About Us
Connecting
Communities
to the World
We’re an experienced fiber-optic consulting firm with deep expertise helping small to mid-sized communities navigate the complex world of broadband. Our team has a strong track record and proven processes that we’ve used across the country to install over 1500 miles of fiber connecting communities to each other and the world.
Our Vision is to connect hundreds of Midwestern communities with high-speed fiber- optic broadband.
Our Mission is to provide a strategic roadmap for success to rural towns, municipalities, county governments, and non-profits to help their local businesses and citizens connect and compete with the world.
We are dedicated to bringing together local business leaders, government leaders, chambers of commerce, and other non-profits
The Deep Fiber Brain Trust
The DeepFiber brain trust represents an unparalleled team of seasoned professionals with the diverse range of talents necessary to connect communities with fiber optic broadband throughout the Midwest. We have the talent, the relationships, and the experience to help your broadband vision become a reality.
Michael Minnich, Principal
Mike is an award-winning entrepreneur, investor and authority in the areas of community fiber projects from start to finish: community stakeholder interviews, goal development, strategic planning, outside plant design and costing, funding including public-private partnerships, construction, and service provider operations.
A graduate of Wittenberg University and the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Mike is an attorney licensed in Ohio, whose specialties are research and deal ideation.
His experience includes: creating and operating a 200-plus mile fiber-optic network in West Central Ohio; multiple community last-mile fiber-optic networks; and numerous collaborative joint ventures with other providers — all designed to allow communities to do more in less time with fiber broadband, provide more value to their residents, at the same or lower costs.
Mike is an active Rotarian, having served two terms as a local club president; where he has been named Rotarian of the Year twice and a multiple Paul Harris Fellow.
David Rippe, Strategist, Chief Marketing Officer
David Rippe is a highly sought after business planning and marketing communication strategist and implementer. He provides world-class knowledge and insights to the leaders of small to large corporations, non-profits, and government entities.
His broadband expertise includes work with FiberFarms, PeakFiber, Windwave and the Inland Development Corporation with nearly 1500 miles of fiber installed over the past eighteen years.
He has also worked with IBM, Microsoft, Sony, GE Capital, the United Nations
(UNESCO), the City of Barcelona, Spain, Wendy’s, Xerox, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cisco, the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Inner-City Teaching Corps, and numerous small to mid-size organizations.
As a facilitator for Chief Executive Boards and a Gazelles International leadership coach, David has worked with over three hundred companies, CEOs and their teams. He has led over a hundred workshops and webinars on strategy and growth for senior leadership teams.
Mark Fissel, CFP®, AIF®
A widely respected funding expert, Mark is a Certified Financial Planner™ and holds an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® designation, which certifies that he has specialized knowledge of fiduciary standards of care and application in the investment management process. Mark connects DeepFiber clients with investors and capital funding; and structures deals with tax advantages to make the opportunity attractive for all parties. Regardless of whether the parties or funding sources are public, private or a public-private partnership (P3).
Mark and his team have developed an Opportunity Zone (OZ) investment program designed to connect investors and projects that result in collaborations which do good for people and their communities. He understands how to navigate regulatory complexities, optimize tax benefits, and validate financial models of private, public and P3 deals.
Mark believes in public service and serving local communities. He is currently the Bellefontaine Ohio Treasurer and a Member of the Bellefontaine Local School Board; as well as a past Bellefontaine City Councilman, Finance Committee Chairman, and a Director for several local non-profit organizations.
Andrew Wecker, Esq.
Andrew Wecker is a highly-rated business and real estate attorney. He has wide experience with both investor-owned/for-profit and member-owned/not-for-profit cooperative utilities in industries ranging from telecommunications, water and natural gas. He brings a range of strong skills to DeepFiber, with a successful career in wireless infrastructure & 5G mobile broadband, real estate acquisitions, development & construction, business counsel, and state and local government relations.
Andy’s experience with telecommunications started with landowner representation across Ohio and elsewhere on cell tower deals. That quickly showed him not just the importance of fiber optic backhaul, but also how many issues facing carriers of all sizes and types boil down to simply real estate challenges, whether the last mile to the end user is mobile or fixed, wireless or hard-wired.
Andy believes in homegrown prosperity and making communities better places to live, work and raise families. He helped organize four major metropolitan chapters of an industrial and commercial real estate group into a state-wide chapter with NAIOP Ohio. At the Ohio State University, he is a member of an advisory council on regional economics, with the C. William Swank Program in Rural-Urban Policy that has generated studies such as “Connecting the Dots of Ohio’s Broadband Policy.” In his own community, in addition to being a 4-H dad for his five children, he served as president of the board of education when the community passed a $108 million bond issue. After, Andy led the site selection effort to close on 103 acres for a new high school, stadium and elementary, as well as selecting an architect and Construction Manager at Risk to complete the project on time and on budget even during COVID shutdowns.
Jacob Schroeder, CPA
With a Master’s in Accounting from Wright State University, Jacob builds the DeepFiber financial model that can take a municipality’s broadband vision to viable reality.
He has assisted fiber-optic providers and local governments since 2010 with determining the financial viability of their concepts.
Known for his innovative and collaborative approach, Jacob is the founder and CEO of Ascend Consulting, with a mission of helping businesses succeed. He has experience working with businesses of all sizes up to a Fortune 50 auto manufacturer — giving him the knowledge to help business projects and initiatives scale and grow.
Jacob is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor and a member of the 2017-2018 Intuit Accountants Council. He is also a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs.
Jake Minnich
With a craftsman philosophy, Jake adds fiber-optic plant design and construction expertise to the DeepFiber team. He is the Area Services Manager and an owner of Logan County Gig, a fiber broadband service provider part of the Ohio Gig family of companies.
Jake began his career in fiber as a splicer, certified by The Light Brigade, the premiere source of fiber splicing best practices process in the United States. Prior to that, Jake was an honors student at the Ohio State University and Wittenberg University, in their Business Finance programs.
On a daily basis, Jake oversees outside plant construction, repair and maintenance on 24×7 networks which household name companies rely upon, as well as local emergency dispatch centers, hospitals, fire departments and law enforcement agencies.
To learn how fiber optic broadband can put your community on equal competitive footing with your larger big city counterparts contact DeepFiber today.