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Greg Green
Greg Green
Greg Green
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Greg Green is a businessman and entrepreneur based in the Spokane-area, who began his career in the telecommunications industry in the mid-1980s. He is the founder of Tel-West.

Key Information

Telecommunications industry beginnings

[edit]

Green began his technology industry ventures when he formed Tel-West, a telecommunications provider of telecommunications services (a competitive access provider), in 1984. In 1995, Tel-West was acquired by NEXTLINK,[1] an organization owned by Craig McCaw. Green was an early pioneer of competitive local exchange carriers, or CLECs, after the Telecommunications Act of 1996. As President of NEXTLINK Washington, which later became Communications, Green was a member of the senior management team that took NEXTLINK public and raising $400 million in 1997.

After spending three more years with NEXTLINK, Green left in 1998 to found a new company, OneEighty Communications.[2] OneEighty Communications was founded in an effort to bring telecom services to underserved markets with populations of less than 500,000. Avista Corporation saw the value in it and purchased a majority share 6 months after Green founded the company. It was later renamed Avista Communications. Green remained with Avista Communications as its president and CEO until Avista Corp decided to sell the telecom section of its company in 2001.

He continued his work in the telecom industry by purchasing CLEC assets in the Northwest from Avista Communications. Those were later sold to Eschelon Telecom now a part of Integra Telecom.[citation needed]

Later ventures

[edit]

In 2010, Green partnered with Shawn Swanby, founder and President of Ednetics (a provider of technology solutions to the education community), to create a company, Fatbeam, that would deliver high capacity fiber optic transport services to underserved markets in the education, healthcare, and government markets.[3][4]

In 10 years, as the President of Fatbeam, Green has grown the company's fiber networks throughout the Pacific Northwest and into Arizona and New Mexico servicing over 40 markets.[citation needed]

In 2015 and 2016, Green was acknowledged in Inland Business Catalyst Power 50 as one of the top fifty most influential individuals within the community.[5]

In September 2015, Fatbeam earned the #190 spot on the 2015 Inc. 5000 list.[6]

In 2017, Green was selected to serve on the INCOMPAS Board of Directors. INCOMPAS is a national association that advocates for a free and competitive communications marketplace.[7]

In May 2019, Green was asked to speak at Eastern Washington University's SOAR Career Conference. His opening address was entitled, "Entrepreneurship and Effective Leadership in 2019".[8]

In January 2020, Green's telecommunications company, Fatbeam, received a $36 million investment from New York-based private investment company, SDC Capital Partners LLC.[9]

In March 2020, Green pledged Fatbeam's support of the FCC's "Keep Americans Connected" pledge as a response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus Crisis.[10]

By the end of March 2020, Green's telecommunications company, Fatbeam, formally joined a partner network in collaboration with Blackfoot.[11]

Advocacy

[edit]

In March 2019, Green advocated for Net Neutrality during a hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.[12] During the hearing Green stated that, “In a lot of marketplaces, 70 percent of consumers only have one choice for their ISP,” he said. “We don’t believe that’s open access. People need competition, they need a landscape they can count on and investment in their own community.”[13][14][15][16]

Philanthropy

[edit]

In the early 1990s, Green founded the Greg Green Foundation. The aim of this organization has been to aid communities and students in times of financial need. Over $600,000 has been donated since the foundation has started.[17]

In 2017, Green donated $1,000 through his foundation to support the creation of the Bunker Hill Mine Museum.[18]

In 2019, Green donated a $1,000 scholarship to NIC students in honor of local softball player, Toni Edinger.[19]

References

[edit]
[edit]
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Greg Green

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Greg Green is an author and horticulturist specializing in , best known as the creator of The Cannabis Grow Bible, a comprehensive manual that has sold widely and positioned him as a primary reference in marijuana growing techniques. Born in , Green has drawn from global travels to inform his practical, science-based approaches to indoor and outdoor cultivation methods. Green's work emphasizes empirical techniques for optimizing yield, potency, and plant health, covering topics from selection and to pest management and harvesting, without reliance on unsubstantiated trends. His publications, including The Cannabis Breeder's Bible, extend to and genetic stabilization, providing detailed protocols grounded in observable outcomes rather than anecdotal claims. Updated editions reflect advancements in lighting, , and organic mediums, maintaining relevance amid evolving legalization landscapes. Through Green Candy Press, his associated publisher, Green's guides have influenced hobbyist and commercial growers by prioritizing reproducible results over commercial product endorsements, fostering in cultivation practices. His contributions predate widespread mainstream acceptance, focusing on foundational principles like environmental control and nutrient balancing derived from direct experimentation.

Early Career in Telecommunications

Entry into the Industry (Mid-1980s)

Greg Green, a Spokane-area entrepreneur, entered the in the mid-1980s amid the spurred by the 1984 antitrust breakup of , which dismantled the monopoly and opened opportunities for independent carriers to build regional networks. This environment favored private-sector initiatives over legacy regulated models, enabling innovators like Green to address connectivity gaps in underserved areas such as the without reliance on federal subsidies. In 1984, Green founded Tel-West Communications Inc. in Spokane, establishing an early focused on deploying fiber-optic and local services to enhance regional access. The venture capitalized on emerging fiber technologies to lay downtown cable systems, prioritizing efficient, market-driven expansion in Washington's rural and urban fringes rather than government-backed mandates. By the late , Tel-West had grown into a key player in Northwest telecom, demonstrating the viability of entrepreneurial models in fostering development through private investment.

Founding of Initial Companies (1990s)

In the mid-1990s, Greg Green co-founded Nextlink Communications alongside Jim Voelker and , establishing it as a (CLEC) aimed at delivering local telephone and services in regions dominated by providers. As president of Nextlink Washington, Green oversaw regional operations, navigating the post-1996 Telecommunications Act environment where CLECs sought to erode monopolies held by firms like and through targeted fiber deployments and cost-efficient infrastructure. The venture culminated in Nextlink's in 1997, which raised $400 million to fuel nationwide expansion. Building on this experience, Green founded OneEighty Communications in 1998 as a Spokane-based CLEC specializing in fiber optic networks, local exchange services, and broadband access for businesses in the . The company emphasized private investment to extend high-capacity connections where incumbents underinvested, addressing capital constraints typical of startup CLECs by leveraging Green's prior operational expertise from Tel-West. OneEighty quickly gained traction in competitive bids against established carriers, demonstrating viability through market-driven deployments rather than regulatory subsidies. These initiatives underscored Green's approach to overcoming barriers such as limited access to and aggressive pricing from incumbents like , relying on bootstrapped growth from earlier ventures and strategic partnerships to build regional fiber infrastructure. By prioritizing underserved markets, the companies contributed to early proliferation in Washington and , fostering competition that pressured legacy providers to improve services.

Business Expansion and Key Ventures

Acquisitions and Growth in the Northwest (2000s)

In the early 2000s, following Avista Corp.'s divestiture of its telecommunications division in 2001, Greg Green acquired key competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) assets originating from Avista Communications, leveraging his prior role as the unit's CEO to consolidate fiber and data infrastructure in Washington state. This transaction provided a foundation for regional network integration, focusing on high-capacity data services for enterprise clients in the Inland Northwest. Subsequent investments emphasized private-sector efficiency in repurposing underutilized assets, avoiding the regulatory delays common in government-led broadband projects. From 2002 onward, Green expanded through additional CLEC purchases in the , including assets from Data Source and 360 Networks, which extended operations into and neighboring rural markets. These acquisitions enabled network densification and service enhancements, such as improved last-mile connectivity for businesses, without reliance on subsidized public funding. Growth manifested in operational scaling, with integrated assets supporting competitive data transport amid the post-dot-com recovery, though precise figures for added route miles or served endpoints remain undocumented in available records. The strategy yielded localized economic benefits in Spokane, where Green's ventures sustained telecom employment in engineering, deployment, and customer support roles, contributing to the area's emergence as a fiber infrastructure hub. Private acquisition-driven expansion proved faster than equivalent public alternatives, which often face protracted permitting and funding hurdles, thereby accelerating infrastructure availability for regional commerce. In 1998, Greg Green co-founded OneEighty Communications, Inc., a facilities-based competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) headquartered in Billings, Montana, aimed at providing integrated telecommunications services including local phone, long distance, and data connectivity primarily within the state. The company operated its own infrastructure to compete with incumbent providers, targeting markets where demand for reliable voice and broadband services outpaced traditional coverage, particularly in Montana's mix of urban centers like Billings and expansive rural territories. Green initially held significant equity in the venture before selling a majority stake to Corporation in 1999, which integrated the operations and later renamed it Communications. He retained partial ownership, maintaining a 50% equity interest alongside co-owner Chris Dimock as of 2003. Under this structure, OneEighty continued to expand its footprint through asset purchases, such as acquiring HighSpeed Communications' operations in Washington and for $1 million in 1997 (via related entity OneEighty Networks) and integrating local providers to bolster its regional network. These moves enhanced service delivery in underserved Northwest areas, leveraging fiber-enabled facilities for voice and data to address gaps left by dominant carriers. The acquisition of OneEighty Communications by Eschelon Telecom, Inc., for $9.5 million marked a key exit, yielding substantial returns on Green's long-term investment in consolidated regional assets amid post-1996 Telecommunications Act that facilitated CLEC growth and mergers. With Green planning to reinvest approximately $1 million of proceeds into his separate OneEighty Networks entity, the deal underscored value creation from strategic timing in a consolidating market, where facilities-based operators capitalized on rural demand for fiber-backed voice services before facing subsequent industry pressures like acquisition chains (Eschelon to Integra Telecom). This transaction highlighted both opportunities in deregulation-driven entry into underserved locales and inherent risks of over-dependence on buyouts, as evidenced by the telecom sector's wave of consolidations that often diluted independent operator control.

Later Business Initiatives

Co-Founding Fatbeam (2010s)

In 2010, Gregory Green co-founded Fatbeam in , with Shawn Swanby, establishing the company as a provider of high-capacity, long-haul fiber optic networks targeted at customers including enterprises, carriers, data centers, educational institutions, healthcare providers, and government entities. Fatbeam's operational model emphasized wholesale and dedicated connectivity services, such as dark fiber and wavelength services, to support high-bandwidth demands while sidestepping the customer service and regulatory burdens of retail consumer , allowing focus on reliability for institutional clients. Under Green's leadership as co-founder and CEO, Fatbeam invested in network expansion across the , leveraging private capital supplemented by E-rate program contracts for educational connectivity to build out fiber infrastructure in underserved rural and regions. By 2016, the company had initiated builds in states including , , , and , securing over $11.8 million in E-rate funding in one year alone to extend its footprint. This growth culminated in approximately 35,000 miles of across seven states and more than 40 cities by , enabling Fatbeam to deliver scalable to carriers and data-intensive users without relying on consumer subsidies. In March 2019, Green provided congressional testimony as Fatbeam's CEO before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, advocating for policies to accelerate rural deployment by addressing regulatory barriers and emphasizing the role of independent providers like Fatbeam in serving areas overlooked by larger carriers. He underscored Fatbeam's experience as a small ISP provisioning networks for rural schools and communities, arguing that streamlined permitting and targeted incentives could enhance private-sector efficiency over broad subsidies. Fatbeam's deployments encountered challenges typical of fiber infrastructure projects, including delays from protracted permitting processes across multiple jurisdictions, which slowed timelines despite the company's emphasis on privately funded, demand-driven builds in challenging terrains. These hurdles highlighted contrasts between Fatbeam's targeted enterprise-focused expansions—achieving connectivity for key institutional anchors—and slower, subsidy-dependent retail efforts elsewhere, as Green's noted the inefficiencies of over-reliance on government funding without private innovation.

Tahoe Network Infrastructure and Recent Developments (2020s)

Tahoe Network Infrastructure LLC was founded on September 9, 2020, in Spokane, Washington, under the leadership of Greg Green as Chairman and CEO. The firm specializes in optic broadband investments, targeting underserved rural and suburban markets through scalable network deployments, with an initial emphasis on mid- and Southwest states extending to the Northwest and Midwest. Drawing from Green's prior experience in regional ventures, Tahoe prioritizes acquiring undercapitalized assets to enable high-capacity infrastructure capable of handling surging data traffic. A key development occurred on January 30, 2023, when Tahoe acquired E-Vergent, a Wisconsin-based regional provider of fiber optic and services, integrating it into its portfolio to enhance service delivery in underserved communities. This move aligned with Tahoe's strategy of consolidating small fiber-based service providers, fostering expansion through operational synergies and E-rate mechanisms proven effective for rural deployments. By mid-2024, the company had outlined plans for further acquisitions to scale networks amid rising bandwidth pressures, including those from AI-driven applications straining legacy systems. Tahoe's regional operations center on , with administrative ties in , and the via its Spokane base, positioning it to address infrastructure deficits in high-growth data corridors. approaches emphasize long-term capacity builds for data-intensive demands, reflecting Green's track record in adapting telecom models to evolving market dynamics over more than two decades. While opportunities arise from AI and expansions, Tahoe navigates risks including regulatory hurdles for federal subsidies and potential oversupply in maturing fiber markets, consistent with broader industry patterns of consolidation among entrepreneurial operators.

Advocacy and Policy Engagement

Testimony and Positions on Infrastructure

In his March 12, 2019, testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Gregory Green, then Co-Founder and CEO of Fatbeam, underscored the company's private-sector deployment of fiber optic to bridge broadband gaps in rural Western U.S. markets. Fatbeam, serving third- and fourth-tier communities with populations under 150,000 across seven states and spanning 35,000 fiber miles, provided speeds from 1 Gbps to 400 Gbps, enabling economic transformation in underserved areas through demand-driven investments rather than reliance on universal subsidies. Green advocated for policies fostering competition among small independent providers like Fatbeam, citing empirical outcomes from the 2015 Open Internet Order: the firm deployed 92 miles of new fiber and expanded into eight additional cities during its tenure, with E-rate program costs per megabyte declining over 20%—yielding taxpayer savings via efficient private provisioning for schools and libraries. He rejected assertions by large incumbents that would accelerate infrastructure investment, labeling such claims a "" unsupported by , and instead promoted regulatory certainty to prevent discriminatory practices that stifle smaller players' ability to extend networks to rural locales. Green's positions emphasize private initiative over expansive federal interventions, arguing that market-oriented rules—such as those ensuring —have empirically outperformed predictions of investment slowdowns, as evidenced by Fatbeam's growth in high-cost rural deployments without direct funding mandates. This approach aligns with his broader advocacy for minimizing , including streamlined processes that allow agile firms to respond to local demand more rapidly than subsidized programs often hampered by bureaucratic allocation.

Broader Industry Advocacy

Green has served on the Board of Directors of INCOMPAS, a advocating for competitive networks and policies that enable and . Appointed in 2018 as CEO of Fatbeam, he emphasized that INCOMPAS's focus on competition and growth is essential to counter regulatory barriers that slow industry progress. His involvement extends to the Northwest Association (NWTA), where he promotes regional deployment of competitive networks to challenge incumbent providers' dominance. Through public speaking, Green shares insights from managing over two decades of telecom ventures, highlighting lessons on balancing successes like fiber expansions in underserved Northwest markets with failures stemming from regulatory hurdles and market barriers. In 2020, he participated in INCOMPAS's "Ask the Executives" series, addressing strategies for navigating economic disruptions while maintaining investment in competitive infrastructure. He also featured in Greater Spokane Inc.'s Ignite Talks on innovation leadership, underscoring how entrepreneurial incentives drive deployment of high-capacity networks that incumbents often neglect. Green advocates for to enhance competition, arguing in a 2015 commentary that reinstating heavy rules via appeals would deter innovation by reducing carriers' incentives to upgrade networks, as evidenced by slowed rural investments post-2010 mandates. Drawing from Fatbeam's Northwest builds, he posits that easing pole attachment and permitting rules enables faster rollout of fiber optics, fostering local economic gains through thousands of construction jobs and gigabit access that stimulates business growth in areas like Spokane. These efforts counter monopolistic practices by incumbents, such as Qwest's historical resistance to competitors under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which Green has navigated to expand service options. While Green's initiatives have demonstrably boosted regional connectivity and employment—Fatbeam's partnerships with cellular providers, for instance, have supported broader infrastructure—industry observers note that telecom consolidation, including mergers among regional players, can erode competitive pressures despite such advocacy. Empirical data from competitive entries like Fatbeam's show price reductions and speed improvements in targeted markets, validating deregulation's causal role in incentivizing investment over reliance on subsidized monopolies.

Philanthropy

Establishment of the Greg Green Foundation

The Greg Green Foundation was founded by Greg Green in the early 1990s as a private philanthropic vehicle to provide higher education scholarships to less fortunate individuals in the Spokane area. A 2007 report confirms the establishment occurred approximately 15 years earlier, aligning with this timeframe and emphasizing Green's mission to foster opportunity through targeted private giving. The foundation's initial structure centered on disbursements, with over $600,000 donated by 2019 to support scholastic access for underserved students. This entity operates independently, reflecting Green's business-oriented approach to by prioritizing direct aid for and community without dependence on public taxpayer resources, though specific operational details such as board composition remain privately held. Early grants included vocational scholarships, such as the 2007 Vincent Award for carpentry students at , underscoring the foundation's foundational emphasis on practical skill-building for local beneficiaries.

Focus Areas and Impact

The Greg Green Foundation concentrates its philanthropic efforts on scholarship awards to support students facing financial barriers, with an emphasis on higher education and vocational training in the region. Founded in 1996, the organization has disbursed approximately $500,000 in scholarships over nearly three decades, enabling access to postsecondary opportunities for underprivileged youth. This funding targets practical skill-building, as evidenced by initiatives like the Vincent Award established in 2007 at , which provides aid to program enrollees in memory of the founder's grandparents and addresses shortages in skilled trades. Specific awards, such as the Toni Edinger Scholarship introduced in 2019, prioritize recipients demonstrating academic merit and community involvement, further aligning with goals of cultivating self-reliant contributors in local economies. The foundation's early mandate, dating to the mid-1990s, centered on higher education access for the less fortunate, reflecting a commitment to individual mobility through targeted financial aid rather than expansive programmatic interventions. Quantifiable outcomes remain limited in public records, with no comprehensive data on recipient graduation rates, employment placement, or long-term economic contributions; however, the aggregate $500,000 investment underscores a consistent, albeit modest, mechanism for bridging educational gaps in underserved local populations. This approach has strengths in promoting vocational —such as through trade-specific scholarships that align with regional labor demands—but faces inherent scale limitations, distributing funds at an average of under $20,000 annually, which pales against the founder's multimillion-dollar business enterprises and restricts broader community-wide ripple effects. Empirical assessments of efficiency are scarce, yet the localized focus avoids dilution, prioritizing direct aid over potentially inefficient large-scale distributions prone to administrative overhead in comparable foundations.

References

  1. https://greencandypress.com/authors/greg-green/
  2. https://www.amazon.com/Cannabis-Grow-Bible-Definitive-Recreational/dp/1931160589
  3. https://www.paracay.com/the-cannabis-grow-bible-3rd-edition-the-definitive-guide-to-growing-marijuana-for-recreational-and-medicinal-use-clone/
  4. https://greencandypress.com/2022/05/03/the-cannabis-grow-bible/
  5. https://ccclib.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S154C2169602
  6. https://www.congress.gov/116/meeting/house/109059/witnesses/HHRG-116-IF16-Bio-GreenG-20190312-U1.pdf
  7. https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/11721-orbitcom-oneeighty-chief-split
  8. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/feb/10/tel-west-changes-name-gears-up-for-new-era/
  9. https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/10676-nai-black-greg-green-form-unit
  10. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gregory-green-1a40793_founded-a-number-of-companies-in-my-career-activity-7147808725561393154-qTG8
  11. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/dec/09/green-resigns-as-president-of-nextlink-washington/
  12. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/aug/10/oneeighty-communications-purchased-for-95-million/
  13. https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/14810-green-buys-building-on-stevens-downtown
  14. https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/14257-portions-of-avista-unit-may-be-sold
  15. https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/16028-catching-up-with-telecom-entrepreneur-greg-green
  16. http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/12/121503/OneEightyTransactionInfoSheet080906.pdf
  17. https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/151214-59
  18. https://www.merchantcircle.com/oneeighty-communications1-billings-mt
  19. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-03-2372A1.doc
  20. https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/13511-oneeighty-networks-expands-market-reach
  21. https://www.lightreading.com/business-management/oneeighty-acquires-highspeed
  22. https://matr.net/news/eschelon-will-pay-approximately-9.5-million-in-cash-for-billings%2C-mont.-based-oneeighty-communications/
  23. https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndmcneil
  24. https://aicorespot.io/team-member/greg-green/
  25. https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/2046-ny-firm-acquires-majority-stake-in-fatbeam
  26. https://greaterspokane.org/events/ignite-talks-innovation-leadership-with-greg-green-co-founder-of-fatbeam/
  27. https://www.telecomramblings.com/2014/01/industry-spotlight-riding-e-rate-train-fatbeams-greg-green/
  28. https://www.fatbeamfiber.com/media-news/fatbeam-appoints-todd-kerr-as-its-vice-president-of-enterprise-sales
  29. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF16/20190312/109059/HHRG-116-IF16-Wstate-GreenG-20190312-U1.pdf
  30. https://www.telecompetitor.com/fatbeam-e-rate-strategy-fuels-fiber-expansion-in-four-mountain-west-states/
  31. https://www.fatbeamfiber.com/media-news/fiber-based-network-provider-fatbeam-celebrates-nearly-a-decade-of-growth-with-new-website
  32. https://www.city-data.com/business-entities/WA/TAHOE-NETWORK-INFRASTRUCTURE-LLC-604-656-795-WA.html
  33. https://tahoeni.com/meet-greg/
  34. https://tahoeni.com/tahoe-network-infrastructure-aims-to-replicate-fatbeam-rural-e-rate-success-2-copy-2/
  35. https://tahoeni.com/tahoe-network-infrastructure-e-rate-announcement/
  36. https://tahoeni.com/news-and-announcements/
  37. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-green-1a40793
  38. https://www.fatbeamfiber.com/media-news/fatbeam-ceo-named-to-incompas-board-of-directors
  39. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpzFvOiQepk
  40. https://www.spokanejournal.com/articles/3499-guest-commentary-by-greg-green-net-neutrality-appeal-to-inhibit-innovation
  41. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/mar/24/in-telecom-wars-choice-is-the-main-casualty/
  42. https://www.fatbeamfiber.com/media-news/fatbeam-announces-new-agreements-with-cellular-providers
  43. https://www.communicationsdaily.com/article/2018/02/08/clyburn-sees-mtes-pole-attachments-as-silver-lining-to-dark-fcc-competition-policy-1802070037?BC=bc_67a19dbf1fc3a
  44. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/jul/14/businessman-establishes-scholarship-to-help/
  45. https://www.fatbeamfiber.com/media-news/greg-green-foundation-gives-scholarship-in-honor-of-local-softball-player-toni-edinger
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