Blog

BEAD Is Through Approvals - What It Means for Sourcing

Galloway — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:30:11 GMT

55 of 56 final proposals are approved and $21 billion in savings is still waiting on guidance. Our national broadband director sat on the BEAD panel at ISE Expo in Nashville. Here's what she told the room, and what it means if you're sourcing a build.

When material arrives before space is free

Galloway — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:32:08 GMT

The squeeze

Lay-down space is getting harder to find. On data center builds and underground utility work, sites fill up fast because of other trades, regulatory requirements, and the ordinary congestion of a big job. Meanwhile the pressure runs the other way on materials: order early to lock pricing before the next increase.

So you end up with conduit you need to buy now and nowhere to put it until spring.

6,912 Fibers, 2,600 Feet, No Pull Tension

Galloway — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:30:24 GMT

New Albany doesn't slow down

New Albany, Ohio has become one of the Midwest's biggest data center markets in a very short space of time. Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Vantage are all building here, and AI demand is pushing new capacity onto the schedule faster than anyone planned for. Power is the constraint everyone talks about — grid connections are slipping and more campuses are turning to on-site generation to stay on programme.