Background
RW King joined a prime vendor building a 1,600-mile broadband network for a state academic consortium. The consortium was in its formative years, tasked with launching a statewide high-speed broadband initiative—connecting schools, libraries, hospitals, and universities across underserved regions. Funded by a $100 million federal grant, the project required rapid execution, complex stakeholder coordination, and strict compliance with BTOP (Broadband Technology Opportunities Program) milestones
At a Glance
What Mattered Most
Bolster prime vendor program execution by delivering expert schedule support, process optimization, and program advisory
What We Noticed
The prime contractor inherited a project already nine months behind schedule and committed to the original delivery date. Schedule and information management became the foundation for aligning internal teams, subcontractors, and a diverse stakeholder consortium. A coordinated scheduling strategy, integrated reporting, and targeted advisory support enabled recovery, restored trust, and ensured on-time delivery despite early setbacks
What Changed
report produced
and reviewed
weekly
Workplans
developed
and managed
tool created
Challenge
The prime vendor faced a variety of challenges: tight federal deadlines, a decentralized permitting process, and no unified project management infrastructure. Over 1,400 municipal permits had to be submitted, bonded, tracked and approved, while 1,600 miles of fiber optic cable were being constructed across 16 independent network segments. Internally, the prime had recently implemented a new project management system, but had not fully nonprofit was still building its governance and staffing models.
Solution
We bolstered the prime vendors’ excellence in design and construction with project schedule management, data reporting, and optimization:
- Configured the PMIS and developed a top-line rollup schedule from the 15 extensive Microsoft Project schedules covering planning, design, engineering, permitting, construction, and Go-live for each of the 16 network legs
- Created executive and operational dashboards and reports streamlining stakeholder communication of strand, fiber, weekly builds, key milestones, and overall progress
- Designed construction optimization models to support field teams with route planning and resource allocation
- Provided program and risk advisory services, including coaching for project managers and coordination with finance and client regulatory teams.
Outcome
The partnership transformed a high-risk infrastructure build-out into a coordinated, data-driven success story. The nonprofit delivered on its mission to expand broadband access while meeting federal oversight requirements and maintaining trust with stakeholders.
- Customized workplans to support design & build process
- Created Project Management response to 25-question, parent company audit
- Met with construction SMEs and PMs to capture detailed workplan information
- Designed and schedule management strategy to comply with contract and regulatory requirements
- Provided guidance to ensure appropriate utilization and efficiency from various tools: scheduled management, Right of Way management,
- Ensured integrity of schedule by transferring tracking of ROW activity to a dedicated application
- Enabled real-time decision-making through dashboards and analytics shared across universities, hospitals, and government partners.
- Positioned leadership to meet digital equity goals while satisfying federal performance expectations
- Improved transparency and accountability, strengthening credibility with funders and local partners.
Conclusion
The Prime Vendor inherited a project already nine months behind schedule and still delivered it on time and within budget—demonstrating outstanding recovery and execution. RW King provided expert services in PM practices, schedule agility, and analytical insight.
