OFF THE TOP

 

Well, it’s been 8 months, 8 long months of mask-wearing and practicing social distancing. I can tell you what we miss most is the normalcy of having a travel schedule and visiting with customers.

Although the work and orders continue, and quite frankly the broadband industry adapted quickly to this “new normal,” there is something to be said about having that personal connection.

I hope you agree that we’re doing the best we can to continue to foster those connections despite the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 in our lives. In my opinion, the Comstar Supply team has been able to translate our customer first, service at all cost mentality to the virtual world – and I hope you’ve experienced that in your dealings with us. 

However, we still can’t be there in person today but are always at the ready to support our customers. In fact, what we’re focusing on now is making sure everyone is prepared for the next 6-9 months of network builds because we’re hearing from manufacturers is that demand for all OSP product is increasing.

That’s an easy concept to understand when you think about carriers continuing to densify their networks and build more miles with higher fiber counts to accommodate small cell and IoT. Wireless carriers expanding 5G rollouts in earnest. And fiber-to-the-home providers experiencing tremendous network growth as more community’s grapple with the digital divide.

On top of that, outside forces such as the unrelenting storms in the Southeast and Southwest that took a toll. The impact in Texas was significant, which negatively affects the production of resin, and in turn products like fiber optic cable and innerduct. Fortunately, we’ve ramped up stock levels of popular products like strand, fiber, conduit, and boxes, for our customers.

Like most of you, throughout the turmoil of Covid-19, we’ve worked long, hard hours, undermanned in the office, and navigated it all with the same Comstar attitude of caring for our customers.  It has been an amazing thing to watch, but at some point, I hope our schedules become more than just Zoom meetings.

This crazy, unimaginable year 2020, I am extremely grateful for everything that we’ve accomplished together over the last 8 months, and I look forward to the wonderful things yet unaccomplished.

Thank you for your continued business and trust.

Stay safe.

 

Chad