Beyond the Cable: How ISPs can simplify operational complexity

Consolidations and network scaling are two key trends among US telecoms in 2026, but both can increase the complexity of operations, as Patricia Kellaghan of Synamedia pointed out during her recent appearance on Beyond the Cable. "Especially in broadband," she said. "What you start to see with these consolidation efforts is operators are inheriting more systems, more vendors, more device types, and more silos." Kellaghan, who serves as Synamedia's senior director of product management, said that's not the only pressures broadband providers are navigating. As a result, Kellaghan said networks need smarter tools so they can unify operations, many times with leaner teams. She said that applying visibility with intelligence can empower ISPs to address issues as they arise, without the need for long troubleshooting processes. Working with Wyndotte Municipal Services, in Michigan, a community-owned utility, Kellaghan said Synamedia's vendor-neutral Gravity platform enabled the network to eliminate manual setup steps and allowed them to streamline provisioning. "That really enabled them to eliminate a lot of manual setup steps. It allowed them to streamline provisioning, reduce the swivel chair with troubleshooting, and really gave their techs and their CSRs real-time visibility into the device, but also into the fleet and network health as well.