Last Mile Communications (LMC) is pleased to announce the launch of its newly designed website

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Last Mile Communications (LMC) is pleased to announce the launch of its newly designed website.  Our goal with this new website is to provide our visitors an easier way to learn about our team, our services and the broadband & telecommunications industry that we have proudly served for over 20 years.

LMC’s vision to be a worldwide leader of Management Partnering Services, Consulting and Capital Funding within our industry is perfectly reflected in our website’s new look and fresh feel. Additionally, be sure to check our News section for updates, company announcements and the latest information from our industry’s ever-changing landscape.

We hope that you enjoy our updated website by visiting us at lastmile.net. We also invite you to connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Finally, as we have developed into what LMC is today, we took a quick journey back to where we began. Below we depict the evolution of our logo. It is amusing to see how it all started 20 years ago and how our logo truly represents the evolution of design and technology through time!

Announcing our New Logo!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

August 27th, 2019 – As part of LMC’s ongoing evolution we have been expanding our reach within the broadband industry, adding new services, growing our portfolio and bringing new faces to our team.

To better match the evolving landscape within our company and the broadband industry, we launched a new logo that better reflects the innovation, cutting-edge techniques and expertise by which we ensure the success of our clients’ endeavors.

Our new logo has gone live in all media such as our website, Facebook and Linked In, among others.

Last Mile Communications (LMC) is thrilled to be chosen as one of the “Top 100 Fiber-to-the-Home Leaders and Innovators for 2019”

July 2019, Fiber-to-the-home leaders and innovators for 2019 – “Building a Fiber-Connected World” is the tagline of Broadband Communities magazine, and each year the FTTH Top 100 list recognizes organizations that lead the way in this arena.

Fiber-to-the-home deployment in the United States is beginning to outpace legacy copper broadband, a trend that is impacting service providers and their vendor suppliers.

Fiber-based broadband services, according to an RVA study commissioned by the Fiber Broadband Association, surpassed DSL in 2018 as the second-most common type of home internet connection in North America, following cable. According to the research firm, fiber now passes 39 million homes in the United States (1.6 million of them have multiple fiber passings) and connects 18.6 million homes, up 17 percent over 2017. A large portion – 71 percent – of fiber-to-the-home builds are by large incumbents. The remaining 29 percent are from Tier 2 and 3 providers, including a mix of independent telcos, municipalities, competitive providers and electric cooperatives.

Vendors are also seeing a transition in the equipment they sell. For example, Broadband Trends reported that global DSL port shipments declined 22 percent year-over-year to reach 35.7 million in 2018 as service providers shift their focus to FTTH.

Gigabit service – and beyond – continues to drive the deployment of fiber. Large and small providers alike are not only offering 1 Gbps services but also eyeing a path to 10 Gbps via either XGS-PON or NG-PON2.

It’s no wonder the industry is expanding and the number of companies competing for the Top 100 slots continues to grow. That’s great for the country, even if it makes life difficult for the editors who assemble this list.

The 2019 FTTH Top 100 list represents the whole fiber-to-the-home ecosystem. Optical fiber and fiber cables; passive equipment for connecting, protecting and managing fiber; and active equipment for sending and receiving signals over fiber are the most basic components of an FTTH network, along with software for planning, setting up and managing networks and for provisioning and billing fiber services. The list contains many companies that design, manufacture and distribute these essential products.

To put these pieces together requires firms that finance, plan, design, engineer, construct and install fiber optic networks, as well as those that make equipment for digging, pushing, pulling and attaching fiber. These, too, are represented on the list. Also included are a variety of organizations that advocate for better broadband or create conditions that make FTTH more profitable.

Finally, there wouldn’t be any fiber to the home if not for the deployers – large and small, private and public, incumbent and competitive – that invest in FTTH networks.

Companies newly added or reinstated to the list represent a variety of ecosystem niches. These niches are quite diverse. Three of the new entrants – Consolidated, GVTC and Lumos Networks – are incumbent telcos that are aggressively expanding 1 Gbps FTTH services in diverse rural towns and cities. Consolidated is rapidly expanding 1 Gbps FTTH service throughout the former FairPoint territory, and GVTC and Lumos are encouraging economic development with new fiber builds. Another notable trend is the growing presence of electric cooperatives and competitive providers. Co-Mo Connect is an electric cooperative that was funded without grants and now offers 1 Gbps services to its electric customers, GoNetspeed lures customers with fixed broadband pricing, and Synergy offers managed services to MDUs.

Joining the network operators is a host of companies that provide construction, financing, network planning and powering. Last Mile Communications provides telcos and cable companies with a variety of consulting and capital funding services, and Neighborly connects underserved communities with capital for fiber broadband networks. ESPi offers a series of uninterrupted power supply batteries that provide protection against input power interruptions for FTTH providers. Foresite Group provides broadband engineering and related services. Render is gaining ground with rural providers with its suite of geospatial network deployment solutions to help providers build large-scale projects faster and cheaper, Geograph provides tools for network planning and design, and Tesmec USA provides open-trench solutions for fiber deployments.

SELECTION CRITERIA

In selecting the FTTH Top 100, the editors looked for organizations that advance the cause of fiber-based broadband by

Deploying networks that are large or ambitious, have innovative business plans or are intended to transform local economies or improve communities’ quality of life
Supplying key hardware, software or services to deployers
Introducing innovative technologies with game-changing potential, even if they have not yet been commercially deployed
Providing key conditions for fiber builds, such as early-stage support or demand aggregation.
To be listed among the FTTH Top 100, an organization may be based anywhere in the world but must do business in North America. Except for broadband service providers, which are inherently local, we give preference to organizations that serve national rather than local markets. Overall size is unimportant, as is corporate form – in addition to for-profit companies, the list includes municipalities, a telephone cooperative, an electric cooperative and a nonprofit research organization.

Although some organizations on the list focus entirely on fiber to the premises or other fiber-based broadband technologies, most deliver or support a mix of broadband technologies. For some, broadband represents only a small part of their business. In making these selections, the editors considered how important the organizations are to advancing fiber broadband rather than how important broadband is to them.

Last Mile Communications announces the addition of two Junior Associate Partners to its Team

Fort Myers, FL (May 21, 2019) – Last Mile Communications, LLC (LMC) is pleased to announce the addition of two Junior Associate Partners to its roster of telecommunications professionals. The new members of the LMC team will be supporting the company’s service and strategic operations.

Valerie Diaz, Strategic Operations Manager, has already worked closely with the LMC executive team in multiple projects, including the successful Baja Broadband and MaxxSouth Broadband operations. She has ample experience in the marketing, operations and administrative areas of the business, especially in crisis management situations. One of the cornerstone services that LMC delivers to its clients is the Direct Sales (door-to-door) strategy, in which Valerie’s expertise in utilizing the newest field-monitoring and productivity technologies, will further enhance this already successful program.

Emmanuel Diaz, Service Operations Manager, has vast experience in leading sales, customer care, dispatch, technical support and telephony provisioning. His strength lies in the deployment, development and long-term performance of customer care and technical support centers. Emmanuel was a key member of the Baja Broadband and MaxxSouth Broadband operations, where he was instrumental in the implementation and preservation of the LMC vision at the middle-management level.

“We are excited to welcome Valerie and Emmanuel, the next generation of LMC talent, to our leadership team,” said Peter Kahelin, LMC’s Founding Partner and Chairman. “We are confident the expertise and energy they bring to LMC will add to the successes we’ve already experienced in the telecommunications arena, worldwide.”

Last Mile Communications Announces the Completion of its Management Partnering Project at MaxxSouth Broadband

PRESS RELEASE

NEWTOWN, Conn., (April 3, 2018) — On April 1, Last Mile Communications, LLC (LMC), the international telecommunications management partnering and consulting firm, announced it has added another success to its portfolio, as it completed its three-and-a-half-year management partnering project at MaxxSouth Broadband, an asset acquired by Block Communications, Inc. (BCI) in late 2014.

BCI acquired the broadband asset from Harron Communications. LMC assisted BCI during the acquisition process and took on the management partnering responsibilities of the new entity, MaxxSouth Broadband, upon the completion of the transaction on November 7, 2014. The new company quickly established itself as the area’s premier broadband provider within the 65 communities it currently serves.

“It was our honor to team with BCI, an iconic privately-held United States communications and media firm founded over 115 years ago. One of their key operations within our industry is Buckeye Broadband, a premier cable TV and broadband provider serving the Toledo, Ohio area for over 50 years,” said LMC’s Founding Partner & Chairman, Peter Kahelin.

To ensure BCI’s return on investment in their new venture, LMC assigned five of its key executives to lead the MaxxSouth project, working closely with the local team. Kahelin stated, “LMC’s industry expertise and experience helped deliver strong company growth, best-in-class technical services and customer care, a strong community presence and brand name, and the ability to fully transition the operation into the BCI environment upon LMC’s exit from the project.”

Kahelin added, “We are proud of what LMC and the local team at MaxxSouth accomplished over the three and a half years. Everything came together in a way seldom seen in the business, as we far exceeded all industry metrics. We successfully moved into the 1 Gigabit internet era, launched the locally renowned 24-hour regional sports network, MaxxSouth Sports, and became a key player in supporting programs and organizations within the communities the company serves.”

Today, MaxxSouth Broadband’s service area for its Video, High-Speed Internet and Digital Voice platform stretches more than 200 miles offering services in 23 counties and 65 communities within northern Mississippi and Alabama. The company currently has more than 92,000 broadband customers and its network passes over 114,000 homes.

Kahelin stated, “The team of professionals at MaxxSouth are well poised to join forces with the BCI team to continue the successes created during LMC’s tenure. We are proud of the local team and know we are passing on to Allan Block, BCI’s esteemed Chairman and industry pioneer, one heck of a solid organization. We are honored to have played a part in BCI’s storied legacy.”

As LMC bids farewell to MaxxSouth, the five LMC executives that led this effort will now take a well-deserved respite. In the near future, these executives will take on key roles within opportunities LMC is currently reviewing with other broadband operators and institutional investors.

About Last Mile Communications, LLC (LMC)

Last Mile Communications, LLC (LMC), is a renowned international telecommunications management partnering and consulting firm with its operational headquarters in Newtown, Connecticut (United States), and satellite headquarters in London, England and Bucharest, Romania. For more information, visit www.lastmile.net

Contact for More Information: 

Ivelisse Cruz
Phone: 203-491-7740 (United States)
E-mail: ivelisse.cruz@lastmile.net
Web: http://lastmile.net/

Last Mile Communications (LMC) Announces The Retirement of One of Its Founding Partners & CEO

PRESS RELEASE

Last Mile Communications, LLC (LMC), the renowned international telecommunications management partnering and consulting firm headquartered in Newtown, Connecticut (United States), with satellite headquarters in London, England and Bucharest, Romania, announced the pending retirement of one of its Founding Partners and CEO, Peter Kahelin.

Mr. Kahelin, an almost 40-year veteran of the cable TV/broadband industry, formed LMC with another long-time industry leader, Bruce Fogelstrom, back in 1999.  The firm houses a diverse stable of industry professionals with expertise in all areas of the business, teaming with many of the industry’s prominent investors, lending institutions and operators.

Kahelin stated, “It has been an honor to serve within the cable TV/broadband industry, which has treated me so well for almost forty years.  During that time, I have had the privilege to work in more than forty countries for some of the most amazing organizations.  I also have had the honor to work alongside some of the industry's best leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.  To be honest, I would not change a thing.  The industry and all the people I have associated with have been my inspiration.  I just hope I have given back as much as has been so kindly given to me over the years.” 

Bruce Fogelstrom, LMC’s Managing & Founding Partner and President stated, “Peter and I met in the mid-1990’s and our working collaboration started as a close and successful one, so much in fact we decided to start our own firm.  For nearly two decades we have worked side-by-side successfully covering partnerships and projects across the globe, with Peter being the workhorse on the frontline and I pulling things together behind the scenes.  It’s truly been a successful formula for us and the many partners and clients we have teamed up with over the years.” 

Kahelin will be stepping down as LMC’s CEO during the 4th quarter of this year and will no longer have a day-to-day association with the company.  The transition process will see Peter and Bruce work closely with Randy Santiago (LMC’s Associate Partner & Chief Operating Officer – the Americas) and the rest of the LMC Partners & Team to ensure they select who among them will take on the role of CEO going forward, to guarantee the ongoing success of the company, its partners and clients.

Although Mr. Kahelin will no longer occupy an active management position within LMC, he will stay on as its Non-Executive Chairman, advising the company.

Adrian Arghiropol, LMC’s Senior Associate Partner & Chief Operating Officer (COO) for LMC’s operations out of Europe stated, “Peter was one of the industry’s pioneers when the cable TV/broadband business started its development in Europe and Eastern Europe during the late 1980’s and throughout the 1990’s.  In fact, LMC was born through its initial work done in these regions.  It will be our honor to ensure LMC’s legacy, that Peter helped develop, continues to thrive after his departure.  Our Team is deep with talent and we will move forward, without missing a step!”

Most recently, Kahelin’s primary focus has been as CEO & President of MaxxSouth Broadband in LMC’s Management Partnership Assignment with Block Communications, Inc. (BCI), one of the United States premiere broadband operators for more than 50 years.  BCI acquired MaxxSouth in November of 2014 from MetroCast (Harron Communications).  MaxxSouth Broadband quickly established itself as the area’s premiere broadband provider within the 61 communities it currently serves.  Richard Zorin, LMC’s Senior Associate Partner & Chief Technology Officer (CTO), who is also working in the MaxxSouth project, has worked with Mr. Kahelin for more than 30 years.  Zorin stated, “As long as I have known Peter he has been tuned into the business at hand 24 by 7.  He will be a hard act to follow.  However, I have been in this industry for more than 40 years and it’s clear to me that the current talent within LMC is poised to carry on LMC’s successful, deep and committed work ethos.”

Kahelin stated, “In the coming months, I will be stepping away from the only true occupation I have known.  To those that know me, this decision does not come as a surprise, as over the past few years they have seen my energy and passion for the business increasingly being passed onto others, hoping they too will revere the industry that has been my true love affair for nearly three quarters of my life.  Thus, the time has come for me to retire and relax a bit, improve upon my inconsistent golf game and focus on family.” 

Kahelin admitted he does not take this move lightly as he will miss the excitement, the drive to succeed and the fine people he has associated with. 

Peter closed by saying, “To be truthful, I am more excited than ever about LMC’s future, as we have a great mix of extremely talented, energetic and inspired international leaders ready to take the company into the next stage of its legacy.It’s time for me to step aside and pass the torch, and for them to take the reins and lead LMC into its ensuing phase of accomplishments and successes.Hence, although it’s always hard to walk away from something you love, the timing is perfect, as LMC could not be in better hands with Bruce and the rest of the Team leading the way.”

Contact for More Information:

Ivelisse Cruz, LMC’s Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)

203-491-7740 (United States)

ivelisse.cruz@lastmile.net

http://lastmile.net/