At NPS, our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their expertise, experience and commitment to delivering exceptional results help drive the success of our projects and our business.
As part of our Meet the Team series, we sat down with Steven Wilkinson, Head of Fibre, to learn more about his role, what attracted him to NPS, and his perspective on the challenges and opportunities shaping the fibre industry.
Q: What does your role as Head of Fibre involve day to day?
A: My role involves overseeing multiple fibre builds, contracts and projects across the business.
Day to day, I support project coordinators with planning and managing works, while drawing on my engineering background to provide technical guidance across all projects. A key focus of my role is implementing standardised processes that ensure consistent quality, clear communication and efficient delivery through structured project management and operational best practices.
A major part of my role now centres around Hollow Core Fibre (HCF), which has become a key workstream for the business. My hands-on experience with field installations and deployment techniques means I’m heavily involved in this area, spending a lot of time supporting design and planning activities, as well as working on-site alongside our teams to help deliver installations.
Client engagement is also a critical part of delivery and operations. While it can sometimes be overlooked, it plays an essential role in ensuring we fully understand our clients’ requirements and deliver against their expectations, rather than simply our interpretation of them. It also helps maintain strong alignment between all stakeholders involved in a project.
Q: What attracted you to joining NPS?
A: What attracted me to NPS was the ambition of the business.
When I joined, there was a clear vision to move beyond simply building FTTP networks and expand into carrier, hyperscaler and data centre networks across the UK, Europe and globally—an area where my experience and background are well aligned.
In the five short years since I joined, we’ve achieved exactly that. We’ve become a trusted partner within the sector, working alongside some of the biggest names in the industry and delivering some of the most ambitious and technically challenging projects available today.
Being part of that journey and helping drive it forward was a huge draw for me.
Q: What are the biggest challenges you face in your role?
A: One of the biggest challenges is managing multiple complex and high-density fibre builds while maintaining consistently high standards throughout every stage of delivery.
The growth of Hollow Core Fibre has added another layer to this. As an emerging technology, HCF brings unique engineering challenges, particularly when meeting specific customer requirements. Along the way, we’ve had to overcome a number of technical hurdles, often developing new approaches and solutions on live projects.
That said, the rewards are equally significant. There is a huge sense of satisfaction that comes from solving complex challenges and successfully delivering cutting-edge infrastructure.
Q: What excites you most about NPS?
A: What excites me most is the mindset that exists across the entire company.
At every level, there is a real drive to be the very best at what we do, combined with a genuine belief in what we can achieve together.
The ambition within the business is significant and extends beyond telecommunications alone. Whether it’s telecoms, utilities or other sectors, the opportunities for growth and development feel almost limitless. Being part of that journey and helping shape the future of the business is incredibly motivating.
Q: Do you prefer being in the office or on site – and why?
A: I prefer a balance of both.
Being on site allows me to stay close to our engineering teams and ensure projects are delivered to the highest standards, while time in the office is essential for planning, design and driving consistency across multiple projects and teams.
Having both perspectives helps me stay connected to every stage of delivery.
Q: Outside of work, what do you do to unwind?
A: Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and keeping active.
Having worked in fast-paced, high-pressure environments throughout my career, it’s important for me to switch off, recharge and make the most of my time away from work whenever I can.
Q: Three words to describe yourself
A: Experienced, methodical, driven
Steven Wilkinson — Head of Fibre
Steven Wilkinson is Head of Fibre with over 18 years of hands-on experience across every stage of fibre network build, from planning and installation to maintenance, renewal, and advanced testing (OTDR, OLTS, CD/PMD, iOLM). He has led multiple large-scale fibre builds and contracts.
Specialising in Hollow Core Fibre — as an accredited installer who has carried out and supervised numerous HCF deployments — alongside critical, high-density fibre infrastructure projects.
