Uniti Group Inc (Delaware) (UNIT) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to today's conference call to discuss Uniti's third quarter 2025 earnings results. My name is Michelle, and I'll be your operator for today. Today's call is being recorded, and a webcast will be available on the company's Investor Relations website, investor.uniti.com, beginning today and will remain available for 365 days. (Operator Instructions)

早安，歡迎參加今天的電話會議，我們將討論 Uniti 2025 年第三季的收益。我叫米歇爾，今天由我來為您接聽電話。今天的電話會議將被錄音，網路直播將從今天開始在公司投資者關係網站 investor.uniti.com 上提供，並將保留 365 天。（操作說明）

It is now my pleasure to introduce Bill DiTullio, Uniti's Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasury. Please begin.

現在我很高興地向大家介紹 Uniti 的高級副總裁兼投資者關係和財務主管 Bill DiTullio。請開始。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining today's conference call to discuss Uniti's third quarter 2025 results. Speaking on the call today will be Kenny Gunderman, our CEO; and Paul Bullington, Uniti's CFO. John Harrobin, President of Kinetic, will also be joining us this morning during Q&A.

各位早安，感謝各位參加今天的電話會議，共同討論 Uniti 2025 年第三季業績。今天參加電話會議的有我們的執行長 Kenny Gunderman 和 Uniti 的財務長 Paul Bullington。Kinetic公司總裁John Harrobin今天上午也將參加問答環節。

Before we get started, I would like to quickly cover our Safe Harbor statement. Please note that today's remarks may contain forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Uniti's fiber build strategy, the business' growth potential, our 2025 outlook and other statements that are not historical facts.

在正式開始之前，我想先簡單介紹一下我們的安全港聲明。請注意，今天的發言可能包含前瞻性陳述。這些聲明包括但不限於有關 Uniti 的光纖建設策略、業務成長潛力、2025 年展望以及其他非歷史事實的聲明。

Numerous factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. For more information on those factors, please see the section titled Safe Harbor Statement in the accompanying presentation and the Risk Factors sections in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

諸多因素可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中所述的結果有重大差異。有關這些因素的更多信息，請參閱隨附演示文稿中題為“安全港聲明”的部分以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中的“風險因素”部分。

With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Kenny.

接下來，我想把電話交給肯尼。

Thanks, Bill. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining. Starting on slide 3, we're very pleased to have closed our merger with Windstream during the third quarter, and we're now well positioned as the premier insurgent fiber provider. We have a scaled national wholesale fiber footprint that puts us in rare company to win large-scale Fiber Infrastructure deals, and we are first or early with fiber to hundreds of Tier 2 and 3 markets around the country, giving us the right to win for many years into the future.

謝謝你，比爾。各位早安，感謝各位的參與。從第 3 張幻燈片開始，我們非常高興地宣布，我們在第三季度完成了與 Windstream 的合併，現在我們已穩固確立了作為領先的新興光纖供應商的地位。我們擁有龐大的全國性批發光纖網絡，這使我們在贏得大規模光纖基礎設施交易方面處於少數領先地位，並且我們率先或早期就為全國數百個二三線市場提供光纖服務，這使我們有能力在未來很多年內繼續贏得市場。

Our strategy is very clear and is the same simple winning formula we've had at Uniti for years. First, continue to build fiber into unique locations, including by overbuilding legacy networks and moving customers onto our owned fiber while aggressively managing out of legacy products and services; second, providing operational excellence; and third, having an insurgent obsessive focus on the customer.

我們的策略非常明確，與Uniti多年來一直採用的簡單制勝策略相同。首先，繼續在獨特的地點建造光纖，包括透過擴大傳統網路並將客戶遷移到我們自己的光纖上，同時積極淘汰傳統產品和服務；其次，提供卓越的營運；第三，以客戶為中心，堅持不懈地追求卓越。

This formula has led to industry-leading churn and NPS scores and predictable mid-single-digit growth at Uniti. Fiber is indisputably a superior product and coupled with execution prowess, we're now firmly on the same path post our merger with Windstream.

這項策略使 Uniti 實現了業界領先的客戶流失率和 NPS 分數，以及可預測的中位數個位數成長。光纖無疑是一種更優越的產品，再加上我們強大的執行力，自從與 Windstream 合併以來，我們正穩步朝著同一個方向發展。

Even though we've not yet had full quarter of performance to report, we're starting to see strong improving trends. We continue to add industry veterans to our leadership team, including with experience at Frontier and Ziply, among others, and we've now fully onboarded and are ramping up key third-party partners to accelerate our fiber build and go-to-market strategy.

儘管我們還沒有完整的季度業績報告，但我們已經開始看到強勁的改善趨勢。我們持續為領導團隊增添業界資深人士，其中包括曾在 Frontier 和 Ziply 等公司工作過的人士。目前，我們已經全面引入並正在加強與關鍵第三方合作夥伴的合作，以加速我們的光纖建設和市場推廣策略。

We now have 115 active third-party crews, which is about 2.5 times increase from before the merger, and we should have close to 400 by the second quarter of next year. Thus, even though we were behind our plan at the merger close, we fully expect to get caught up and beyond in the first quarter of next year.

我們現在有 115 個活躍的第三方作業團隊，比合併前增加了約 2.5 倍，到明年第二季我們應該會接近 400 個。因此，儘管我們在合併完成時進度落後於計劃，但我們完全有信心在明年第一季趕上並超越計劃。

From an operational point of view, we're very pleased and focused on improving our customer experience and are seeing early progress. For example, in October, we had the highest first call resolution ever at Kinetic, the lowest transfer rate in over two years and a record low dispatch rate and a record low for fiber repeat trouble tickets, among other improvements.

從營運角度來看，我們非常高興，並專注於改善客戶體驗，目前已看到初步進展。例如，10 月份，Kinetic 的首次呼叫解決率創歷史新高，轉接率創兩年多來新低，調度率和光纖重複故障單數量也創歷史新低，此外還有其他方面的改進。

New leadership with experience building and executing on a scaled fiber-to-the-home strategy is focusing our field resources and go-to-market teams on what matters most to our customers in this new competitive environment. We are now an insurgent share taker and have the right strategy, leadership and assets to accelerate trends towards positive revenue and EBITDA growth.

擁有建構和執行大規模光纖到戶策略經驗的新領導階層，正將我們的現場資源和市場推廣團隊集中到在這個新的競爭環境中對客戶而言最重要的事情上。我們現在是一家具有顛覆性的市場份額爭奪者，擁有正確的策略、領導力和資產，可以加速實現收入和 EBITDA 的積極成長。

Turning to slide 4. During the quarter, we saw strong fiber revenue growth of 13%, the highest number of fiber gross adds ever, and the highest net adds in two years at Kinetic. Because of our historical fiber-to-the-node investment, we were also able to quickly and cost efficiently upgrade 85% of our fiber footprint to be multi-gig capable, greatly enhancing our upsell opportunities in the coming quarters.

翻到第4張投影片。本季度，Kinetic 的光纖營收實現了強勁成長，達到 13%，光纖新增用戶數量創歷史新高，淨新增用戶數量也創兩年來新高。由於我們先前在光纖到節點方面的投資，我們得以快速且經濟高效地將 85% 的光纖網路升級為多千兆網絡，從而大大增強了我們在未來幾個季度的追加銷售機會。

In Fiber Infrastructure, we had an outstanding quarter of new bookings fueled by hyperscalers, and we were named The Best North American Connectivity Provider by Capacity Media. The opportunity in wholesale fiber right now is generational in nature, and we are extremely well-positioned with the right strategy, leadership and assets to capture share in dark fiber and waves.

在光纖基礎設施領域，我們憑藉超大規模企業的推動，取得了出色的新訂單季度業績，並被 Capacity Media 評為北美最佳連接提供商。目前批發光纖領域的機會具有世代意義，我們擁有正確的策略、領導力和資產，在暗光纖和波段傳輸領域佔據了非常有利的地位。

As you can see on slide 5, we're making steady progress towards all of our key goals. Almost 80% of total revenue today is from core fiber businesses, while nearly 40% of our total revenue for the entire company and at Kinetic is from fiber. We also grew homes passed and fiber subs by 11% and 17% year-over-year and are well on our path to 3.5 million homes and 1.25 million fiber subs by 2029.

正如您在投影片 5 中看到的，我們在實現所有關鍵目標方面都取得了穩步進展。目前，公司總收入的近 80% 來自核心光纖業務，而整個公司以及 Kinetic 的總收入中，近 40% 來自光纖業務。我們的家庭用戶數量和光纖用戶數量也分別同比增長了 11% 和 17%，我們正朝著 2029 年實現 350 萬戶家庭用戶和 125 萬光纖用戶的目標穩步前進。

Slide 6 illustrates that our path forward is not only clear but it's also reasonably predictable as the critical fiber inflections are already beginning. By the end of this year, more of our consumer customers at Kinetic will be on fiber than legacy networks. And by the second quarter of next year, Kinetic's consumer fiber revenue will exceed DSL revenue. By the end of next year, consolidated fiber revenue will exceed 50% for the entire company.

投影片 6 表明，我們前進的道路不僅清晰，而且相當可預測，因為關鍵的纖維拐點已經開始出現。今年底，Kinetic 的消費者客戶中，使用光纖網路的客戶數量將超過使用傳統網路的客戶數量。到明年第二季度，Kinetic 的消費者光纖收入將超過 DSL 收入。到明年年底，公司整體光纖業務收入將超過總收入的 50%。

Once these important inflections happen, the flywheel starts to accelerate, leading to total revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth year-over-year in 2026 for our core Fiber businesses, setting us up for year-over-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth for the entire company beginning in 2027.

一旦這些重要的轉折點發生，飛輪效應就會開始加速，從而在 2026 年實現核心光纖業務的總收入和調整後 EBITDA 同比增長，為公司從 2027 年開始實現整體收入和調整後 EBITDA 的同比增長奠定基礎。

Turning to slide 7. A vitally important part of our growth will come from our Fiber Infrastructure business. There has never been a better time to be a wholesale fiber provider. Broadband trends are accelerating across virtually all categories, especially AI-driven use cases, as evidenced by another strong quarter of new bookings.

翻到第7張投影片。我們成長的重要部分將來自我們的光纖基礎設施業務。對於批次光纖供應商而言，現在無疑是最佳時機。寬頻發展趨勢幾乎在所有類別中都在加速，尤其是在人工智慧驅動的應用場景中，新預訂量連續第二季強勁成長就證明了這一點。

Although we're building substantial amounts of new fiber especially for the hyperscalers, our scaled national footprint gives us terrific lease-up potential, driving our blended cash yields to 34%, the highest we've ever seen, and we believe there's more to come.

儘管我們正在為超大規模資料中心建造大量的新光纖，但我們遍布全國的規模化網路為我們帶來了巨大的租賃潛力，使我們的綜合現金收益率達到 34%，這是我們有史以來見過的最高水平，而且我們相信未來還會有更大的增長。

On slide 8, our hyperscaler funnel has grown approximately 13% since the second quarter with numerous large deals getting booked but being replenished with many more. Hyperscaler activity as a percentage of our total funnel at stand-alone Uniti has improved materially year-over-year to around 30% of MRR.

在第 8 張投影片中，我們的超大規模資料中心管道自第二季以來成長了約 13%，雖然已經簽訂了許多大額交易，但還有更多交易正在補充。獨立營運的 Uniti 的超大規模業務活動占我們總業務量的比例已較上年同期大幅提高，達到 MRR 的 30% 左右。

Importantly, when measured on a total contract value basis, hyperscalers are an even higher percentage of the total combined sales funnel, highlighting that the benefit of these deals are not always apparent in traditional bookings metrics.

重要的是，如果以合約總價值來衡量，超大規模資料中心在整個銷售管道中所佔的比例更高，這表明這些交易的好處並不總是能在傳統的預訂指標中顯現出來。

Before turning the call to Paul, I want to briefly provide an update on our outlook with hyperscalers. We now believe the total addressable market for AI and hyperscalers for fiber providers is approximately 50% higher than what we originally estimated at the beginning of this year.

在將電話轉給保羅之前，我想先簡單介紹一下我們對超大規模資料中心的看法。我們現在認為，光纖供應商的 AI 和超大規模資料中心市場總規模比我們今年年初的估計高出約 50%。

Our conviction resonates from the strong new bookings we're seeing, our steadily growing qualified funnel and the bespoke conversations we're having with our customers. Our customers continue to say to us both privately and publicly that investing in AI infrastructure is mission-critical to their businesses. Demand constantly outpaces supply and quarter after quarter, CapEx assumptions go up.

我們看到強勁的新訂單量、穩定成長的合格客戶管道以及與客戶進行的客製化對話，都印證了我們的信念。我們的客戶不斷私下和公開地告訴我們，投資人工智慧基礎設施對他們的業務至關重要。需求持續超過供應，每季資本支出預期都在上升。

For Uniti, the next few quarters will likely bring the largest deals we have seen to date, and we have clear visibility into at least three years of strong value-accretive deal flow.

對於 Uniti 而言，接下來的幾個季度可能會迎來我們迄今為止見過的最大規模的交易，而且我們清楚地看到，至少未來三年將有強勁的價值增值交易流。

With that, I'll turn the call to Paul.

接下來，我會把電話轉給保羅。

Thank you, Kenny. Starting on slide 11. I'd like to touch on some of the key third-quarter highlights for both Kinetic and our Fiber Infrastructure segment. As a reminder, our fiber-to-the-home platform will continue to be branded as Kinetic. Fiber Infrastructure will include our previous Uniti Fiber and Uniti Leasing segments, along with the Windstream Wholesale segment, and we are now also referring to the Windstream Managed Solutions segment as Uniti Solutions.

謝謝你，肯尼。從第11張投影片開始。我想重點介紹 Kinetic 和我們的光纖基礎設施部門第三季的一些主要亮點。再次提醒，我們的光纖到戶平台將繼續沿用 Kinetic 品牌。光纖基礎設施將包括我們先前的 Uniti Fiber 和 Uniti Leasing 部門，以及 Windstream Wholesale 部門，我們現在也將 Windstream Managed Solutions 部門稱為 Uniti Solutions。

During the quarter, we continued to make solid progress on several fronts. Starting with Kinetic, we expanded our fiber network to pass an additional 56,000 homes with fiber, ending the quarter with 1.8 million homes passed. Kinetic also added 24,000 net new fiber subscribers during the third quarter, ending the quarter with 507,000 total fiber subscribers. As Kenny mentioned earlier, this was the second highest level of net adds in the past two years, and total Kinetic fiber subscribers grew 17% from the prior year period.

本季度，我們在多個方面繼續取得穩步進展。從 Kinetic 開始，我們擴展了光纖網絡，為另外 56,000 戶家庭提供了光纖服務，本季末光纖覆蓋家庭數量達到 180 萬戶。Kinetic 在第三季新增了 24,000 名光纖用戶，季末光纖用戶總數達到 507,000 人。正如肯尼之前提到的，這是近兩年來淨新增用戶數第二高的水平，Kinetic 光纖用戶總數比上年同期增長了 17%。

Kinetic Consumer fiber revenue grew 26% year-over-year during the quarter, and this growth is being driven by strong adoption of our fiber-to-the-home product, bolstered by the performance of the various marketing initiatives at Kinetic that target both our newer and more seasoned cohorts. At Fiber Infrastructure, Uniti and Windstream combined to record consolidated pro forma bookings MRR of approximately $1.6 million, the second highest level in over two years.

Kinetic Consumer 的光纖營收在本季同比增長 26%，這一增長得益於我們光纖到戶產品的強勁普及，以及 Kinetic 針對新舊客戶群體開展的各項行銷活動的良好表現。在光纖基礎設施方面，Uniti 和 Windstream 合併後的準備 MRR 約為 160 萬美元，這是兩年多來的第二高水準。

Slide 12 highlights the sustained momentum we are seeing within Kinetic Fiber. Fiber penetration of almost 29% during the quarter was up 50 basis points sequentially, the second-best sequential improvement over the past three years and 130 basis points year-over-year. While fiber ARPU increased 10% year-over-year, the slight sequential decrease in ARPU during the quarter was primarily driven by onetime price adjustments and the acceleration of new fiber subscriber net adds.

第 12 張投影片重點介紹了我們在 Kinetic Fiber 領域看到的持續發展勢頭。本季光纖普及率接近 29%，較上季成長 50 個基點，是過去三年中第二好的環比成長，年成長 130 個基點。雖然光纖用戶平均營收年增了 10%，但本季用戶平均營收較上季略有下降，主要是由於一次性價格調整和新增光纖用戶淨成長加速所致。

Turning to slide 13. The strong improvement in our cohort fiber penetration is being driven by various marketing initiatives, including our Fiber Forward efforts that we launched last year. We've seen a 200-basis point improvement in our 2023 cohort penetration levels from year one to year two and penetration levels in our year one, 2024 cohort that are on par with year two penetration in older cohorts.

翻到第13張幻燈片。我們用戶群光纖普及率的顯著提高得益於各種行銷舉措，包括我們去年啟動的「光纖優先」計畫。我們看到，2023 年隊列的滲透率從第一年到第二年提高了 200 個基點，而 2024 年隊列第一年的滲透率與老隊列第二年的滲透率相當。

We expect to maintain or improve this trajectory going forward, and the team is now focusing on executing the playbook to increase penetration in our older cohorts. Given our current trajectory, we remain confident that achieving our 40% terminal penetration target is very achievable.

我們預計未來將保持或改善這一發展勢頭，團隊目前正專注於執行策略，以提高在老年群體中的滲透率。按照我們目前的發展軌跡，我們仍然有信心實現 40% 的終端滲透率目標。

Slide 14 lays out our key targets for Kinetic this year. As Kenny alluded to earlier, we now have a target of reaching 1.9 million homes passed with fiber by the end of the year, which would bring fiber coverage within the Kinetic footprint to 42%. With respect to our previous target of 2 million homes, as Kenny mentioned, we expect to fully catch up in 2026.

第 14 張投影片列出了 Kinetic 今年的主要目標。正如肯尼之前提到的，我們現在的目標是到今年年底為 190 萬戶家庭鋪設光纖，這將使 Kinetic 覆蓋範圍內的光纖覆蓋率達到 42%。關於我們先前設定的 200 萬套房屋的目標，正如 Kenny 所提到的，我們預計將在 2026 年全面實現。

We also expect to end the year with approximately 536,000 fiber subs, and realize approximately $500 million of consumer fiber revenue in 2025, an increase of roughly 25% from the prior year. In terms of cost per passing, we continue to expect the cost going forward will likely be in the $850 to $950 range, resulting in a blended cost of $750 to $850 per passing over the life of the build program.

我們也預計到年底光纖用戶將達到約 536,000 戶，並在 2025 年實現約 5 億美元的消費者光纖收入，比上一年增長約 25%。就每次通過的成本而言，我們仍然預計未來的成本可能在 850 美元到 950 美元之間，因此在整個建設項目週期內，每次通過的綜合成本將為 750 美元到 850 美元。

Slide 15 provides a pro forma view of Uniti's consolidated results for the third quarter. Consolidated pro forma revenue was down approximately 6% year over year during the quarter, primarily driven by the continued decline in legacy TDM services and Uniti Solutions. However, top line growth in other parts of the business was strong with Fiber Infrastructure growing 3% year-over-year and Kinetic Fiber-based revenue inclusive of consumer, business and wholesale services growing 17% year-over-year.

第 15 頁提供了 Uniti 第三季合併業績的模擬視圖。本季合併備考收入年減約 6%，主要原因是傳統 TDM 服務和 Uniti Solutions 的持續下滑。然而，公司其他業務的收入成長強勁，其中光纖基礎設施年增 3%，包括消費者、企業和批發服務在內的 Kinetic Fiber 營收年增 17%。

As we execute on and accelerate our fiber overbuild plan, we expect fiber services at Kinetic will continue to deliver consistent strong growth quarter-over-quarter. In addition to the information provided in our earnings materials, we have also included additional supplemental pro forma financial information on our Investor Relations website.

隨著我們執行並加快光纖網路建設計劃，我們預計 Kinetic 的光纖服務將繼續實現持續強勁的季度環比成長。除了我們在獲利報告中提供的資訊外，我們還在投資者關係網站上提供了額外的補充性準備財務資訊。

Slide 16 further demonstrates that the growth in each of our core fiber lines of business has been very strong, and we expect that growth to continue given the superior nature of fiber as a product. As Kenny mentioned earlier, given this pace of growth, we expect fiber to overtake legacy services as the majority of our revenue by the end of 2026. As a reminder, we will continue to face headwinds from legacy services over the next couple of years that will weigh on consolidated revenue and EBITDA.

第 16 張投影片進一步表明，我們每個核心纖維業務線的成長都非常強勁，鑑於纖維作為一種產品的優越性，我們預計這種成長將持續下去。正如 Kenny 之前提到的，鑑於這種成長速度，我們預計到 2026 年底，光纖業務將超過傳統服務，成為我們收入的主要來源。再次提醒大家，未來幾年我們將繼續面臨傳統服務帶來的不利影響，這將對合併收入和 EBITDA 造成壓力。

With that said, there are three important points I'd like to make. First, legacy services in no way diminish the value of our core fiber business. Secondly, within a relatively short period of time, the shift to fiber revenue will make legacy services revenue increasingly less material. And thirdly, in the meantime, Uniti Solutions is generating significant and predictable cash flow.

說到這裡，我想提出三點重要觀點。首先，傳統服務絲毫不會降低我們核心光纖業務的價值。其次，在相對較短的時間內，向光纖收入的轉變將使傳統服務收入的重要性越來越低。第三，與此同時，Uniti Solutions 正在產生可觀且可預測的現金流。

Please turn to slide 17, and I'll now cover our updated 2025 outlook for the combined company. We have provided two views of estimates for 2025 on this slide. The 2025 as-reported outlook includes seven months of stand-alone Uniti results plus five months of combined Uniti and Windstream. This is our formal guidance for 2025 and matches what was included in our earnings release that was filed earlier this morning. We have also provided a pro forma view for 2025, similar to what we have provided in prior quarters. The following comments on our 2025 guidance will be based on the as-reported outlook view.

請翻到第 17 頁，接下來我將介紹我們更新後的合併後公司 2025 年展望。我們在這張投影片上提供了 2025 年的兩種預測視圖。2025 年的業績展望包括 Uniti 七個月的獨立業績以及 Uniti 和 Windstream 五個月的合併表現。這是我們對 2025 年的正式預期，與我們今天早上提交的獲利報告中的內容一致。我們也提供了 2025 年的預測展望，與我們前幾季提供的預測展望類似。以下對我們 2025 年業績指引的評論將基於已公佈的展望觀點。

Beginning with Kinetic. We continue to expect revenues and contribution margin to be $945 million and $385 million, respectively, at the midpoint. We now expect to deploy $450 million of net CapEx at the midpoint of our guidance, down from $510 million previously, primarily due to the reduction in our homes passed target for 2025.

從動能開始。我們仍預期營收和貢獻毛利分別為 9.45 億美元和 3.85 億美元（取中間值）。我們現在預計將投入 4.5 億美元的淨資本支出（以我們指導值的中點計算），低於先前的 5.1 億美元，這主要是因為我們 2025 年的房屋目標有所降低。

At Fiber Infrastructure, we expect revenues and contribution margin to be $1.1 billion and $770 million, respectively, at the midpoint for full-year 2025. The $35 million increase in contribution margin is related to a shift of expenses from the Fiber Infra segment to corporate expenses as accounting continues to be finalized for the merger.

預計到 2025 年全年，光纖基礎設施業務的收入和利潤貢獻將分別為 11 億美元和 7.7 億美元（中位數）。貢獻毛利增加 3500 萬美元，是因為合併的會計處理仍在進行中，導致光纖基礎設施部門的費用轉移到了公司費用。

Although we are no longer providing separate formal guidance for Uniti Fiber and Uniti Leasing, our 2025 outlook for both of those segments is unchanged from our prior guidance. Our outlook for net CapEx at Fiber Infrastructure this year is still $310 million at the midpoint of our guidance and represents a capital intensity of approximately 30%.

儘管我們不再單獨提供 Uniti Fiber 和 Uniti Leasing 的正式業績指引，但我們對這兩個業務板塊 2025 年的展望與先前的指引保持一致。我們預計今年光纖基礎設施淨資本支出仍為 3.1 億美元（以我們的指導中位數計算），資本密集度約為 30%。

Turning to Uniti Solutions. We expect revenues and contribution margin of $320 million and $155 million at the midpoint. Altogether, we expect consolidated revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $2.2 billion and $1.1 billion at the midpoint of our 2025 outlook with consolidated net CapEx of $805 million.

轉向 Uniti Solutions。我們預計營收和貢獻毛利分別為 3.2 億美元和 1.55 億美元（取中間值）。總而言之，我們預計 2025 年合併收入和調整後 EBITDA 分別為 22 億美元和 11 億美元（以我們 2025 年展望的中位數計算），合併淨資本支出為 8.05 億美元。

Finally, I'd like to provide some brief comments on our capital structure. Slide 18 illustrates how Uniti's cost of capital has improved significantly over the past two years. If you go back to when we launched our 10.5% secured notes offering, our secured and unsecured debt was yielding over 12%. Fast forward to today, and our debt is currently yielding around 8% on a blended basis, a 450-basis point improvement.

最後，我想就我們的資本結構做幾點簡要說明。第 18 張幻燈片展示了 Uniti 的資本成本在過去兩年中是如何顯著改善的。回顧我們推出 10.5% 擔保票據的時候，我們的擔保和無擔保債務收益率超過 12%。時至今日，我們的債務綜合收益率約為 8%，提高了 450 個基點。

Over the past several months, we have continued to execute on a number of planned actions to extend our debt maturities, lower our overall cost of debt, and drive meaningful interest expense savings.

在過去的幾個月裡，我們繼續執行多項計劃措施，以延長債務到期日，降低整體債務成本，並大幅節省利息支出。

With our most recent refinancing of our 10.5% 2028 secured notes, we successfully pushed $2.3 billion of debt out four to five years and will save close to $60 million in annual interest expense. We also recently closed on our second ABS financing of Uniti Fiber's assets with a blended coupon of 5.67%, which represents the tightest spreads on a fiber ABS deal in almost 40 years.

透過最近對 2028 年到期的 10.5% 擔保票據進行再融資，我們成功地將 23 億美元的債務延期了四到五年，每年將節省近 6,000 萬美元的利息支出。我們最近也完成了 Uniti Fiber 資產的第二筆 ABS 融資，綜合票面利率為 5.67%，這是近 40 年來光纖 ABS 交易中利差最小的一次。

Going forward, we will continue to take an opportunistic approach to refinancing our outstanding debt with near-term maturities. We also believe that ABS is likely to play a growing role in our capital structure given its comparative cost advantages. To that end, we are working to establish a separate ABS program with fiber assets at Kinetic.

展望未來，我們將繼續採取機會主義的方式，對近期到期的未償債務進行再融資。我們也認為，鑑於資產支持證券（ABS）具有相對成本優勢，它可能會在我們的資本結構中發揮越來越重要的作用。為此，我們正在努力利用 Kinetic 的光纖資產建立一個獨立的 ABS 專案。

With that said, we are focused on maintaining a healthy mix of both ABS and non-ABS debt, and we will be balanced in our approach. At quarter end, our pro forma combined net leverage was 5.55 times, and we still expect to end the year with a combined net leverage of between 5.5 times and 6 times.

綜上所述，我們將專注於維持資產支持證券 (ABS) 和非資產支持證券 (non-ABS) 債務的健康組合，並將採取平衡的方法。截至季末，我們的備考合併淨槓桿率為 5.55 倍，我們仍然預期年底合併淨槓桿率將在 5.5 倍至 6 倍之間。

I'll now turn the call back over to Kenny for closing comments.

現在我將把電話轉回給肯尼，請他做總結發言。

Thanks, Paul. I'd like to close with a couple of comments on integration and some incremental growth areas we're focused on.

謝謝你，保羅。最後，我想就整合以及我們正在關注的一些漸進式成長領域談幾點看法。

First, integration is going very smoothly, and we've had virtually no system nor customer disruptions. We're also well on our path to full integration and synergy achievement within 36 months, which is in line with our original expectations. We're also excited about a number of budding growth areas, including cross-selling Uniti Solutions products into our enterprise base at both Uniti Fiber and Kinetic.

首先，整合工作進展非常順利，我們幾乎沒有遇到任何系統或客戶中斷的情況。我們正朝著在 36 個月內實現全面整合和協同效應的目標穩步前進，這與我們最初的預期相符。我們也對一些新興成長領域感到興奮，包括將 Uniti Solutions 產品交叉銷售給我們在 Uniti Fiber 和 Kinetic 的企業客戶群。

Today, we estimate our managed services attachment rate to be below 3% at Uniti Fiber, for example, and we think it could rise to be materially higher over time. Also, as discussed numerous times before, with the complementary combination of the Uniti and Heritage Windstream wholesale products and networks, we're increasingly confident we can be a bigger share taker in the growing waves market.

例如，我們目前估計 Uniti Fiber 的託管服務附加率低於 3%，我們認為隨著時間的推移，這一比例可能會大幅上升。此外，正如之前多次討論的那樣，憑藉 Uniti 和 Heritage Windstream 批發產品和網路的互補組合，我們越來越有信心能夠在不斷增長的波浪市場中佔據更大的份額。

Today, we estimate our market share to be less than 5%. And with our scaled national network and unique routes, we believe our growth potential could be material.

目前，我們估計我們的市佔率不到5%。憑藉我們規模化的全國網絡和獨特的路線，我們相信我們的成長潛力是巨大的。

Lastly, at Kinetic, we believe there's a sizable and untapped opportunity with multiple dwelling units within our footprint, and there are seemingly attractive edge-out builds off the Kinetic Fiber footprint and the existing Uniti Fiber dense fiber network. We'll have much more to say about these growth areas in the coming quarters. All said, there's never been a better time to be a fiber provider, and our strategy at Uniti is right for the moment.

最後，在 Kinetic，我們認為在我們的覆蓋範圍內存在著相當大的、尚未開發的多個住宅單元的機會，而且在 Kinetic Fiber 的覆蓋範圍和現有的 Uniti Fiber 密集光纖網絡周圍，似乎存在著有吸引力的邊緣擴展建設。未來幾個季度，我們將就這些成長領域發表更多看法。總而言之，現在是成為光纖供應商的最佳時機，而 Uniti 的策略也正契合當下的情況。

With that, we'd be happy to take your questions.

那麼，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Greg Williams, TD Cowen.

（操作說明）Greg Williams，TD Cowen。

Kenny, just the first question, you noticed in the slide that the total addressable market for fiber is booming, if you will. We're seeing the same thing hearing hyperscalers are even prolonging training phase as they do AGI training now and some of these data centers could be hybrid inference and training data centers.

肯尼，第一個問題，你在幻燈片中註意到，光纖的潛在市場規模正在蓬勃發展。我們看到同樣的情況，聽說超大規模資料中心甚至延長了訓練階段，就像他們現在進行通用人工智慧（AGI）訓練一樣，而其中一些資料中心可能是混合推理和訓練資料中心。

I'm just curious with this three years of strong visibility that you're seeing, if the deal mechanics are now changing or when will they change? When will they go from more upfront NRC revenues to more of a lit services and lower CapEx, high-margin structure?

我很好奇，在你們看到的這三年強勁的成長勢頭下，交易機制是否正在發生變化，或者何時會發生變化？他們何時會從更多地依賴前期 NRC 收入轉向更多地依賴公開服務和較低資本支出、高利潤率的結構？

Second question is on ABS deals. Paul, you mentioned that you're creating a separate vehicle for Kinetic ABS. I think in the past, you said there's over $3 billion of ABS capacity within the Kinetic assets. Just curious what you would be doing with that ABS. Do you have -- is the business fully funded for the fiber-to-the-home build at this point? And then at this case, the ABS deals would be for refining the debt stack and other projects?

第二個問題是關於資產支持證券交易的。Paul，你提到你正在為 Kinetic ABS 開發一款獨立的車型。我記得你之前說過，Kinetic 旗下資產的 ABS 容量超過 30 億美元。我只是好奇你會用那塊ABS做什麼。貴公司目前是否已獲得足夠的資金用於光纖到府建設？那麼，在這種情況下，ABS交易是為了優化債務結構和其他項目嗎？

Good morning, Greg. iall great questions. Yeah, on the hyperscaler incremental TAM, look, when we estimated it back at the beginning of this year, we used all the data we had available. We used internal estimates. We used consultant reports that we saw. We used some internal consultants that we were working with, and we came up with those numbers and thought that they were fairly conservative at the time.

早安，格雷格。你問的問題都很好。是的，關於超大規模資料中心增量TAM，你看，我們在今年年初估算它的時候，使用了我們當時擁有的所有資料。我們採用了內部估算。我們採用了我們看到的顧問報告。我們聘請了一些內部顧問，他們當時正在與我們合作，我們得出了這些數字，並認為這些數字在當時是相當保守的。

And when you fast forward to today, I think the real takeaway from the page is not necessarily the aggregate numbers. It's really just the increase in bullishness that we see for ourselves, and that 30% to 50% is a good indicator of that because when we look at those aggregate numbers and compare them to the same data points we started with back at the beginning of the year, they look even more conservative.

而到了今天，我認為這篇文章真正想傳達的訊息並不一定是那些總體數字。我們親眼所見的，確實是看漲情緒的增強，而 30% 到 50% 的增長就是一個很好的指標，因為當我們查看這些匯總數字，並將它們與年初時的數據點進行比較時，它們看起來更加保守。

So, for the industry, both from a digital infrastructure perspective and from a fiber perspective, they just look increasingly conservative every day based on what our customers are saying to both of us privately and publicly, the same comments over and over that demand is outpacing supply. They can't keep up with the demand. And that's really important.

因此，從數位基礎設施和光纖的角度來看，根據我們的客戶私下和公開告訴我們的，他們每天都變得越來越保守，他們反覆表達的都是同樣的評論，即需求超過了供應。他們無法滿足需求。這一點非常重要。

And we've talked about this before, Greg, that we've sold mega strand counts, 432 strand counts, and we've had the same customer come back and ask for another 432-strand count. That's just a very bullish data point on demand outpacing supply. They talk about how the AI infrastructure is mission-critical to their businesses.

格雷格，我們之前也討論過這個問題，我們賣出過超大股數的紗線，例如 432 股紗線，而且經常有同一個顧客回來要求再買 432 股紗線。這正是一個非常利好的數據點，表示需求超過了供應。他們談到人工智慧基礎設施對他們的業務至關重要。

And so, we're very excited about what they're saying and what they're doing. And we're really well-positioned for it at Uniti. We're one of the few scaled national fiber providers out there. Many of these builds are in Tier 2 and 3 markets where our network is naturally a good fit. And so we continue to take a sizable share of the business that we see in our footprint, and we're starting to look outside the footprint a little bit to grow the network strategically.

所以，我們對他們的言論和所作所為感到非常興奮。我們 Uniti 在這方面已經做好了非常充分的準備。我們是少數的幾家擁有規模化全國性光纖網路服務的供應商之一。這些項目大多位於二、三線城市，而我們的網路恰好非常適合這些城市。因此，我們繼續在我們業務覆蓋範圍內佔據相當大的市場份額，並且我們開始稍微將目光投向業務覆蓋範圍之外，以戰略性地發展網絡。

And to that point, when we look out over the next three years, the funnel is full of deals that we've either already signed and booked or that are in the funnel with a high degree of confidence that we're in a really strong position to win those deals.

展望未來三年，我們已經簽下並預定了許多交易，或者正在洽談中，我們非常有信心贏得這些交易。

And really to your second part of your question, are the types of deals changing -- and I would say yes and no. I think there's absolutely, in our view, a very gray line between the training phase and the inference phase. We started out talking about that as being two distinct phases. But as we've gotten deeper into this, it's very clear that they're not two distinct phases.

至於你問題的第二部分，交易類型是否正在改變——我的回答是，既是也不是。我認為，在我們看來，訓練階段和推理階段之間絕對存在著一條非常模糊的界線。我們一開始就把這視為兩個截然不同的階段。但隨著我們對此的深入研究，很明顯，它們並不是兩個截然不同的階段。

There's -- training is going to persist for many years, we think, based on conversations with our customers, that these training models are going to need to be updated on a very regular basis, including with Agentic AI and all the other use cases that we're seeing. And so, we're really excited about the builds that we've put in place today to enable these training data centers and feel like there's going to be the second and the third and the fourth comeback for additional fiber to enable those data centers.

根據我們與客戶的交流，我們認為訓練將會持續很多年，這些訓練模型需要非常定期地更新，包括使用智慧人工智慧以及我們看到的所有其他用例。因此，我們對今天為啟用這些培訓資料中心而進行的建設感到非常興奮，並且感覺還會有第二、第三、第四次光纖擴建，以啟用這些資料中心。

So, we think that's going to persist. And we absolutely believe that once AI is adopted on a mass scale among not just the hyperscalers, but the superscalers and the Neoclouds and large enterprises and eventually individual retail consumers like all of us that our roughly 5 million connected fiber endpoints are going to really benefit from that.

所以，我們認為這種情況會持續下去。我們堅信，一旦人工智慧被大規模採用，不僅在超大規模資料中心，而且在超級大規模資料中心、新雲端平台、大型企業，最終在像我們這樣的個人零售消費者中得到廣泛應用，我們大約 500 萬個連接的光纖終端點將從中受益匪淺。

And I think the deals that we're seeing from hyperscalers, as we've said, Greg, they've always run the spectrum all the way from greenfield builds with very high NRCs, upfront NRCs. And we love those deals where we're building fiber that's strategic. But also, on the very other end of the spectrum, we're selling existing capacity or existing network, either in waves or dark fiber IRUs or in leases. And we think that's going to continue.

正如我們所說，格雷格，我認為我們從超大規模資料中心營運商那裡看到的交易，總是涵蓋了從新建專案到高淨營運成本（NRC）和預付淨營運成本（NRC）的整個範圍。我們非常喜歡那些能夠建立具有戰略意義的光纖網路的專案。但另一方面，我們也以分批出售現有容量或現有網路的方式出售，包括暗光纖 IRU 和租賃。我們認為這種情況還會持續下去。

And I think it's probably going to err more towards the latter than the former as we get into more of the inference phase. But just as an example, the big deal that we announced last quarter, the large hyperscaler deal, that was all existing infrastructure, and there was virtually no capital associated with that, and it came in at a very high margin. So -- and when we look in the funnel, there's a very good mix of those in the coming quarters.

而且我認為，隨著我們進入推理階段，結果可能會更傾向於後者而不是前者。但舉個例子來說，我們在上個季度宣布的那筆大交易，即大型超大規模資料中心交易，全部都是現有的基礎設施，幾乎沒有相關的資本投入，而且利潤率非常高。所以——當我們觀察市場漏斗圖時，會發現未來幾季這些因素的組合非常平衡。

And when you look at that free cash flow yield page that we've shown for quarter after quarter for the past two years, the jump from 29% to 34% is really largely driven by hyperscaler deals being very high cash flow margin deals.

當你查看我們過去兩年每季都展示的自由現金流收益率頁面時，你會發現從 29% 到 34% 的躍升，實際上很大程度上是由超大規模交易的現金流利潤率非常高所驅動的。

Sorry, I went long on that question. I think ABS is over to you.

抱歉，我在這個問題上說太多了。我覺得ABS這事就交給你了。

Yeah. Greg, this is Paul. I'll take your question on ABS. So we aren't providing specific guidance at this point with regard to 2026 and capital and any financing required in 2026 to fund the Kinetic build plan in particular. However, we do expect to be in a period of investment at Kinetic and Uniti generally, particularly as it relates to the fiber build plan at Kinetic over the next, call it, four years.

是的。格雷格，我是保羅。我來回答你關於ABS的問題。因此，目前我們不會就 2026 年的資金以及 2026 年為 Kinetic 建設計劃提供任何融資的具體指導。不過，我們預期 Kinetic 和 Uniti 將進入一段投資期，尤其是在未來四年內，Kinetic 的光纖建設計畫方面。

So we will raise additional capital. And during this period of investment, we do expect our leverage to remain above our long-term target of 4 to 4.5 times. But as Kenny has talked about, this is the right strategic move for the business. And it's very similar to the strategy we have deployed in the Fiber Infrastructure business sort of years ago. Building fiber, we think, gives us the right to win.

因此，我們將籌集更多資金。在這項投資期間，我們預計槓桿率將保持在 4 至 4.5 倍的長期目標之上。但正如肯尼所說，這對公司來說是正確的策略舉措。這與我們幾年前在光纖基礎設施業務中採用的策略非常相似。我們認為，建造光纖網路賦予了我們獲勝的權利。

And at Kinetic, once we have that superior product ubiquitous across that network or nearly ubiquitous across that network, it gives us the line of sight to that growth and to free cash flow over a period of time and to eventual deleveraging as well. So it's definitely the right move for the business to make that investment.

在 Kinetic，一旦我們的優質產品在該網路中普及或幾乎普及，它就能讓我們看到成長的前景，並在一段時間內獲得自由現金流，最終實現去槓桿化。因此，對企業來說，進行這項投資絕對是正確的舉措。

And we're excited about ABS. We think ABS will definitely have a role to play with regard to financing the build plan at Kinetic given the relative cost advantages of ABS debt. And like you alluded to, there's significant ABS capacity at Kinetic in particular, the $3 billion to $4 billion capacity number is what we've talked about historically, and we still believe that that is true.

我們對ABS感到興奮。我們認為，鑑於 ABS 債務的相對成本優勢，ABS 肯定會在 Kinetic 的建設計劃融資方面發揮作用。正如您所暗示的，Kinetic 擁有大量的 ABS 產能，特別是 30 億至 40 億美元的產能，這是我們過去一直討論過的，我們仍然相信這是真的。

With that said, we're very focused on keeping the right amount and mix of assets in the leveraged finance credit box at Uniti. And we understand the long-term importance of access to the high-yield market for Uniti in addition to ABS. So ABS, we think, is enhancing a part of the solution, but certainly not the full solution for Uniti's capital structure going forward.

也就是說，我們非常注重在 Uniti 的槓桿融資信貸組合中保持適當的資產數量和組合。我們瞭解，除了資產支持證券 (ABS) 之外，進入高收益市場對 Uniti 的長期重要性。因此，我們認為 ABS 增強了部分解決方案，但肯定不是 Uniti 未來資本結構的完整解決方案。

And when we talk about the 4 times secured and 6.5 times unsecured ratios as governors for our capital structure, that is something -- that's on our non-ABS assets, I guess, is the best way to put it. That's on our non-ABS assets and EBITDA, and we think that's sometimes missed by the market.

當我們作為資本結構的管理者談論 4 倍擔保資產和 6.5 倍無擔保資產比率時，這確實是一個問題——我想，這是關於我們非資產支持證券 (ABS) 資產的最佳說法。這是關於我們的非資產支持證券和 EBITDA 的數據，我們認為市場有時會忽略這一點。

Frank Louthan, Raymond James.

弗蘭克·盧森，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

What do you need to do to take more share in the wavelength market? And who do you see your main competitors there? And then you've made some key hires at Kinetic. Any more positions to fill there? Do you think the teams rounded out for what you need to do?

要想在波長市場獲得更大的份額，你需要做些什麼？你認為你在那裡的主要競爭對手是誰？然後，你們在 Kinetic 公司進行了一些關鍵的人員招募。那裡還有其他職位空缺嗎？你認為這些團隊是否能滿足你的需求？

Good morning, Frank. I'll start, and then I'm going to ask John Harrobin to help follow on the second question. And welcome to John. This is his first Uniti earnings call and first of many more to come, hopefully.

早安，弗蘭克。我先來，然後我會請約翰‧哈羅賓來幫忙回答第二個問題。歡迎約翰。這是他第一次參加 Uniti 的財報電話會議，希望以後還能參加更多。

So yeah, Frank, on the wave market, as you know, at Uniti, prior to the merger, we were just starting to get into that market in a bigger way. The vast majority of our product set on the wholesale side was focused on dark fiber, and we love that product -- lower capital intensity, higher margin, lower touch, just higher and substantially lower churn.

是的，弗蘭克，正如你所知，在Uniti合併之前，我們在波浪市場方面剛開始更大規模地進入這個市場。我們批發業務的大部分產品都集中在深色纖維上，我們非常喜歡這種產品——資本密集度低、利潤率高、接觸少、客戶流失率高且大幅降低。

But we're starting to get into the wave market because we definitely began to recognize that there are unique routes on our network, and we felt like lighting those unique routes could give us a -- just similar to how we target Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, targeting those less trafficked routes could be an opportunity for us to take share, especially as more and more new fiber is being built around the country. So that was the beginnings of the thesis.

但我們開始進入波段市場，因為我們確實開始意識到我們的網路上存在一些獨特的路徑，我們覺得激活這些獨特的路徑可以給我們帶來——就像我們瞄準二線和三線市場一樣，瞄準那些流量較小的路徑可能是我們搶佔市場份額的機會，尤其是在全國各地建設越來越多的新光纖的情況下。這就是論文的雛形。

And now with the merger, we've not only brought in more network to sell, we've brought in people on the team who have a lot of experience selling waves. We've got engineering talent. We've got product talent, marketing talent that is a terrific complement to what we previously had at Uniti in addition to the fact that now we've got a lot more owned network to sell.

現在透過合併，我們不僅增加了銷售網絡，還為團隊引入了在波浪產品銷售方面經驗豐富的人員。我們擁有工程技術人才。我們擁有產品人才和行銷人才，這與我們之前在 Uniti 擁有的人才形成了極好的互補，此外，我們現在還有更多自有網路可以銷售。

And in the past, I think the waves market has been really characterized by pricing competition, especially on the Tier 1 routes where you've got three or four different providers. And we don't tend to like to compete in areas on price. We'd rather compete on infrastructure and where we've got unique infrastructure.

過去，我認為波浪市場的特點是價格競爭，尤其是在一級航線上，通常會有三到四個不同的供應商。我們通常不喜歡在價格方面競爭。我們更願意在基礎設施方面競爭，尤其是在我們擁有獨特基礎設施的領域。

And really to the heart of your question, why do we think there's an opportunity for us going forward, it's kind of building upon the original thesis, which is we think there's going to be more and more wave traffic needed in less traffic markets today, so more of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 routes. And we think more and more of the hyperscalers and other Neoclouds, superscalers are going to need waves.

而真正回到你的問題的核心，為什麼我們認為未來我們有機會，這其實是在最初的論點基礎上發展起來的，那就是我們認為，在如今交通流量較小的市場中，將會有越來越多的波動性交通需求，也就是更多的二線和三線航線。我們認為，越來越多的超大規模資料中心和其他新型雲端、超級大規模資料中心將需要波浪式雲端服務。

And they don't tend to purchase capacity based on price. They tend to purchase based upon route diversity, unique routes, and reliability, and the ability to provide good customer service, all things that we're seeing on the build side with these customers today. They tend to purchase based upon route diversity, unique routes and reliability and the ability to provide good customer service, all things that we're seeing on the build side with these customers today.

而且他們通常不會根據價格來購買產能。他們傾向於根據路線多樣性、獨特路線、可靠性以及提供良好客戶服務的能力進行採購，而這些正是我們今天在建設方面從這些客戶身上看到的。他們傾向於根據路線多樣性、獨特路線、可靠性以及提供良好客戶服務的能力進行採購，而這些正是我們今天在建設方面與這些客戶合作時所看到的。

So we think going forward, we've got the ability to capture some share there and not based on price but based on those different characteristics.

所以我們認為，展望未來，我們有能力在那裡佔據一些市場份額，而且不是基於價格，而是基於這些不同的特性。

And with respect to your question about where that share is going to come from and how big that opportunity is, I'm going to hold on that question for now. We're working on that. We'll give you a more refined answer on that in the future. But all that to say, with 5% of the market today, we've got a long -- we think we've got a nice amount of upside relative to where we are today.

至於你問的這部分份額將來自哪裡以及這個機會有多大，我暫時保留這個問題。我們正在努力解決這個問題。未來我們會給您更詳細的答案。但總而言之，目前我們持有 5% 的市場份額，我們認為相對於目前的水平，我們還有相當大的上漲空間。

And look, on the leadership question, very excited to have John on the team. He's been a terrific addition, not just to the leadership team, but on what he's already done at Kinetic. And importantly, he's brought in some key additions to his team already, and I think there's more to come, and I'm going to let John comment on that.

至於領導階層問題，我非常高興約翰能加入團隊。他不僅對領導團隊來說是一個非常棒的新成員，而且他在 Kinetic 已經取得的成就也令人矚目。更重要的是，他已經為他的球隊引進了一些關鍵球員，我認為未來還會有更多球員加入，我會讓約翰來評論這一點。

Yeah. Thanks, Frank. Good to be here. And the Kinetic team as it exists today is highly talented. Their results and their resiliency going through a number of changes and the results that they produced during those changes is really a testament to their capability.

是的。謝謝你，弗蘭克。很高興來到這裡。而如今的 Kinetic 團隊才華洋溢。他們在經歷許多變革後所取得的成就和展現出的韌性，以及他們在這些變革期間所取得的成果，真正證明了他們的能力。

When it comes to team structure, we first look at what's our strategy and what's our operating plan. And that's what we've really been finalizing over the last few months. We finalized our build strategy. Now it's our operating plan strategy. We'll end November with that tucked in, in a way in a good spot. And then it goes into structure.

在團隊結構方面，我們首先要考慮的是我們的策略和營運計劃。而這正是我們過去幾個月一直在敲定的事情。我們最終確定了建設策略。現在這是我們的營運計劃策略。到11月底，這件事就圓滿解決了，某種程度上來說，這算是個不錯的結局。然後就進入結構部分了。

And we've realized early that we needed a couple of key roles in the business. We've hired a growth leader, David Oliveira, who I've worked with at a couple of other companies, and he is a spectacular leader with a long runway and career ahead of him. Twenty years from now, when we're watching the industry from afar, he'll be running it. And I'm proud to say that he's part of the team and making a large impact already.

我們很早就意識到，公司需要幾個關鍵職位。我們聘請了一位成長型領導者大衛·奧利維拉，我曾在其他幾家公司與他共事，他是一位傑出的領導者，前途無量。二十年後，當我們從遠處觀察這個行業時，他將掌管它。我很自豪地說，他現在是團隊的一員，並且已經產生了很大的影響。

We have an active search right now for a construction lead. We've got some good people in that part of the business doing double duty as a few folks have exited that department, and we expect to fill that soon with highly capable leaders as well.

我們目前正在積極尋找建築業負責人。我們這部分業務中有一些優秀的員工身兼數職，因為有幾個人離開了這個部門，我們預計很快就能找到能力很強的領導者來填補空缺。

And then as we look at other opportunities in our operating plan, there's probably going to be a few additions we need to make and refinements around capabilities that we're not so strong at today or even new areas that Kenny mentioned before that are untapped in the Kinetic business. So, when you think about the trajectory, we've got what we need now, and the target is 6 months after the close.

然後，當我們審視營運計劃中的其他機會時，我們可能需要增加一些項目，並對我們目前不太擅長的能力進行改進，甚至是肯尼之前提到的 Kinetic 業務中尚未開發的新領域進行改進。所以，從發展軌跡來看，我們現在已經擁有了所需的一切，目標是在交易完成後的 6 個月內實現目標。

So, we closed on August 1, six months after the close by February 1. We have the go-forward in-person, highly capable team in place.

因此，我們在 8 月 1 日完成了交易，比原定於 2 月 1 日完成的交易晚了六個月。我們已經組建了一支能夠直接開展工作的、能力很強的團隊。

Michael Rollins, Citi.

麥可‧羅林斯，花旗集團。

First, I wanted to ask about slide 15 a little bit more. So, thanks for sharing this pro forma outlook, both for revenue and EBITDA. I'm curious if you could just share with us how to think about these trends going into 2026 in terms of the type of growth for Fiber Infrastructure. You talked about the tailwinds in Kinetic that you're seeing for this year and just trying to understand maybe some of those headwinds.

首先，我想再問第 15 張投影片的問題。感謝您分享這份預測性展望，包括營收和 EBITDA 兩方面。我很好奇您能否和我們分享一下，您如何看待2026年光纖基礎設施發展趨勢。你談到了 Kinetic 今年所面臨的順風，也想了解可能存在的一些逆風。

And then finally, on the EBITDA side of that chart, as revenue moves for each of these big buckets, these segment buckets, how do you think about the operating leverage or the incremental margins that you can extract as the revenues evolve in each of those pieces?

最後，在圖表的 EBITDA 部分，隨著每個大類別、每個細分類別的收入變化，您如何看待隨著每個部分收入的變化而產生的營運槓桿或增量利潤率？

And then just secondly, just curious if you have an update on the strategic front. Last quarter in the slides, I think you referenced starting a review for the acquired assets. And just curious if you have any updates on how you're thinking about optimizing your portfolio of assets.

其次，我只是好奇您在策略方面是否有最新進展。在上個季度的幻燈片中，我認為您提到了開始對已收購資產進行審查。我很好奇您在優化資產組合方面是否有任何最新進展。

Michael, I think I wrote down all the questions. We'll try to hit most of them, and I'll start, and Paul, you can jump in on some of the trends, and then I'll come back on (technical difficulty) the question. And really, Michael, on the trends, we don't want to get too much into forward guidance at this point other than what we've laid out in some of the key inflection points for next year and how that sets us up for going into 2027. And so, I'll -- but we'll have obviously more to come on guidance when we come back together in February of next year.

邁克爾，我想我已經把所有問題都記下來了。我們會盡量涵蓋大部分內容，我先開始，保羅，你可以談談一些趨勢，然後我會回來回答（技術難題）問題。邁克爾，實際上，關於趨勢，除了我們已經列出的明年一些關鍵轉折點以及這些轉折點如何為我們進入 2027 年做好準備之外，我們現在不想過多地進行前瞻性預測。所以，我會——但顯然，明年二月我們再次聚首時，會有更多指導意見出台。

But on the businesses, I'll start with Fiber Infrastructure. I mean that's a business that we know well that we love and bringing the Windstream Wholesale business into that fold along with heritage Uniti, Fiber and Uniti Wholesale is a terrific synergistic fit. And we think the historical mid-single-digit growth there, we're going to get back to that.

但說到企業方面，我先從光纖基礎設施說起。我的意思是，我們非常了解並熱愛這項業務，將 Windstream Wholesale 業務與歷史悠久的 Uniti、Fiber 和 Uniti Wholesale 業務一起納入其中，是一個絕佳的協同效應。我們認為，我們將恢復到歷史上個位數的中段成長率。

And I think there's great both cost savings in that business when we combine them, but also revenue synergies. The waves opportunity, for example, is one of them. Clearly, the hyperscaler opportunity is another that I think is additive and incremental to what we had before because we've now got multiple products to sell to a broader customer set. So very excited about the opportunity in that business.

我認為，將這兩家公司合併後，既能大幅節省成本，又能帶來收入綜效。例如，波浪機會就是其中之一。顯然，超大規模資料中心帶來的機會是我們先前業務的補充和擴展，因為我們現在有多種產品可以銷售給更廣泛的客戶群。我對這個行業的機會感到非常興奮。

And I think ultimately, when you think about the legacy services within that business, there is some TDM there, right? We're inheriting some TDM in the Windstream Wholesale -- heritage Windstream Wholesale business. But by 2027, 2028, that will be less than $100 million of TDM revenue. So we're working through that. That will be a little bit of a headwind in that business, but we're working through that.

我認為最終，當你考慮到該業務中的傳統服務時，其中肯定存在一些 TDM，對吧？我們正在繼承 Windstream Wholesale 的一些 TDM 業務——Windstream Wholesale 的傳統業務。但到 2027 年、2028 年，TDM 收入將不到 1 億美元。所以我們正在努力解決這個問題。這對我們這項業務來說會是一個小小的阻力，但我們正在努力克服。

And as Paul said in his prepared remarks, that TDM revenue doesn't in any way detract from the real value of the fiber business, the underlying fiber business that's growing and prospering and putting up good predictable results. So, a little bit of headwind but generating cash flow in the meantime and eventually will become an immaterial part of the business.

正如保羅在事先準備好的發言稿中所說，TDM 收入絲毫不會減損光纖業務的真正價值，光纖業務本身正在增長、繁榮，並取得了良好的可預測的成果。所以，雖然遇到了一些阻力，但同時也產生現金流，最終將成為業務中無關緊要的一部分。

At Kinetic, very excited about the playbook there. And with John now on the team and adding key -- leaders in key positions, those inflection points for next year are very much in focus, very much predictable. And as we say around here, we're not forecasting anything Herculean with respect to what others have accomplished in the copper to fiber migration story.

在 Kinetic，我對那裡的戰術體系感到非常興奮。隨著約翰加入團隊，並在關鍵位置上增添了關鍵的領導者，明年的這些轉折點就非常值得關注，而且很容易預測。正如我們常說的，我們並沒有預測在銅纜到光纖遷移方面會取得像其他人那樣巨大的成就。

I mean this is -- we're not -- we don't shy from the fact that John comes from Frontier, which ran a playbook, and we're following a lot of that and obviously making additions and improvements in certain areas, and we've got a little bit of a unique footprint relative to Frontier. But really, the playbook is very, very clear, and we think the growth trajectory in the fiber business at Kinetic is very predictable. And so very excited about that.

我的意思是，我們並不迴避約翰來自 Frontier 公司的事實，Frontier 公司有一套既定的營運模式，我們沿用了很多這種模式，當然也在某些方面進行了補充和改進，相對於 Frontier 公司，我們有一些獨特的發展方向。但實際上，策略非常非常明確，我們認為 Kinetic 的光纖業務成長軌跡是可以預測的。我對此感到非常興奮。

And yes, we're going to work through the copper and DSL book of business, but we're going to do that in a responsible manner, and we're overbuilding and we're replacing that with a superior product, and we're migrating customers in an aggressive manner -- increasingly aggressive manner, I would say. And so eventually, you're going to start to see that predictable growth at Kinetic.

是的，我們會逐步恢復銅纜和DSL業務，但我們會以負責任的方式進行，我們會進行過度建設，用更優質的產品取而代之，並且我們會積極地遷移客戶——而且我認為，遷移的速度會越來越快。因此，最終你會在 Kinetic 看到可預見的成長。

So, when you take those two businesses together, we think we're creating a lot of value in those businesses by building fiber, transitioning out of legacy networks and services. And I think the path is very, very clear. And that's three-quarters of our business. And so, then you get into the Uniti Solutions business, which is really where a lot of the heritage headwinds and declining top line exists.

因此，我們認為，將這兩項業務結合起來，透過建立光纖、逐步淘汰傳統網路和服務，我們正在為這些業務創造許多價值。我認為這條路非常非常清晰。這佔了我們業務的四分之三。因此，接下來就涉及 Uniti Solutions 業務，而這正是許多傳統弊端和營收下滑真正存在的地方。

We -- by the end of this year and early next year, we'll largely have exited the TDM part of that business. And then you've got large enterprises that are taking managed services products that are generally off-net. And as we've pivoted that strategy away from targeting new logos and focusing on the long-tenured customers and the profitable products within that business, yes, that's going to continue to result in top line decline. But we feel like the book of business that we're left with in two or three years is going to be died.

到今年年底和明年年初，我們將基本退出該業務的 TDM 部分。還有一些大型企業正在使用通常不在網路內的託管服務產品。隨著我們調整策略，不再以開發新客戶為目標，而是專注於長期客戶和公司內部獲利的產品，是的，這將繼續導致營收下降。但我們感覺，兩三年後我們剩下的業務將會全部消失。

Long-tenured customers, large enterprises, some of which we think we can bring onto our own fiber network, some of which we think are going to be bandwidth hogs when the learning -- or sorry, the training -- the inference phase of AI starts to kick in. And we also think there's cross-selling opportunities with that business into our base at Kinetic and Uniti Fiber.

長期客戶、大型企業，其中一些我們認為可以納入我們自己的光纖網絡，而另一些我們認為在人工智慧的學習（或抱歉，是訓練）推理階段開始發揮作用時，將會成為頻寬消耗大戶。我們也認為，透過這項業務，我們可以向我們在 Kinetic 和 Uniti Fiber 的客戶群進行交叉銷售。

So, all that to say, those headwinds are going to persist for the next several years and are, in some ways, going to cloud the growth at the core fiber business. But in the meantime, we're generating nice cash flow off that business, and we're transitioning the really large key customers either on-net, and we're certainly using the really high-quality products in those -- in that business to help us in other parts of the business.

綜上所述，這些不利因素將在未來幾年持續存在，並在某種程度上阻礙核心光纖業務的成長。但同時，我們從這項業務中獲得了不錯的現金流，我們正在將真正的大客戶轉移到線上，我們當然也在這項業務中使用真正高品質的產品來幫助我們開展其他業務。

So, on your strategic question, Michael, a lot of activity there. We look at M&A the same way as we've looked at it for years. There's four buckets, right? There's asset sale opportunities. There's joint venture opportunities. There's opportunities to add bolt-on deals that are strategic. And then, of course, there's the real big bucket of just selling the business or parts of the business.

所以，關於你提出的策略問題，邁克爾，那方面有很多活動。我們看待併購的方式與多年來一樣。這裡有四個桶，對吧？存在資產出售機會。存在合資機會。存在一些可以增加具有戰略意義的附加交易的機會。當然，還有一個更大的選擇，那就是出售整個企業或部分企業。

I'd say in the asset sale category, we're actually looking at a number of opportunities to generate some nice cash flow. I mean we've got a lot of fiber around the footprint that we're not planning to light anytime soon within the Fiber Infrastructure business, for example, we think those could be monetization opportunities. There's also some fallow real estate within the footprint that we're looking at.

我認為，在資產出售方面，我們實際上有很多機會可以產生可觀的現金流。我的意思是，例如，我們在光纖基礎設施業務範圍內有很多光纖，但我們近期沒有啟用這些光纖的計劃，我們認為這些光纖可能蘊藏著獲利機會。此外，我們也正在考察該區域內的一些閒置土地。

On the joint venture side, there's a lot of third-party capital looking to help companies like ours accelerate the build. There's also a lot of capital looking to invest in fiber, AI infrastructure. And so, we're looking at some of those opportunities. And I think there could be some opportunities there. That's really a cost of capital conversation more than anything. But -- and right now, we don't necessarily need the capital, but we're certainly looking at those opportunities to create options for ourselves.

在合資企業方面，有許多第三方資本希望幫助像我們這樣的公司加快建造速度。還有很多資本正尋求投資光纖和人工智慧基礎設施。所以，我們正在研究其中的一些機會。我認為那裡可能存在一些機會。這其實更多的是關於資金成本的討論。但是——而且現在，我們不一定需要資金，但我們當然會考慮這些機會，為自己創造更多選擇。

And I'd say on the bolt-on point, we're certainly getting lots of opportunities to look at. But I think on balance, the marginal dollar is probably better spent investing internally than being acquisitive. So, we're not spending a lot of time in that category.

至於附加功能方面，我們確實有很多機會可以考慮。但我認為，總的來說，與其進行收購，不如把省下的錢用於內部投資，這樣可能會更好。所以，我們並沒有在這個領域花太多時間。

And really, on the last bucket, the big tectonic plates continue to move in the industry. And we -- with our two scaled fiber businesses, Fiber Infrastructure and certainly Kinetic, we feel like we have two very strategic and very valuable assets. And I would say that our confidence level in that statement grows every day rather than dissipates.

而實際上，在最後一個階段，產業內的大型構造板塊仍在持續移動。我們擁有兩家規模化的光纖業務公司——光纖基礎設施公司和 Kinetic 公司，我們感覺我們擁有兩項非常具有戰略意義且非常有價值的資產。而我認為，我們對這說法的信心與日俱增，而不是減弱。

So, Paul, anything you want to add on the trends or outlook?

保羅，你對目前的趨勢或前景還有什麼補充嗎？

No, I think that's good.

不，我覺得這樣挺好。

Richard Choe, JPMorgan.

Richard Choe，摩根大通。

I wanted to follow up on the hyperscale opportunity. It seems like that pipeline is just going to continue to grow. But can we get a sense on timing maybe on when you should start signing these deals and coming through and how that should pace over the next few years because it seems like such a big opportunity.

我想跟進超大規模資料中心的機會。看來這條輸油管還會繼續擴建。但是，我們能否了解一下時機，例如您應該何時開始簽署這些協議並逐步落實，以及未來幾年應該如何推進，因為這似乎是一個很大的機會。

So we've already -- we've signed a lot in the past couple of years. And I'd say the past couple of years, more like the past year, maybe 18 months. And look, this TAM came out of nowhere in a very short period of time. I remember two years ago, maybe 30 months ago, we were getting questions about whether or not this was real. Is there really an opportunity there?

所以，過去幾年我們已經簽了很多合約。我覺得過去幾年，更確切地說是過去一年，也許是18個月。你看，這個TAM是在很短的時間內憑空出現的。我記得大約兩年前，也就是30個月前，我們曾被問到這件事是否真實發生過。那裡真的有機會嗎？

And we were struggling to answer that question because the numbers and the outlook looked extremely exciting and bullish, but we were trying to be measured in our response.

我們當時很難回答這個問題，因為數據和前景看起來非常令人興奮和樂觀，但我們試圖謹慎地回應。

And now we fast forward two years, and we can't keep up with the numbers and we can't put numbers on the page that are -- that seem current or that aren't overly conservative. So, we've definitely been signing deals, and we have more to come. I do think, as I said in my prepared remarks, the next couple, several quarters, you're probably going to see the bigger deals are the biggest deals that we've had to date, and those are probably going to start showing up in revenue and EBITDA.

現在我們快轉兩年，我們已經跟不上數據的變化，也無法在頁面上列出看起來最新或不太保守的數據。所以，我們確實一直在簽約，而且未來還會有更多簽約。正如我在準備好的發言稿中所說，我認為在接下來的幾個季度裡，你們可能會看到一些更大的交易，這些交易是我們迄今為止達成的最大規模的交易，而這些交易可能會開始體現在收入和 EBITDA 上。

And I think that's -- we've said for the past 12 months that many of these deals don't show up in the vanity metrics like bookings or revenue and EBITDA because the nature of the deals are -- if you're building something with a very high NRC, it just doesn't show up in a bookings number.

我認為，過去 12 個月以來，我們一直強調，許多此類交易不會體現在預訂量、收入和 EBITDA 等虛榮指標中，因為交易的性質是——如果你正在開發一款 NRC 非常高的產品，它就不會體現在預訂量上。

It doesn't show up in a revenue or EBITDA number. And so, we've consistently heard from investors that they want more visibility into those deals and how the economics work, and we have a plan to start showing that in the coming quarters as these bigger deals start to come online.

它不會體現在營收或 EBITDA 數據中。因此，我們不斷聽到投資者表示，他們希望更清楚地了解這些交易以及其中的經濟運作方式，我們計劃在接下來的幾個季度裡，隨著這些更大的交易陸續上線，開始展示這些交易。

So, all that to say, Richard, we have been signing the deals. They haven't been showing up in the vanity metrics. But on a go-forward basis, I think we're going to be signing more deals, probably bigger deals, and we're going to be able to show you a little bit more visibility into all that.

所以，理查德，總而言之，我們一直在簽署合約。它們並未出現在那些虛榮指標中。但展望未來，我認為我們將簽署更多協議，可能是更大的協議，我們將能夠向你們展示更多關於這一切的資訊。

And then one on the Kinetic side. In terms of the churn for the fiber there, the residential customers, where are you losing customers to? And what's the plan to maybe reduce that churn, if you can?

然後還有一台是動力方面的。就光纖用戶的流失而言，特別是住宅用戶，你們的客戶都流失到哪裡去了？如果可以的話，你們有什麼計畫來降低客戶流失率？

Yeah. So, this is John. Thanks, Richard. On the fiber churn side, we're high on the churn rate versus benchmark. And that's not dissimilar than Frontier in 2021 when it first started its transformation. And we're losing to the logical players in our fiber footprint, it's not FWA or LEO, its cable, right? It's largely cable. And our approach is to apply the same five tactics that I know work, and we're starting to execute those right now.

是的。這位是約翰。謝謝你，理查。在光纖用戶流失方面，我們的流失率高於基準水準。這與 Frontier 在 2021 年首次開始轉型時的情況非常相似。在我們的光纖覆蓋範圍內，我們正在輸給那些合乎邏輯的競爭對手，不是固定無線接入網（FWA）或低地球軌道接入網（LEO），而是有線網絡，對吧？主要是有線電視。我們採取的方法是運用我知道行之有效的五種策略，我們現在就開始執行這些策略。

The first tactic really is to clear the decks of any noise, right? And we're making two hygiene changes to do that. First, in July, we saw that we were dragging on nonpaid customers for a little bit and incurring bad debt. So now we have a policy to write them off earlier. So that's going to inflate churn a little bit on the fiber side. We'll wash through that by the end of the year.

首要策略就是排除一切幹擾因素，對吧？為此，我們正在做出兩項衛生方面的改變。首先，在 7 月份，我們發現我們對未付款的客戶拖欠了一段時間，導致產生了壞帳。所以現在我們有了更早註銷這些壞帳的政策。這樣一來，纖維方面的攪拌就會稍微加劇一些。到年底前，我們會解決這個問題。

And the second is to really get out of the ACP credit business when the ACP program went away, we extended credits to those customers. And on September 1, we notified them that that's no longer going to be the case and effective September 1, we are no longer subsidizing the ACP program after it went away. That's going to put about a 16-basis point pressure on fiber churn in the fourth quarter. But again, that's just clearing the decks for the future.

第二點是徹底退出 ACP 信貸業務，當 ACP 計劃結束後，我們向這些客戶提供了信貸。9 月 1 日，我們通知他們情況將不再如此，自 9 月 1 日起，ACP 計劃終止後，我們將不再對其進行補貼。這將使第四季的光纖用戶流失率面臨約 16 個基點的壓力。但話說回來，這只是為了未來掃清障礙。

The second is being more surgical about price ups. Over the last 18 months, the legacy company was pretty aggressive about across the board price ups. So, versus across-the-board price ups, we're going to be more surgical and very customized by each customer based on their competitive profile and their speed tier, assign them a price up that's fair and inflationary.

第二點是更精準地控制價格上漲。在過去的18個月裡，這家老牌公司在全面提價方面採取了相當激進的策略。因此，與全面漲價不同，我們將根據每位客戶的競爭狀況和速度等級，採取更精準和個人化的定價策略，為他們設定一個公平且符合通貨膨脹的漲價幅度。

And in many cases, if we can give them more speed for more money, more for more value. That's the strategy that we'll take. Cable has used it, Frontier has used it, we're going to use it. So yes, we might be increasing your rate a few dollars, but we're also going to double your speed in some cases. So, it's that more-for-more strategy and aligning value with price.

很多情況下，如果我們能花更多的錢給他們更快的速度，就能獲得更大的價值。這就是我們將採取的策略。Cable公司用過，Frontier公司用過，我們也打算用。所以，是的，我們可能會提高您的資費幾美元，但在某些情況下，我們也會將您的網路速度提高一倍。所以，這就是所謂的「以更少的投入獲得更多價值」的策略，以及將價值與價格相符的策略。

The third is really redesigning our value proposition. We just went from national pricing to regional pricing to not leave money on the table and take more share. We've eliminated the concept of rack rate pricing. And we've adopted a pulse strategy. So, we'll go in and out of markets with promotions. So that is -- that's a tactic that works, and we're deploying that.

第三點是真正重新設計我們的價值主張。我們剛從全國定價改為區域定價，這樣就不會錯失任何利潤，也能獲得更大的市場份額。我們已經取消了標價的概念。我們採取了脈衝式策略。所以，我們會帶著促銷活動進出各市場。所以，這是一種行之有效的策略，我們正在採用這種策略。

And we've recently revamped many call center practices. That's the kind of the fourth prong, routing customers to the right queue, simplifying the IBR to get to people quicker, aligning incentives with reps so that it's not only save rate but also net retained revenue for the retention queues and really using GenAI to identify root cause of churn and performance management, identifying those reps that do it well and those that don't and sharing them pushing out those best practices to the entire team.

我們最近對呼叫中心的許多操作流程進行了改進。這就是第四個方面，將客戶引導到正確的隊列，簡化 IBR 以便更快地接觸到客戶，使激勵機制與銷售代表保持一致，這樣不僅關注客戶留存率，還關注留存隊列的淨留存收入，並真正利用 GenAI 來識別客戶流失的根本原因和績效管理，識別出哪些銷售代表做得不好，並將這些最佳實踐分享給整個團隊做得好。

And finally, and very fundamentally, it's fixing broken customer experiences. Every week, my leadership team gathers around the table to find, proactively find and fix problems, and this is a discipline and muscle that we're building to act fast and to do this.

最後，也是最根本的一點，就是修復糟糕的客戶體驗。每週，我的領導團隊都會圍坐在桌旁，主動發現並解決問題，這是我們正在培養的一種快速行動的能力和習慣。

Everything from transferring customers too many times, and we've made some progress there to simplifying the IVR to small business customers up until a month ago that wanted single location small business customers up until a month ago that wanted to place a fiber order could not schedule an install date.

從客戶轉接次數過多，到簡化 IVR 以方便小型企業客戶，我們在這方面取得了一些進展。直到一個月前，想要訂購光纖的小型企業客戶還無法安排安裝日期。

We fixed that pretty quickly and sales went up fairly significantly. So, these are the things that we're finding and fixing, and this is the way to go after churn and loyalty. I expect we'll make strong progress. This isn't rocket science.

我們很快就解決了這個問題，銷售額也顯著成長了。所以，這些都是我們正在發現和解決的問題，也是應對客戶流失和提升客戶忠誠度的正確方法。我預計我們會取得顯著進展。這又不是什麼高深的學問。

It sounds like a good playbook and nice to clear the decks for next year.

聽起來是個不錯的策略，而且能為明年掃清障礙，這很好。

David Barden, New Street Research.

David Barden，新街研究公司。

I guess I got a couple of questions for John. John, there's a philosophical divide in the fiber market right now, which is building in-house versus outsourced building and how that contributes to your cost to pass and your efficiency and your ability to scale. I was wondering if you could kind of elaborate a little bit on kind of where you are landing on that in the kind of the new kinetic.

我想問約翰幾個問題。約翰，目前光纖市場存在著一個理念上的分歧，即內部建設還是外包建設，以及這如何影響你的通過成本、效率和擴展能力。我想請您詳細闡述一下，您在新動力學方面最終的立場是什麼。

And then the second is the chart where you guys show the penetration rates for fiber, I mean, 25% to 30% penetration year one is pretty incredible. But then it tails off really quickly, only getting us a few more percentage points over the next couple of years. Could you talk a little bit about that arc? How do you get that really high penetration year one? And then how are we going to scale that further in years two, three-plus?

其次是你們展示光纖滲透率的圖表，我的意思是，第一年滲透率達到 25% 到 30%，這真是令人難以置信。但之後成長速度很快放緩，在接下來的幾年只提高了幾個百分點。能稍微談談這個劇情走向嗎？如何在第一年就獲得如此高的市場滲透率？那麼，在第二年、第三年甚至更長時間裡，我們該如何進一步擴大規模？

Yeah. Excellent. Thanks, David. And on your first question, we've made three major fundamental changes to our build plan over the last several months. First is from having no plan to actually having one with a very specific sequencing of where we're going to build in what order, we know every household specifically for the next three years in sequence. The second is moving from subsidized builds largely to strategic builds. And 2025 will be the last year that Kinetic builds more subsidized households than strategic households.

是的。出色的。謝謝你，大衛。關於你的第一個問題，在過去的幾個月裡，我們對建設計畫進行了三個重大的根本性改變。首先，我們從沒有計劃到製定了一個非常具體的計劃，包括我們將在哪裡按什麼順序建造，我們甚至知道未來三年內每個家庭的具體建造順序。第二點是從主要依靠補貼建設轉向策略性建設。2025 年將是 Kinetic 建造的補貼住房數量超過戰略住房數量的最後一年。

And the third is going from predominantly internal construction teams to predominantly external. We took a page out of the Frontier playbook here, put multiyear volume on the table and secured agreements that can scale cost efficiently. And because we have an internal team, we know that we could hire up there, we could deploy. It just takes time and effort. But that gives us a little bit of leverage when negotiating with third parties as well.

第三點是從以內部施工團隊為主轉變為以外部施工團隊為主。我們借鑒了 Frontier 的做法，提出了多年期的業務量，並達成了可以經濟高效地擴展的協議。因為我們有內部團隊，所以我們知道我們可以在那裡招聘，我們可以部署。這需要時間和精力。但這也讓我們在與第三方談判時擁有了一些籌碼。

And it's not one or the other. It's absolutely both. Our internal teams not only have a cost advantage and combine that with our 95% either fiber now or fiber-to-the node allows us for quick and cost-effective deployment of fiber. But the internal teams have a lot of flexibility to travel, to go to places where we can pivot quickly as appropriate and send teams in to do specific builds.

這不是二選一的問題。兩者兼而有之。我們的內部團隊不僅擁有成本優勢，而且結合我們 95% 的光纖到戶或光纖到節點，使我們能夠快速、經濟高效地部署光纖。但是內部團隊有很大的旅行彈性，可以去到我們可以根據需要快速調整方向的地方，並派團隊去進行特定的建設工作。

And so, we have a plan to use both internal and external effectively, so we don't buy into one or the other. I think if we can get the right cost, and we believe we have them on external, that's the fastest way to scale, and that's where we're moving the majority of our work to. But we'll never give up our internal construction team.

因此，我們制定了一個計劃，有效利用內部和外部資源，這樣我們就不會偏向其中任何一方。我認為，如果我們能找到合適的成本，而且我們相信我們已經找到了外部供應商，那麼這是最快的擴展方式，這也是我們正在將大部分工作轉移到的地方。但我們絕不會放棄我們的內部施工團隊。

On the other question on the fast penetration and then the curve for the outer years, yes, this is -- you see this also with overbuilders, et cetera. You hit a wall. And I remember in 2021 at Frontier, people were skeptical of us growing the legacy -- what we call the base markets and the legacy markets, I think it was like 40.5% penetration in 2021.

關於快速滲透以及外層年份的曲線的另一個問題，是的，這是——你也會在過度建設者等等身上看到這一點。你碰壁了。我記得在 2021 年 Frontier 公司，人們對我們發展傳統業務持懷疑態度——我們稱之為基礎市場和傳統市場，我認為 2021 年的滲透率約為 40.5%。

And we said we wanted to get to, what, 45% in four years. We achieved that one year ahead of schedule. And I think last quarter, Frontier might have announced 48% penetration in those base markets. So, I think the Kinetic team has done a really strong job penetrating homes in new fiber territories quickly. They have a whole effort called Fiber Fast that's very disciplined, and it's very effective.

我們當時說，我們希望在四年內達到 45% 的目標。我們提前一年完成了這項任務。我認為上個季度，Frontier 可能宣佈在這些基礎市場實現了 48% 的滲透率。所以，我認為 Kinetic 團隊在快速滲透到新的光纖覆蓋區域的家庭方面做得非常出色。他們有一套名為「快速纖維」（Fiber Fast）的方案，非常嚴謹，而且非常有效。

Where they haven't paid as much attention to is those legacy markets. And recently, we have. And I can tell you that we're seeing improvements there in the older cohorts. And a lot of it is just how you go after those discretely. Do you pulse in and out of those markets with promo? Do you add distribution in those markets, either door-to-door or do you bolster media, performance-based media in those markets.

他們不太關注的是那些傳統市場。最近，我們做到了。我可以告訴大家，我們看到老年族群的情況有所改善。很多時候，關鍵在於如何低調地追求這些目標。你會在這些市場之間來回進行促銷活動嗎？您是否在這些市場增加分銷管道，無論是挨家挨戶的分銷，還是加強這些市場的媒體推廣，特別是效果行銷媒體？

So, a combination of promo, distribution and media is how we go after that. And that's how we did it at Frontier, and it seems to work. So, I'm confident that we'll make inroads there. Those are really good markets with good market profiles. We should be winning our fair share in those markets.

所以，我們採取的策略是結合宣傳、分銷和媒體。我們在 Frontier 就是這麼做的，而且似乎效果不錯。所以，我相信我們一定能在那裡取得進展。這些都是非常好的市場，市場前景良好。我們應該在這些市場中贏得我們應得的份額。

David, just to build on John's comments on the build and philosophy there. We've said for several quarters now leading up to this pivot to more external that our build costs would increase. So going from that historically low $600 to $650, all internal that we were going to make the sacrifice to let that cost per passing increase some. But the benefit of that would be that we bring all the things John just said about the benefit and able to build more faster. We think that trade-off is well worth it.

David，我只是想補充John對那裡的建築和理念的評論。在轉向更多外部採購之前的幾個季度裡，我們已經說過我們的建造成本將會增加。因此，從歷史低點 600 美元漲到 650 美元，我們內部一致認為，我們將做出犧牲，讓每次傳球的成本略有增加。但這樣做的好處是，我們可以把約翰剛才提到的所有好處都帶過來，並且能夠更快地建造更多東西。我們認為這樣的權衡是值得的。

So, to your philosophical point, that's where we land. Let's bring in a good mix as opposed to doing it 100% internal. Yes, you spend a little bit more per passing, but all the benefits that John just mentioned accrue eventually to the bottom line.

所以，就你提出的哲學觀點而言，這就是我們的最終結論。讓我們採取多元化的方案，而不是完全依賴內在力量。是的，每次通過的成本會稍微高一些，但約翰剛才提到的所有好處最終都會反映在利潤上。

Brendan Lynch, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的布倫丹·林奇。

Just on Kinetic home passings, you're a little below the pace that you originally anticipated, but expect to kind of recapture that original trajectory in 2026. Can you just walk us through what you expect to change next year to help you get back on track?

僅就 Kinetic 主場傳球而言，你目前的速度比預期的要慢一些，但預計在 2026 年會恢復到最初的軌跡。您能否簡要介紹一下您預計明年會做出哪些改變以幫助您重回正軌？

Yes. I mean we're below, as Kenny mentioned, a slight bit, but we expect to catch up in the first quarter. That's simply a timing issue. After the merger close, we realized that not all projects that were designed and ready to go. We secured the crews external to go build them. Not all the projects were permitted, and we ran into delays on permits and locates, particularly in those subsidized markets where we're new to the area and we don't have any existing experience or facilities.

是的。我的意思是，正如肯尼所提到的，我們目前略微落後，但我們預計會在第一季迎頭趕上。那隻是個時間問題。合併完成後，我們意識到並非所有專案都已設計完畢並準備就緒。我們安排了外部人員去施工。並非所有項目都獲得了許可，我們在許可證和選址方面遇到了延誤，尤其是在那些我們剛進入、沒有任何經驗或設施的補貼市場。

This is not a Kinetic problem. As you know, permitting is an industry-wide problem. There's a lot of support and efforts to streamline the permitting process. We support US telecom and other institutions that are going after that. I know there's potential EOs on the table as well, which we're supportive of and the FCC has been a good advocate for reform here.

這不是動力學問題。如您所知，審批是一個行業普遍存在的問題。各方都在大力支持並努力簡化審批流程。我們支持美國電信公司和其他機構採取此類行動。我知道目前也有一些潛在的行政命令正在討論中，我們對此表示支持，而且聯邦通訊委員會一直是這方面的改革的良好倡導者。

That said, relative to permitting and facilities, we have visibility to every project, where we are in that pipeline, how to get ahead of it, the timing now and this is easy to resolve, and we're already knocking down some obstacles. We took our team that really did a good job on our subsidized build planning and winning a lot of great subsidized build and pivoted them to solely focus on managing our permitting and locate motion.

也就是說，就許可和設施而言，我們對每個專案都有清晰的了解，知道我們在專案流程中的位置，如何提前完成，以及目前的進度安排，這些問題很容易解決，我們已經在克服一些障礙。我們把之前在補貼建設規劃方面做得非常出色，並且贏得了許多優秀補貼建設項目的團隊，調整方向，讓他們專注於管理我們的許可和選址工作。

And the velocity there has increased in September and October consecutively. We've set an internal record on number of permits cleared, not that, that means anything in the -- when it comes to build plans, but we know that we're clearing the decks for the teams to roll. So that's why we're really confident that in first quarter, we'll catch up.

9月和10月，該地區的流速連續加快。我們在內部創下了已批准許可證數量的記錄，雖然這在建設計劃方面並不意味著什麼，但我們知道我們正在為團隊的順利開展掃清障礙。所以，我們非常有信心在第一季就能迎頭趕上。

Great. That's helpful. And then, Kenny, you kind of teased multiple dwelling units as a growth opportunity. Maybe just help us understand why that wasn't part of the plan in the past and what's changing to make it part of the plan now?

偉大的。那很有幫助。然後，肯尼，你似乎暗示多戶住宅是一個成長機會。或許可以幫我們理解一下，為什麼過去這不屬於計畫之內，以及現在發生了什麼變化才讓它成為計畫的一部分？

Yeah. Great question. I'm going to start and then turn it to John to pile on, Brendan. So, look, I think the short answer is it just wasn't a priority because there were so many other priorities that were being focused on, number one. But number two, I think that we've talked many times about bringing in fresh leadership, a fresh set of eyes, a proven playbook.

是的。問得好。我先開始，然後讓約翰接話，布倫丹。所以，你看，我認為簡而言之，這件事之所以沒有被列為優先事項，是因為當時有太多其他優先事項需要優先處理。但第二點，我認為我們已經多次討論過引入新的領導層、新的視角和行之有效的策略。

This is one of those great examples of how with John coming in and taking a look at where we were focusing, where our resources were targeted and just servicing the concept that, hey, this was a big opportunity at prior companies. And here, it's a big opportunity as well, and we don't have the resources next to it that we should. And on a go-forward basis, we're going to. So, it's just really a question of leadership and priorities.

這是約翰加入我們後，審視了我們關注的重點、資源投入的方向，並提出一個理念的絕佳例子：嘿，這在以前的公司是一個很大的機會。這裡也是一個很大的機遇，但我們卻沒有得到應有的資源。今後，我們將繼續這樣做。所以，這其實就是一個領導力和優先事項的問題。

No, I think that's well said. At Verizon, I manage the MDU business and you kind of have to win there in Verizon. I mean, with New York City, Boston and other large cities, you kind of have to nail that. And then at Kinetic, there really wasn't investment there. So, we kind of built it from the ground up.

不，我覺得說得很好。在 Verizon，我負責 MDU 業務，在 Verizon，你必須在這個領域取得成功。我的意思是，像紐約、波士頓和其他大城市，你必須把這一點做到極致。而對於 Kinetic 公司來說，實際上並沒有進行任何投資。所以，我們基本上是從零開始建造的。

And to this day, I mean, at Frontier, I think it's delivering double-digit nets every single quarter right now in terms of customer growth. So, once you get it rolling, it's really strong and the IRRs are really even higher than single family business. So, I'm very bullish on it.

時至今日，就 Frontier 而言，我認為它目前每季在客戶成長方面都實現了兩位數的淨成長。所以，一旦步入正軌，它就會非常強勁，而且內部收益率甚至比單一家族企業還要高。所以我非常看好它。

It will take a little bit to build, but we'll get it done. You've got to have the right motion, if you will, and leadership. You also have the right product. We have the right product. In fact, our EOR deal that we just announced has certain MDU and community capabilities that we can use to deliver effectively on that segment. So, we're going to get after this. And it might take a few quarters or a year to really show the results. But once we get involved there, I know that we will succeed.

建造需要一些時間，但我們會完成的。你必須要有正確的行動，或者說領導力。你們的產品也合適。我們擁有合適的產品。事實上，我們剛剛宣布的 EOR 協議具有一定的 MDU 和社區能力，我們可以利用這些能力有效地服務於該領域。所以，我們要著手解決這個問題。可能需要幾個季度甚至一年的時間才能真正看到效果。但一旦我們參與其中，我知道我們一定會成功。

Matthew Griffiths, Bank of America.

馬修·格里菲斯，美國銀行。

I want to ask on the fiber -- consumer fiber ARPU. You mentioned in the comments explaining the kind of sequential down move was caused by price adjustments and net adds. So, I was wondering to what extent kind of your comments on churn kind of impacted the move in ARPU?

我想問一下關於光纖的問題—消費者光纖ARPU。你在評論中提到，這種連續下跌的走勢是由價格調整和淨增持造成的。所以，我想知道您關於客戶流失的評論在多大程度上影響了ARPU的走勢？

And then on the net add side, are you finding that the kind of incremental net add is coming in at an increasingly lower ARPU? Or was this just something within the quarter that we may not see repeat? An added color there would be great.

那麼在淨增用戶方面，您是否發現新增淨用戶的平均每用戶收入越來越低？或者這只是本季內發生的個別事件，可能不會再出現？如果那裡再加點顏色就更好了。

Yes, Matthew, astute question, and I'll answer the first part. And then on the second part with new customers, it may sound like I'm circling the airport, but I promise I'll land the plane and answer your question.

是的，馬修，問得好，我先回答第一部分。至於第二部分，也就是和新客戶交流的時候，我可能聽起來像是在機場上空盤旋，但我保證我會降落飛機並回答你的問題。

Yes, there's a correlation between churn and ARPU. I mean, we have very high churn and among the best -- highest ARPUs in the category. I mean, 10% year-over-year on top of an already high ARPU in the category. I mean that's something that we need to really understand, and I spent a lot of time initially understanding that. The high ARPU that we have is in part due to our market profile, which is, I believe, is very attractive and distinct.

是的，客戶流失率和每位用戶平均收入之間存在相關性。我的意思是，我們的用戶流失率非常高，但同時也是同類產品中最好的——平均每用戶收入最高。我的意思是，在同類產品中原本就很高的每用戶平均收入基礎上，又實現了 10% 的同比增長。我的意思是，這是我們需要真正理解的事情，而我最初也花了很多時間來理解這一點。我們之所以能獲得如此高的 ARPU（每位用戶平均收入），部分原因在於我們的市場定位，我認為，我們的市場定位非常有吸引力且獨樹一幟。

But the 10% year-over-year is really a result of multiple across-the-board price ups over the past 18 months. And just like with copper customers, we're going to get more surgical here. We're going to drive more for more and really use the speed ladder to move customers up the speed ladder to drive ARPU higher. And we have a massive opportunity there. 65% of our fiber base is on plans that are less than one gig.

但同比上漲 10% 實際上是過去 18 個月內多次全面提價的結果。就像對待銅纜用戶一樣，我們在這裡也會採取更精準的策略。我們將努力爭取更多，並真正利用速度階梯將客戶提升到更高的速度階梯，從而提高每用戶平均收入 (ARPU)。我們在這方面擁有巨大的機會。我們65%的光纖用戶都使用低於1Gbps的套餐。

This is, again, similar to the Frontier playbook. Just about a month ago, we launched two gigs to 85% of our footprint. And already new customer take rates there are in the double digits. We're going to introduce more value-added services to sell more services to customers, not only to drive more ARPU, but also, we know the more services customers purchase from us, the lower the churn is for those customers.

這與 Frontier 的策略非常相似。大約一個月前，我們以 85% 的業務覆蓋範圍推出了兩項服務。而且，那裡的新客戶轉換率已經達到兩位數。我們將推出更多加值服務，向客戶銷售更多服務，這不僅是為了提高每用戶平均收入 (ARPU)，而且我們知道，客戶從我們這裡購買的服務越多，這些客戶的流失率就越低。

And also, a contributor to ARPU is using credits more effectively. We put more controls on the use of credits over the last 60 days, and we've now aligned rep or retention rep compensation with net retained revenue. So, you want to qualify the customer, rightsize them and you don't have to drop all the way to the bottom in terms of saving the customer.

此外，ARPU 貢獻者正在更有效地使用積分。在過去的 60 天裡，我們對積分的使用進行了更多控制，現在我們將代表或留存代表的薪酬與淨留存收入掛鉤。所以，你想篩選客戶，合理安排客戶規模，而不必為了留住客戶而降低服務標準。

You asked about new customers. And I'm always reminded of Moffet's characterization a couple of years ago, we really captured the essence of our category's new customer promo strategy. He think he characterized it, and this is almost exact words, like, it's really value deferred, not forgone. And for years, and this works, the industry brings in new customers at a lower rate because it reflects the natural ability to move customers up the speed ladder, sell more services and deploy inflationary price increases.

您問到了新客戶的狀況。我總是想起莫菲特幾年前的描述，我們確實抓住了我們品類新客戶促銷策略的精髓。他認為他已經準確地描述了這一點，而且這幾乎是原話，那就是，這真的是價值的延遲，而不是放棄。多年來，這種做法行之有效，因為該行業能夠以較低的速度吸引新客戶，因為它反映了讓客戶逐步升級、銷售更多服務和實施通貨膨脹式價格上漲的自然能力。

We embrace that notion. We've changed our go-to-market recently, like I mentioned before, to take advantage of that. And so, we have specific plans to grow ARPU using the four levers that we always use: speed ladder, value-added services, inflationary price increases and use of credits. And while it might not be -- it won't be 10% on a sustainable basis, we do believe there's a path to durable ARPU growth.

我們贊同這一觀點。正如我之前提到的，我們最近改變了市場策略，以利用這一優勢。因此，我們制定了具體的計劃，利用我們一直使用的四個槓桿來提高每用戶平均收入 (ARPU)：快速升級、增值服務、通膨價格上漲和使用積分。雖然可能無法持續達到 10% 的成長，但我們相信 ARPU 實現永續成長是有途徑的。

I show no further questions in the queue at this time. This does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.

目前隊列中沒有其他問題了。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接了。