Keynote: Kenny Gunderman, President and CEO, Uniti Group Inc.
The 2024 INCOMPAS Show October 21, 2024 Denver Keynote: Kenny Gunderman, President and CEO, Uniti Group Inc.
President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, United Fire
Search every verified Kenneth Gunderman interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote โ each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Kenneth Gunderman, President and CEO of Uniti Group, delivered a keynote at the 2024 INCOMPAS Show on October 21, 2024, in Denver. During the address, Gunderman stated that the fiber industry has become "much more rational with less overbuilding" and described fiber as "mission critical Communications infrastructure." He said Uniti focuses on building fiber in tier 2 and tier 3 markets, targeting underserved suburban and rural areas. Gunderman also expressed that hyperscalers are "believers in AI" and are investing heavily in infrastructure, which he said will drive demand for fiber networks. He argued that mobile broadband "will never supplant fixed line broadband in our lifetime" and that fixed wireless has limitations. Gunderman discussed the role of government subsidies for rural fiber, stating they "can be a good thing if used properly" but must not disincentivize existing providers or lead to overbuilding. He noted that customers want networks with "scale and expansive reach," which he said is driving consolidation and M&A in the industry. Gunderman also predicted that the inference phase of AI will drive demand for network upgrades, including small cells and fiber to the home, catalyzing densification in metro markets.
“We emphatically said fiber was going to become the next mission critical Communications infrastructure asset, and we were right. Fiber is mission critical and we've got an expansive fiber network at Uniti.”
“The fiber industry today is much more rational with less overbuilding, more targeted capital investment models, and strong broadband demand driving growth.”
“Hyperscalers are believers in AI and are investing hundreds of billions to build infrastructure to enable AI and generative AI, which will drive massive demand for fiber networks.”
“We believe in building fiber to data centers with lease-up cases on top, ensuring multiple uses of the network over time, which makes hyperscalers terrific anchor customers.”
The 2024 INCOMPAS Show October 21, 2024 Denver Keynote: Kenny Gunderman, President and CEO, Uniti Group Inc.
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