Underground Infrastructure - June 2023 - 18

25th Annual Directional Drilling Survey
icance of ample broadband width
necessary to enable not only large
businesses, but individuals and small
businesses, as well, has reached boom
levels. Broadband has become essential
for all parts of the country to provide
the bones for effective regional
and national business models.
But most of that work has been limited
to cities of a certain size, fitting a
particular financial profile that offsets
risk for fiber providers and offers immediate
payback on network capital investments.
Similar to the early days of elecRig
size (% of market)
2019
10
20
30
40
50
60
3.1 3.0 2.0
1.2
Jumbo
(more than 300,000
pounds/pullback)
Age of HDD Fleet
2018
50
40
34.6
30
26.0
20
13.2 13.7
10
13.9
12.5
11.9
25.8
25.9 25.4
25.8
26.2
25.9
24.8
26.1
26.3
34.6
35.4 36.0
36.0
2019
2020
2021
2022
1.1
Large
(100-300,000
pounds/pullback)
Mid
(40,000-100,000
pounds/pullback)
Mini
(under 40,000
pounds/pullback)
2020
2021
2022
54.2 54.0 55.1
2023
Estimated
58.2 58.5
tricity and even landline telephones,
rural areas typically just don't meet the
financial profile for the providers.
As the fiber wave has encompassed
modern society, rural areas have found
themselves in the situation of having to
build their own network, if financially
able, or wait until the major fiber providers
might deem market conditions
and
profit
opportunities
attractive
enough to circle back to small community
installation.
Famously, the two-year old Infrastructure
Bill arrived with billions for
underground construction funding,
including broadband ($65 billion),
and electric and power infrastructure
($73 billion). Much of that money was
tied to work in rural or underserved
suburban areas.
30.2 30.8 32.2 32.2 32.4
All of a sudden, small towns and
rural areas have become ground zero
for building fiber networks - largely
by HDD. And with the spending to
" harden " power infrastructure and minimize
network disruptions during storms,
the historic trepidation about perceived
costs in placing electric infrastructure
underground are evaporating, as well.
Unlike the sewer and water markets
where infrastructure dollars, operating
in the public market, have to go through
various phases, including extensive
engineering and planning before being
released, fiber and new electric projects
immediately roared to life in late 2021.
In 2023, HDD contractors working in
those markets are sometimes almost
overwhelmed with projects.
Hiccups
12.5 12.2
10.7
8.4
8.0
But like any boom-time market, there
can be, and usually are, disruptions to
the rosy market picture. The obvious
challenge for HDD remains a somewhat
depressed large rig market.
President Biden's war on the oil and
10 years or greater
5 - 10 years
18 JUNE 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
2 - 5 years
< 2 years
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Underground Infrastructure - June 2023

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