Tight Budgets, Short Deadlines, and Lack of Skilled Personnel

In the past few years, FTTH deployment felt like sailing with the wind, everything moved fast and smoothly. But in 2025, it feels more like carrying a heavy load step by step..

For many small ISPs and contractors, the biggest challenges of FTTH projects today can be summed up in three words: less money, fewer people, tighter schedules.

This isn’t just a complaint—it’s what’s really happening on the ground.

---

Tight Budgets: Low Prices, Tight Delivery Pressure

“Can you reduce your price by another 10%?”
“Our bids are based on the lowest price. It’d be better if you can offer a full package.”

Almost every small ISP or engineering team involved in local FTTH tenders has heard these kinds of requests.

The reasons behind them are clear:

Upstream operators are tightening their budget approvals

Government subsidies are being delayed or reduced

Construction plans are no longer fully funded from the start—they’re split into phases

In this environment, project owners are expected to meet tight delivery timelines and quality targets, all while keeping costs low—a combination that creates serious pressure.

Even after winning a project, payment delays are common. In some regions, engineering payments have been postponed for more than six months.

Short Deadlines: Designs Aren’t Final, But Materials Are Needed

Ideally, project timelines should follow a clear process: design → purchasing → construction → delivery.
But in reality, many FTTH projects today are being built as they are designed.

Here are some real situations:

A property developer suddenly changes the building layout, so cabling designs must be adjusted on-site

Delays in city pipeline approvals force construction teams to change their plans

An ISP suddenly announces a “100-day fast build” campaign and pushes for quick expansion in several communities

This means that even small projects (like those covering only a few dozen households) require material supply that is:

Fast—delivered in phases or batches

Flexible—able to fit different field conditions

Adaptive—easily adjusted or restocked based on real-time changes

Traditional bulk purchasing and one-time shipping no longer meet the needs of today’s fragmented and fast-paced projects.

Lack of Skilled Personnel: Installation Is No Longer Just a Technical Job

In the past, FTTH projects relied on experienced field teams who:

Carried fusion splicers

Knew how to manage cable routing

Could handle all types of splitter and branching situations

But today, many small operators are saying:

“Subcontracting is getting too expensive—and good workers are hard to find.”

“Our skilled workers either left or switched to other industries.”

“Now our teams are mostly temporary hires—and they work slower.”

In some rural projects, teams are stretched to the limit, with setups like:

One splicer, two inexperienced workers, three days to pull and install all cables.

Under such conditions, products that are complex or require careful splicing often become a risk to project speed and quality.

---

A New Standard for Materials: The Easier, The Better

Many contractors and project managers told us their evaluation standards have changed.
What they focused on before is not the same as what they care about today:

Previously	Now
Product price	Installation time and ease of maintenance
Technical specs	Fewer steps in the field
One product model	Full matching kit or bundled solution
Total cost	Lower risk of delays or rework

In other words, project owners aren’t looking for the most advanced product. They’re looking for the one that helps them finish the job safely, quickly, and smoothly on site.

Real Quotes from ISPs and Contractors

“We’re not against good products—we just don’t have the conditions to do complex work anymore.”
“Can you pre-cut and pre-assemble everything? That way we don’t have to do splicing in the field.”
“Every project feels like a battlefield now. Whoever delivers faster wins.”

This is not just a short-term trend—it’s likely the new normal for FTTH deployment:

Projects are more fragmented

Timelines are more compressed

Teams are leaner

the Chapter one: “The market is cooling down”—but where exactly is it cold?

Follow us to get notified when the next article is out, or contact us ([email protected]) to learn more about how we support fast-moving FTTH projects with plug-and-play solutions.