The importance of private equity investment in the telecommunications industry to deliver fast broadband to all cannot be understated. While much of the talk today revolves around public funding through mechanisms such as BEAD, the reality is these will not provide enough investment to connect everyone across the United States. Private equity, as usual, will be a valued partner to find those investment opportunities and, with the addition of that public funding backing, be able to invest in rural and remote projects more readily.
On this week’s The Five Nine podcast, host Alejandro Pinero speaks to Jason Hill, managing director and global head of digital infrastructure at Houlihan Lokey about what he sees as some of the key trends from a technology and an investment perspective. Hill, himself an experienced telecommunications investor and adviser, shared his thoughts on the present and future of our industry.
The conversation starts in 2024, a year with low CAPEX expected. Hill argues that carriers are trying to make the most of their investments to date. However, he argues, networks never sit still, and the need to evolve and upgrade will drive investments into 2025. AI, further automation, network densification and advanced 5G capabilities will drive this increase.
Hill touts data centers, fiber and AI as large investment and growth opportunities in the industry, but also has good words about fixed wireless access technology. For the average user and their household, it looks like this model allows for a good experience and has allowed carriers to further their footprint and target previously dark zones at a reasonable cost.
The all-encompassing interview goes on to discuss the future of telecom spending and where Hill sees the greatest opportunities for investing, from fiber to the software running the systems that keep the network running.
Listen in below!