PCCA Journal 4th Quarter 2013 - page 18

PCCA Journal|4
th
Quarter 2013
18
though most major markets are already complete (Exhibit
8).
12
• Sprint, plans to cover 200 million Americans by the end of
2013, well short of Verizon’s 300 million. Sprint will likely
be building out its 4G network into 2015.
13
• T-mobile was the last to begin rollout of a 4G network,
though implementation is moving fast. In one year, the net-
work grew to cover 157 million people and is well ahead of
schedule.
14
As 4G networks are completed, the industry is now ahead
of the next wave of technology for the first time in its history.
While investment in networks will not stop, focus will shift
to providing additional capacity. The smartphone market is
also approaching maturity with 56 percent of U.S. cell phone
owners on smart platforms as of May 2013. This is a 20 per-
cent increase from May 2011.
15
Relative to the rest of the utility industry, the communi-
cations workforce is relatively young. Only 12 percent of
telecommunications line installers are over age 55, while
19 percent of equipment installers are over 55.
16
With some
skills that are applicable in the electric distribution and gas
distribution market space, the relatively modest growth of
spending in this segment over the next two years offers op-
portunity to apply a younger workforce in the broader utility
industry.
Moving forward, communication industry participants will
need to adapt to a market shifting from massive efforts to
build new networks to one that is focused on incremental
improvement through 2020. Contractors should monitor prog-
ress on 5G technologies to identify niche tech that will drive
spending and prepare for the next wave of network construc-
tion in the next decade.
Overall Conclusions
Coleridge’s mariner ultimately survives the scarcity he is
subject to by recognizing that his choices are what will save
him. In the utility construction space, embracing the environ-
ment we are faced with as one filled with the promise and
opportunity will yield the same outcome—survival. For suc-
cessful contractors, merely surviving is not enough; they seek
innovative solutions to thrive in an environment of scarcity.
We offer the following tools to help these successful con-
tractors thrive:
• Strategic Thinking: Picking the right geographies, market
segments, customers, and service types will prove critical,
and applying strategic-thinking techniques to this chal-
lenge is one powerful solution.
• Skill Building: Given the various types of scarcity, and
particularly labor scarcity, building internal skills through
training can provide the stamina needed in a challenging
environment. Three types of training are necessary.
Technical - To sharpen skills and meet quality specifica-
tions.
Management - To drive production improvement and
waste elimination.
Cross Functional - To thrive in an environment that
demands more than simply construction.
• Embrace Innovation, Disruption, and Scarcity: Three tacti-
cal areas require particular attention.
Smart Building/Smart Infrastructure - Communication,
facility management, and asset management tools inte-
grated into the facility design and construction.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) - Investigate the
application and use of this transformative technology
married to management process to achieve performance
improvement.
Integrated Project Delivery - Build capability to delivery
under multiple sourcing strategies and among various
project delivery systems.
Rocketing to Success
Continued from page 17
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