Telecommunications company FiberLight growing without debt

Innovations in technology are the cornerstone of FiberLight, an Alpharetta-based telecommunications company.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Miller said his company is growing despite the grim economic outlook. And he expects his bottom line to continue its upward trend thanks to tried and true business practices.

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MICHELLE E. SHAW/mshaw@ajc.com

Michael Miller, the chief executive officer of FiberLight in Alpharetta, says the company has been self-funded since its inception in 2005 and carries no debt.

THE MICHAEL MILLER FILE
• Residence: Milton
• Family: Wife of 36 years, Libby, and two adult sons
• What's on the iPod: Everything from classical music to old country
• Last movie seen: "No Country for Old Men"
• Last vacation: The Mayan Riviera
• Last book read: It was a Patricia Cornwell book. Pick one, I've read them all.
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With a staff of 39 full-time employees, the company serves the technology and communication needs for hundreds of clients across the country.

Q: What exactly does FiberLight do?

A: We are a facility-based company that manages fiber-optic networks in 14 major markets around the U.S. We also provide high-speed capacity, which allows companies to send massive amounts of data to different points. Here in Atlanta we have a 150-mile fiber-optic network that runs from north of Alpharetta to East Point. It’s high-capacity and built for growth.

Q: Who are your customers?

A: We do business with all of the major carriers and wireless providers in the U.S. We do a lot of work with Verizon, AT&T Wireless and with the cable companies Cox and Comcast. We do a significant amount of work with other carriers such as Qwest, and we deal with a lot of the content providers, who provide the IP connections to the Internet. We provide all of these people high-speed data pipes to transmit their services. The pipe can be fiber, a wave or a specific amount of data.

Q: Why do people need the speed you talk about?

A: The Internet is forcing it to happen. It’s not the input but the downloading that requires speed. Things like movies and TV-over-IP are creating an explosion of bandwidth. Companies like FiberLight provide an opportunity for customers to transport that data on a private basis, rather than a shared environment.

Q: This is not your first telecommunications business, is it?

A: I’ve been in the telecommunications business for 30 years, largely sales and marketing have been my background. I’ve been in entrepreneurial environments almost all of my career. Although I’ve worked for larger companies, like ITT, I’ve been in startup divisions in each one.

Q: How has the economy affected your business?

A: Historically a downturn or an upturn in the economy doesn’t have a huge impact on telecommunications. The only difference is when the credit markets tighten up, small companies that require capital can’t get it. In 2005 we started with around $70,000 a month in recurring revenue, and today we’re at $1 million. In May 2005 we were at $7 million in revenue, and we’ll finish this year at $21 million. Next year we’re already on track for $49 million, which is some 243 percent in growth if you compare year-over-year. The good news about FiberLight is that it has been self-funded since the day of its inception. We carry no debt and we borrow no money, so we don’t need the capital and credit markets.

Q: How can you continue to carry no debt?

A: What we’ve done, to ensure we don’t have to borrow money, is have a very short return on investment. We try to get our money and our profit within nine months of a sale. Our competitors, historically, will go 36-48 months before they see a return on their investments and some companies, even longer than that. But by shortening our ROI, we’ve been able to reinvest our profits faster and not have to borrow money to run our business.

Q: What are your goals for FiberLight?

A: Our goals are varied. First, we want to continue to expand our reach in all of our markets. Metropolitan areas, especially in places like Atlanta, are rapidly expanding. Years ago, nobody would have considered putting fiber in north Marietta, but now it is needed past that point. Secondly, we want to continue to grow, but not to the extent that we cannot take care of our customers. We’ve seen too many telecommunications companies explode in growth and leave the customer behind. We want to make sure every one of our customers gets the same level of attention they get today, no matter how large we get. Third, we want to continue to expand our product line. There is no end to the technology that will happen in our industry.

Q: Are you on track to meet those goals?

A: Not only are we on track, but I think we’re way ahead of schedule.