Cheryl Beranek on capital expenditure
From #FiberConnect24: Innovative Tools for Faster Fiber Rollouts - Cheri Beranek · · Fiber Broadband Association
“Another thing we think is absolutely crucial is being able to provide equipment that isn't necessarily a capex issue but it's how do we reduce the Opex of building these networks and our new product introductions are about reducing the amount of labor as well as the amount of skill in that labor to be able to move forward helping technicians move forward at their space.”
On , Cheryl Beranek, Chief Executive Officer, President & Director at CLEARFIELD INC, spoke about capital expenditure during #FiberConnect24: Innovative Tools for Faster Fiber Rollouts - Cheri Beranek on Fiber Broadband Association.
About Cheryl Beranek
Cheryl Beranek, CEO of Clearfield, spoke at the Fiber Connect 2024 conference about the company's efforts to accelerate fiber broadband deployment. She announced the introduction of "built," a mobile app that uses 3D images to provide field education for technicians. Beranek also discussed new products aimed at reducing operational expenses by lowering the amount of labor and skill required for network construction, citing the "deploy re tap box" as an example of a "craft friendly" and "craft smart" solution. She described the industry's momentum, noting that the conference expected a record 5,000 attendees. In a 2023 interview, Beranek discussed Clearfield's growth from a startup with a stock price of $0.86 to a company with a market cap of $1.4 billion. She stated that the company's product line allows service providers to align capital expenditures with subscriber take rates, emphasizing modularity and scalability. Beranek noted that Clearfield experienced a 70% compounded annual growth rate during the COVID-19 pandemic, finishing fiscal year 2022 with a 91% growth rate and an 18.5% net income. She described Starlink as a "really good product" for niche solutions but said it is not suitable for dense or high-user environments. Beranek also stated that Clearfield is well-positioned to benefit from government funding programs like BEAD, which she said allocates about half of its $100 billion toward capital expenditures.