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Kevin McGuire, a VP of broadband policy at Great Plains Communications (GPC), says 2025 is a big year for GPC and broadband.

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

We caught up with Kevin McGuire, of Great Plains Communications, on Day 1 of the Broadband Communities Summit last month in Houston.

McGuire said 2025 is a big year for both broadband and GPC, which has ongoing efforts to expand their footprint to additional unserved and underserved locations.

He talked about some of GPC’s strategies towards network upgrades and shared some of the company’s strategies when it comes to futureproofing existing networks.

“Network investments are never done,” McGuire said. “But the foundational element is really fiber.”

With a backbone consisting of 19,000 miles of route fiber, McGuire said GPC also manages thousands of route miles beyond the backbone to reach end users.

He said GPC starts at the backbone, with attempts to make sure it’s as resilient as possible.

“We carry traffic not just for your home,” he said. “But we carry traffic for the cellular carriers.”

McGuire additionally said maintaining the network’s backbone is critical.

He also touched on GPC’s use of XGS-PON, which allows GPC to provide network speeds up to 10 gigabits.

According to McGuire, GPC’s focus isn’t just on building a network for today but designing one that can handle the needs of tomorrow.

To hear the full interview with McGuire on Spotify, click here.

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