Meet Our Team – Quick Q&A with Nick
We’re excited to welcome Nick to our growing US team at COS Systems. Based in Deerfield Beach, FL, he’ll be working closely with our North American customers and partners to drive product development and provide local support. Get to know him in this quick Q&A.
Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?
I’m Nick, and I come from a background in software engineering across a variety of business domains, including domain and hosting resellers, legal technology, and managed home repair. I’ve spent the past 10 years working in engineering departments, where I focused on leading technology initiatives and architecting business-critical systems. Originally from New York, I’ve always been passionate about leveraging the latest technology to solve real-world problems.
You’re joining our growing (US) team – what will you be working on, and how does your role strengthen COS Systems in North America?
I’ll be focusing on developing our Wholesale Engine application. My background in architecting business-critical systems will help strengthen the product as we grow, and being US-based means I can work more closely with our North American customers and partners to ensure they feel fully supported.
What caught your interest in COS Systems?
A few things stood out to me. First, the company culture—it was clear from my conversations that COS Systems values its people and fosters a collaborative environment. I was also excited about the autonomy I’ll have as an engineer to make meaningful contributions. On the technical side, the opportunity to work within the Laravel framework and ecosystem was a big draw. And ultimately, I wanted to join a company that genuinely cares about innovation—not just as a buzzword, but as part of how they operate.
What are your goals for the coming months in your new role?
In the short term, I want to get up to speed on the COS product offerings, build relationships with key customers, and understand the US market landscape. Long-term, I’m aiming to become a go-to resource for our products and contribute to technical decisions that shape their future.
What are you most excited about when it comes to working with COS customers and partners in the US?
I’m most excited about learning a business domain that’s new to me, helping solve real challenges for customers, seeing the impact of our solutions firsthand, and building long-term partnerships. The US market has so much opportunity for growth, and I can’t wait to be part of it.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I’ve recently started prioritizing international travel with the goal of visiting a new destination at least once a year. I love learning about new cultures and ways of life—last year was Thailand, and next up is Italy. I also play ice hockey weekly in recreational adult leagues.
What’s your go-to productivity hack when things get busy?
I throw on classical music or electronic dance music when I want to focus on writing code or developing architectural solutions.
If you could instantly become an expert in one new skill, what would it be?
Speaking another language fluently. I’d choose this because of my love for international travel.
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long workday?
Playing video games, watching sports, and catching up on TV.
Lastly, what’s one word your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?
Adaptable
Connect with Nick!
How Investors Are Secretly Reshaping American Broadband: Strategic Alignment in Open Access
The Valuation Paradox
Integrated telecom models often trade like mixed businesses—part infrastructure, part retail, part services. Pure infrastructure models are valued differently, which is why structural separation keeps returning as a strategy.
The math is directionally clear: separation can create value. But here’s what nobody tells you: separation only works when all participants understand their playbooks completely.
I’ve watched hopeful plans collapse because the NetCo, ServCo, investor, and municipality carried different assumptions about basic questions—who owns the customer, what neutrality means operationally, and who is accountable for service delivery.
The smartest money in broadband isn’t chasing speed—it’s chasing alignment. When everyone rows in rhythm, utilization rises, cash flows steady, and competition becomes a feature—not a bug.
P.S. If you missed it, go back and read Article 3: The Coming Consolidation Wave
The Shared North Star
Maximize utilization by removing friction from order → activation → cash. Everything below serves that flywheel. If you can’t describe it on one slide, it’s not ready.
The NetCo Playbook
Fiber is infrastructure, but broadband is operations
The core job: You are an infrastructure utility. Your mission is to maximize network utilization while maintaining absolute neutrality across all wholesale customers.
Strategic priorities (in order)
Success metrics (high-level)
Red-line guardrails
Incentive alignment: NetCos win by creating platforms where multiple ServCos thrive. Aligning business contracts, network fulfillment, and field ops through a unified platform (e.g., COS Business Engine + COS Field Service Management) reduces activation friction that silently kills utilization.
The ServCo (Retail ISP) Playbook
Own brands and experiences—not the assets
The core job: You are in the customer experience business. Everything you do should optimize acquisition, satisfaction, and retention.
Strategic priorities (in order)
Want to talk strategy? If you’re modeling consolidation, open-access positioning, or operational scale, reach out via the COS Systems contact page.
How Investors Are Secretly Reshaping American Broadband: The Coming Consolidation Wave
The Coming Consolidation Wave
How It All Comes Together
After years of expansion fueled by cheap capital and public programs, investor focus is shifting from build speed to operational yield.
What’s happening isn’t chaos — it’s capital efficiency reasserting itself. Capital is moving toward predictability, utilization, and repeatable operations.
So what does this macro shift mean for every player on the board?
P.S. If you missed it, go back and read Article 2: The 11 Theses Behind the Big Moves
The Emerging Playbooks at the Strategic Crossroads
1) Infrastructure investors
Three plays are emerging fast:
2) NetCos
NetCos understand the quiet truth: fiber is infrastructure — but broadband is operations.
3) ISPs, CableCos, and TelCos
Strategy 1: Double down and acquire smaller fiber players (expensive, debt-heavy). Consolidate your region before someone consolidates you. But be realistic about integration: too many deals destroy value because operators underestimate the complexity of combining networks, billing systems, and service delivery.
Strategy 2: Position for sale. Prepare a clean data room and take the check. Demonstrate strong penetration, clean up customer and service data, standardize operations, and show buyers a business that’s ready to plug into their platform.
Strategy 3: The hybrid move. Separate the network from the service. Provide innovative and differentiated services on open networks. Same brand. More markets. More and happier customers. Lower capex. This path requires the most courage — giving up asset ownership for operational excellence.
4) Municipal & community networks
Munis were built for public good, not private IRR hurdles. Their advantages remain real: patient capital, community trust, and mission alignment.
The difference between a great outcome and a fire sale is governance and operational excellence. Communities that run modern field operations and a credible OSS/BSS stack become strategic partners instead of distressed sellers.
Closing: From Fragmentation to Framework
The next 24–36 months will reshape the broadband landscape more than the last decade did. The U.S. will move from hundreds of independent fiber providers toward a smaller set of national and regional ecosystems — blending investor-backed NetCos, operational platform operators, and service providers at different scales.
The smart players aren’t waiting for the wave — they’re shaping it.
The Chapter Nobody’s Writing Yet
This consolidation wave is just the opening act. The next chapter is about strategic alignment — and the rules are changing fast.
Coming next: Strategic Alignment in Open Access
Want to talk strategy? If you’re modeling consolidation, open-access positioning, or operational scale, reach out via the COS Systems contact page.
How Investors Are Secretly Reshaping American Broadband: The 11 Theses Behind the Big Moves
The 11 Theses Behind the Big Moves
Everybody saw the builds and the headlines. Fewer people asked the sharper question: what beliefs are steering billions into specific routes, partners, and contracts?
Here are the 11 theses behind the big moves — and why they matter.
P.S. If you missed it, go back and read Article 1: The Network Utilization Strategy.
Understanding the “Why?”
Article 1 showed what is changing in American broadband: wholesale open access and network utilization. This article explains why capital is moving the way it is — and offers a decision framework for the road ahead.
The aim is simple: help the entire ecosystem shorten activation cycles and time-to-revenue, raise take-rates, and build networks that behave like resilient, modern utilities.
The 11 Theses Behind the Big Moves
1. NetCo / ServCo separation unlocks capital efficiency
Own the asset, wholesale the access. Let retailers compete on CX, brand, and products. Joint ventures and carve-outs are now repeating across markets.
Example: T-Mobile’s JV activity around fiber footprints.
Implication: Legacy ISPs can offload build risk, stay retail-focused, and re-rate toward infrastructure-style yields.
2. Fiber is the nervous system of AI
AI clusters are dictating where metro rings and long-haul routes densify. Power and fiber are increasingly underwritten together.
Example: Brookfield’s “Building the Backbone of AI.”
Implication: NetCos that pre-position diverse routes near data-center corridors win multi-tenant contracts first.
3. MDU, bulk, and campus broadband are growth engines
Bulk and MDU models offer lower CAC, lower churn, and contract-heavy revenue — outperforming many greenfield builds.
Example: Macquarie’s investment in Mereo Networks and Mereo’s acquisition of DISH Fiber Internet LLC.
Implication: ServCos should prioritize MDU SKUs; NetCos should standardize wiring and reserve install capacity for bulk deals.
4. Consolidation wave 2 favors strong balance sheets
In a higher-rate environment, sponsors with patient capital are rolling up regional fiber and open-access platforms.
Example: Intrepid Fiber Networks raising capital to pursue tuck-in acquisitions.
Implication: Operators without financing velocity become sellers — or wholesale-only tenants.
5. BEAD favors sustainable utilization models
States increasingly prioritize affordability, sustainability, and competition. Open wholesale stretches public dollars further.
Example: GigaPower highlighting the value of multiple ISPs for communities.
Implication: NetCo proposals that show credible ISP #2 and #3 paths score better.
6. FWA is a bridge — not the destination
Fixed Wireless Access accelerates time-to-market, but fiber dominates 30-year underwriting where density supports it.
Implication: Investors value FWA tactically, but fiber remains the terminal asset.
7. Rights-of-way and make-ready are the real moat
Attachment friction throttles IRR more than strand count. Permitting velocity matters more than splicing prowess.
Coming next: The Coming Consolidation Wave
Learn More and Contact Us Today
How Investors Are Secretly Reshaping American Broadband: The Network Utilization Strategy
The Network Utilization Strategy Behind the Biggest Fiber Bets
Investors aren’t just funding fiber — they’re quietly rewriting the rules of broadband. The real question isn’t if fiber wins, but where and why it wins first — and forever. Behind the largest fiber investments today is a simple but powerful thesis: Build once. Automate at scale. Maximize network utilization. Compound yield.
Introduction
For decades, the U.S. broadband playbook was straightforward: own the network, own the customer. But the most disruptive idea in broadband today isn’t a faster speed tier or a new technology. It’s something investors understand instinctively: Network utilization at scale. Instead of vertically integrated networks built one market at a time, capital is flowing toward models that build fiber once, automate operations from Day 1, and fill the network with multiple service providers to grow yield without duplicating infrastructure.
How the New Model Is Unfolding — and Why It Matters
The legacy broadband model is fading. In its place, investor-backed structures are emerging that prioritize utilization over exclusivity.
The NetCo / ServCo Model Explained
In this structure, a NetCo owns and finances the fiber infrastructure and sells wholesale access to ServCos (service providers/ISPs). Anchor-tenant commitments reduce early risk, and adding more providers later improves yield without overbuilding. The NetCo optimizes:
Three Investor-Led Case Studies
Brookfield → Intrepid Fiber → T-Mobile
Brookfield-backed Intrepid Fiber is executing a textbook utilization strategy in Colorado and Minnesota, anchored by T-Mobile as the initial retail ISP. The thesis is clear: build once, anchor early, add providers over time.
AT&T + BlackRock → GigaPower
GigaPower is positioned as a major commercial open-access fiber platform, expanding across multiple communities and working toward onboarding additional ISPs — the utilization kicker investors want: more yield without duplicating plant.
AT&T’s Wholesale Fiber Expansion
Beyond joint ventures, AT&T’s wholesale agreements with open-access providers extend reach via third-party fiber — a capex-light coverage approach that expands footprint without financing every mile of new build.
Why This Is Disruptive (In Plain English)
Service providers go operator-light
ISPs can expand into new markets on others’ fiber while still owning the customer experience — as long as they can onboard fast, provision cleanly, and bill accurately across wholesale catalogs. Platforms like COS Business Engine and Field Service Management help unify service catalogs, provisioning, and field installs into a single “Provisioned = Paid” flow.
Communities get more choice — faster
Well-run open-access networks can accelerate competitive offerings. Standardized onboarding and clean handoffs to field operations reduce install lead times. Utilization rises because activation friction falls — and the surprising result can be lower churn once multiple ISPs are live.
Investors get infrastructure-grade cash flow
Anchor first, then curate a second and third ISP to lift yield without overbuilding. Diversified tenants reduce concentration risk and strengthen the infrastructure profile.
What This Means for ISPs, Municipalities, and Investors
ISPs
The retail game is getting operator-light. You can enter new geographies via wholesale — but you’ll need modern OSS/BSS to onboard fast and bill cleanly across wholesale catalogs.
Municipal & community networks
Open access is no longer experimental. Demonstrable tenant demand can broaden financing options and improve competitiveness in grants and RFP scoring.
Investors
Utilization is the lever. Anchor first, then add tenants to lift yield without duplicating plant.
How Investor-Backed Open Access Will Reshape the U.S. Landscape
1) Coverage without capex
National brands expand into new markets via wholesale instead of building everywhere themselves — accelerating footprint growth and reducing balance-sheet strain.
2) The rise of regional NetCos
Wholesale-first NetCos anchored by a scale ISP will become the quiet backbone behind multiple retail brands in clustered markets.
3) More choice in open-access cities
Open-access networks demonstrate that multiple ISPs on a single network can improve pricing and value. Expect cities and states to increasingly value this model in grant and RFP scoring.
Closing: The Net Effect (Pun Intended)
The future “national provider” becomes a multi-sourcing retailer — own plant here, wholesale there, JV elsewhere — while a layer of well-capitalized NetCos stitches together neutral, multi-tenant fiber corridors. The old debate of “own the customer or the network?” misses the point. The future is: own your role’s utilization strategy.
Coming next: The 11 Theses Behind the Big Moves
Learn More and Contact Us Today
Meet the latest addition to our team – Zack Mitchell
Meet Our Team – Quick Q&A with Zack
We’re excited to welcome Zack to our growing US team at COS Systems. Based in Wake Forest, NC, he’ll be working closely with our North American customers and partners to help assess and summarize issues, along with assisting in the implementation of new features. Get to know him in this quick Q&A.
Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?
A results-driven expert in the fiber industry, I bring nearly 8 years of experience, from field operations to data analytics. This background provides a comprehensive understanding of customer needs in a Field Service Management Tool.
You’re joining our growing (US) team – what will you be working on, and how does your role strengthen COS Systems in North America?
I will serve as a liaison, working closely with our developers to translate end-user needs. This will enable the development team to focus more time and energy on feature construction.
What caught your interest in COS Systems?
The Software and the Culture
What are your goals for the coming months in your new role?
To support our customers with increased documentation, release notes, and demos
What are you most excited about when it comes to working with COS customers and partners in the US?
I’m excited to build strong relationships and further understand the needs of our customers
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I used to race dirtbikes when I was in grade school
What’s your go-to productivity hack when things get busy?
Stop and recalibrate. I find it super helpful in times of busyness to stop, take a deep breath, and reshift focus to the highest priority items.
If you could instantly become an expert in one new skill, what would it be?
Carpentry. Imagine being able to build any piece of furniture you want, completely custom to you.
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long workday?
Watching trashy reality tv shows with my fiancé and laughing at the absurdity.
Lastly, what’s one word your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?
Confident
Connect with Zack!
Meet the latest addition to our team – Nicholas Gerrer
Meet Our Team – Quick Q&A with Nick
We’re excited to welcome Nick to our growing US team at COS Systems. Based in Deerfield Beach, FL, he’ll be working closely with our North American customers and partners to drive product development and provide local support. Get to know him in this quick Q&A.
Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?
I’m Nick, and I come from a background in software engineering across a variety of business domains, including domain and hosting resellers, legal technology, and managed home repair. I’ve spent the past 10 years working in engineering departments, where I focused on leading technology initiatives and architecting business-critical systems. Originally from New York, I’ve always been passionate about leveraging the latest technology to solve real-world problems.
You’re joining our growing (US) team – what will you be working on, and how does your role strengthen COS Systems in North America?
I’ll be focusing on developing our Wholesale Engine application. My background in architecting business-critical systems will help strengthen the product as we grow, and being US-based means I can work more closely with our North American customers and partners to ensure they feel fully supported.
What caught your interest in COS Systems?
A few things stood out to me. First, the company culture—it was clear from my conversations that COS Systems values its people and fosters a collaborative environment. I was also excited about the autonomy I’ll have as an engineer to make meaningful contributions. On the technical side, the opportunity to work within the Laravel framework and ecosystem was a big draw. And ultimately, I wanted to join a company that genuinely cares about innovation—not just as a buzzword, but as part of how they operate.
What are your goals for the coming months in your new role?
In the short term, I want to get up to speed on the COS product offerings, build relationships with key customers, and understand the US market landscape. Long-term, I’m aiming to become a go-to resource for our products and contribute to technical decisions that shape their future.
What are you most excited about when it comes to working with COS customers and partners in the US?
I’m most excited about learning a business domain that’s new to me, helping solve real challenges for customers, seeing the impact of our solutions firsthand, and building long-term partnerships. The US market has so much opportunity for growth, and I can’t wait to be part of it.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I’ve recently started prioritizing international travel with the goal of visiting a new destination at least once a year. I love learning about new cultures and ways of life—last year was Thailand, and next up is Italy. I also play ice hockey weekly in recreational adult leagues.
What’s your go-to productivity hack when things get busy?
I throw on classical music or electronic dance music when I want to focus on writing code or developing architectural solutions.
If you could instantly become an expert in one new skill, what would it be?
Speaking another language fluently. I’d choose this because of my love for international travel.
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long workday?
Playing video games, watching sports, and catching up on TV.
Lastly, what’s one word your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?
Adaptable
Connect with Nick!
Updated UI Tools for Faster Daily Operations in Business Engine
Over the past year, our team has delivered a series of thoughtful UI improvements designed to make your daily work smoother, faster, and more intuitive.
In this update, Spencer walks through several key enhancements. First, the streamlined navigation: daily operational tools are now placed front and center on the left side, while deeper configuration menus move to a separate section, making everything easier to find. Up top, the notification center now includes release notes and improved alerts to keep you informed at a glance.
We’ve also added better visibility into integrations, allowing operators to quickly check system status and run syncs when needed. Search has been upgraded across the platform—from multi-order lookups to clearer default filters—making it quicker to find the exact data you need. The super search now highlights “perfect matches,” meaning one keystroke brings you straight to the right customer, order, or location.
Finally, fly-ins and customer/location cards have been redesigned to show more information on a single screen, reducing unnecessary clicks and helping you access diagnostics, history, and services faster than ever.
These changes may look simple, but together they create a smoother, more powerful user experience—one that helps you stay efficient and focused in your day-to-day operations. We hope you enjoy this sneak peek behind today’s advent calendar door and look forward to hearing your feedback as the UI continues to evolve.
Case Study: Kitsap PUD – Expanding Broadband with Open-Access Infrastructure
From Planning to Monetization: How Integrated Workflows Accelerate Broadband Success
COS Advent Calendar 2025
Don’t miss this year’s edition of our popular COS Advent Calendar!
Discover the magic of the COS Advent Calendar. Each day reveals a new surprise, making the holiday season even more special, with best practices, new features, case studies, white papers, and how-tos!