Broadband Nation Expo 2024: Reach's Vision for the Future of Telecom
Reach participated in the Broadband Nation Expo 2024, which took place from October 9-11 in Washington, D.C. Over 850 attendees, including service providers, industry leaders, and government officials, came together with a shared goal: shaping the future of broadband in the U.S. The event was all about collaboration and finding ways to close the digital divide, ensuring high-speed internet reaches every home across the country.
Our CEO, Harjot Saluja, delivered a keynote at the event titled "Beyond the Build-Out: Defining the Next Era of ISP Innovation." In his speech, Harjot shared his vision for the future of telecom, emphasizing the need for innovation not just in infrastructure, but in the business models that support ISPs of all sizes.
Key Takeaways from the Keynote:
Reach is transforming the telecom landscape by making cutting-edge technology accessible to small and medium ISPs, enabling them to launch mobile, fiber, and broadband services without the typical financial and technological barriers.
He outlined the importance of overcoming inertia in the industry, and how key moments like infrastructure investments and mergers offer prime opportunities for adopting new technologies and driving innovation.
Interview with Questex: Following his keynote, Harjot sat down with the Questex team for an exclusive interview, where he expanded on his vision for the future of broadband. He discussed the challenges and opportunities facing ISPs today, including how Reach’s platform is enabling ISPs to scale more efficiently by integrating technology with infrastructure.
Alejandro Pinero (Questex): Alright, hello everyone and welcome back to Broadband Nation. My name is Alejandro Pinero and I'm here with yet another industry leader that I'm very excited to talk with today. Harjot Saluja, founder and CEO of Reach. Thank you so much for joining me here today.
Harjot: Thank you, Alejandro. Happy to be here.
Alejandro: Excellent. So, you had your keynote yesterday here at Broadband Nation Expo, and as we were talking about it, it was a refreshing story. You have a different point of view, and before we get started on really what your key message was for everyone, I did want to give you the opportunity to share some of that vision and the story behind Reach, because I think it's quite unique.
Harjot: Thank you. So we started-we'll be five years old next year-and when we kicked off Reach, it was five of us, the founders. And the intent was, when we started, like, "Hey, we want to build a mobile service that gives back," kind of inspired by companies like Warby Parker and other new-age brands. We felt that even though mobile has made a lot of these modern brands successful, mobile itself was still sold in a very traditional, brick-and-mortar way. So we wanted to change that.
In an effort to do that, we went to the carriers to launch a service. But we found it was just too expensive, too cumbersome, too slow—all the above. So, being crazy startup people, we decided, "Let's build a platform." But that meant delaying our launch because we had to build the platform first. As we went down that path, we realized, "Should we build this platform just for ourselves?" That didn’t make sense. So we decided, "Why not make it available to anyone?" And not just for mobile—let’s make it for fixed wireless, telecom in general, fiber, cable, DSL... why not even for utilities? We quickly realized, "Alright, we can do everything." But we decided to focus just on telecom.
Then our mission became clear: to "Shopify" the telecom world to make it super simple for anyone to monetize any telco network and do it in a very easy way. So, when someone uses our platform, they don’t need to invest in technology. They can focus on marketing, distribution, and support. We provide them with the entire IT infrastructure. That’s what we do today.
Alejandro: So, you’ve been moving at breakneck speed. You just mentioned that you’re a five-year-old company, and you’ve developed this platform. Coming from that startup mentality, as you mentioned in your keynote at Broadband Nation Expo, what’s keeping these ISPs and carriers from innovating more, from going out there and doing what you guys have set out to do over the last few years, and bringing innovation into the ecosystem?
Harjot: Yeah, I think, look, any new technology, even if it’s significantly better, faces inertia in adoption. Nobody is going to immediately jump on a brand-new thing, no matter how good it is. It’s like in our daily lives—we might own something, and a much better product comes out, like a dishwasher that saves water or a device that uses less electricity, but we don’t rip out the old one immediately. People are just used to certain things, good or bad.
So, there's this inertia to overcome. The best way to drive adoption is usually when there’s a transition point—like when you’re moving to a new house or remodeling your kitchen. That’s when you’re open to a new dishwasher, for example. Mobile is helping to create those transition points, as ISPs are trying to add mobile as part of the new "triple play." That opens up an opportunity for innovation. Another entry point is when companies merge or when new funding is raised to build something from scratch-why would you want to invest in all this new fiber and then go back to using legacy platforms?
That’s where we come in. You can simply take our platform, and we’ve integrated with companies providing the physical layer-the fiber and equipment-so when you work with them, you're not just getting the physical infrastructure, you’re getting the entire ISP service in one package.
Alejandro: That’s smart. And it sounds like a change in paradigm changing the mentality of how innovation is brought into the market. Allowing the industry to develop this new technology internally and not waiting for the big hyperscalers or Googles of the world to bring the solution in. You’re empowering them to take it on themselves.
Harjot: Exactly. We’re in 2024 now, right? There’s no reason why any ISP, big or small, shouldn’t have access to the same tech that the Googles and Instagrams of the world have. Sure, if you’re a small ISP with 10,000 customers, you might not have the budget or technical strength to leverage that technology. But we’ve figured out ways to make that technology available to them.
Another big step we took toward the end of this year going into 2025 is that we’ve automated a lot of this technology. So now, an ISP with 500 customers, for example, can use our platform to launch mobile service without having to do any custom work. They can just plug in and go. They don’t have to compromise on quality. In fact, they’re getting a product that’s as good, if not better, than what you’d find from big players like Comcast or Spectrum—and at zero cost to them. We even pay them a residual for every subscriber that signs up through their system.
Alejandro: That’s great. You’re not just innovating with technology but with the business model as well.
Harjot: Exactly. We’re trying to make it so that even the smallest ISP can scale without the heavy costs typically associated with new technology. They can launch a mobile service or other offerings without needing a huge investment upfront, and they can benefit from our integrations and services. It’s about making this accessible and scalable.
Alejandro: Looking forward, what’s next for Reach? You’ve had an impressive five years behind you. What can you share with us about the future?
Harjot: Well, in the keynote, I shared a couple of things. We just launched a new program called Echo. And another big initiative we’re working on now is something we’re calling "Hometown Connect." A lot of ISPs are investing in fiber and last-mile infrastructure, but then big companies like Netflix, Hulu, and Google make money on top of that. ISPs connect people to the world, but they could also connect them to their local businesses.
For example, let’s say an ISP in a neighbourhood is providing internet to local businesses, like a hair salon or car wash. With Hometown Connect, the ISP can offer these businesses a platform to sell subscription services to residents. The car wash could offer unlimited washes for $25 a month, for instance. We give businesses the tools to set up subscription services, and residents can subscribe to those services at a discounted rate. It’s like a local marketplace, and it’s another service ISPs can sell.
It’s a new revenue stream for ISPs, and it’s helping local businesses tap into a new customer base. It’s going to be an exciting new model!
Alejandro: That’s brilliant! It’s great to see new opportunities for ISPs, and it looks like you’re doing a fantastic job of facilitating this.
Harjot: I’m trying!
Alejandro: Well, Harjot, thank you so much for joining us this week and for sharing your story. I’m excited to continue following your success.
Harjot: Thank you. Thanks for having us here at the event.
Want to learn more about Reach? Contact us!