Chief Network Officer, Consolidated Comm Hldgs
Search every verified Gabe Waggoner interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Gabe Waggoner, Executive Vice President of Operations at Fidium and Chief Network Officer at Consolidated Communications, has discussed the company’s fiber-optic expansion in rural America. He stated that Fidium went from a few thousand fiber passings per year to over 300,000 fiber homes enabled in the first year after the COVID-19 pandemic. Waggoner described fiber as a "futureproof technology" and said the company aims to be a partner in helping communities thrive. He noted that the company holds "gig town" events to engage with local residents about the investment. In a 2021 interview, Waggoner outlined cost-saving and operational measures at Consolidated Communications. He said the company deployed automated text notifications for technician appointments, decommissioned retail centers in favor of home shipping and e-commerce, and adopted cloud-based platforms that allowed over 90 percent of employees to work remotely. Waggoner added that the company was evaluating a smaller office footprint and the sale of real estate assets, and had implemented AI-driven voice analytics and robotic process automation to improve customer self-service tools and agent efficiency.
“It's not the internet itself, but how it's being delivered to you. And really the key is fiber. Fiber is not going to become obsolete. It's a futureproof technology, and that's what we're investing in.”
“Customers need fiber. Fiber's got unmatched capacity, speed, and what that also gives you when you get a fiber connection is reliability, efficiency, and scalability. It's a futureproof internet delivery mechanism.”
“The markets we serve, it's rural America. ... We went from historically maybe a few thousand passings a year to post‑COVID first year over 300,000 fiber homes enabled.”
“Not only did we focus on business continuity and how to help our employees and help the communities, we also had to massively increase our build production in the midst of supply chain interruptions and labor. It was, you know, a crazy time and we had to adapt and improvise and really apply a lot of tenacity and commit...”
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