We’re now seeing a reversal of that trend.” He continues to highlight the broader economic implications of improved rural connectivity. “We’ve seen some really good professionals relocate and stay in the rural communities we service.Along with that, wages in general have increased. A lot of the wage increases are due to inflation, but we’ve also seen level-setting where remote workers can be just as productive as they would be in an office. By default, they’re being paid the same, which raises the bar for wages across the US, not just in major metro areas.” Kyle’s insights extend to the broader role of the telecommunications sector as an economic driver. “Our industry, as far as an economic driver, really is the foundation for every other industry to grow. Whether it’s tech-based, bringing back some manufacturing in the form of chips to places like Ohio, automated vehicles, or construction, all of that requires infrastructure that’s only currently halfway built,” emphasizing the critical role broadband connectivity plays in fostering economic development across various sectors. INNOVATIONS AND EXPANDED CAPABILITIES As Millennium continues to grow, innovation remains a cornerstone of its strategy. The company has evolved from its origins into a multifaceted solutions provider, focusing on areas where clients face significant challenges. Kyle outlines this transformation, noting, “What started out as a wholesale distribution company, really just a material supplier, but then we began to leverage that and explore underserved regions of the country.” This exploration revealed a critical need in the engineering domain.“A lot of places were engineering in a, you know, analogue dimension. So just looking at a map and drawing lines on a map. We introduced some relatively low-cost tools using GIS technology—geospatial information systems. These tools tie real-time data sources to advanced 241 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 08 MILLENNIUM
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