How much will shipping costs impact rural broadband builds?

Operators across the board have already flagged rising deployment costs related to inflation, geopolitical issues, and labor shortages. And it’s no secret that shipping delays of all stripes have plagued construction projects across the nation since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Between international shipping container delays, shortages of truckers, the steady climb of the price of diesel, and rising interest rates from the Federal Reserve, it would seem that telecom is slated to take a serious hit in costs in the near term. According to Christian Riddle, a Project Manager with Incab, most cable shipping on the national scale occurs via truck, though very occasionally products are moved via air or sea freight. Those applications are more costly, with trucks being the cheapest method followed by sea and air.