The longtime cable executive, whose roots go back to Bresnan Communications in the 1980s, is the chairman and CEO of Archtop Fiber, which recently completed a third acquisition in a five-month span of regional phone carriers in the mid-Hudson Valley area of New York state. In between, he was CEO of Vyve Broadband, another startup that saw value in buying broadband providers in rural markets, upgrading them and upselling customers where good internet was lagging. He recently fielded questions from B+C Multichannel News content director Kent Gibbons about Archtop’s aims and goals and why delivering multi-gig internet is a business worth investing in at a time when cords are being cut but broadband demand is high. Despite video cord-cutting, do you see good opportunities to invest in internet and phone service via fiber? Cord-cutting creates an incredible opportunity to invest in fiber internet and phone service. More and more people are using streaming services for entertainment, requiring a fast and reliable internet connection. In less than a decade, the volume of internet-dependent devices in households is expected to double, numbering in the billions. Combined with the rising number of simultaneous streams available, multi-gig Internet becomes more of a necessity than a luxury. Communication in the form of videoconferencing is also on the rise, which depends on fast upload speeds, which fiber enables. Overall, the tech we need for work and play will constantly need faster Internet speeds and greater bandwidth and fiber is future-proof — we’ve got the speeds needed to support the needs for today with plenty to spare and the ability to scale up to deliver what everyone will need in the future.What characteristics does Archtop Fiber look for in the companies and communities you invest in? We look for companies that are deeply rooted in their communities with a strong record of customer service. W …
