General

Broadband Bytes, March 2026 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Provisional Awards. Last updated: March 26, 2026 2:00 pm Pacific time. Read more.2. Is BEAD turning into a dud? Many stakeholders in the BEAD program are too polite to call the program a “dud.” But they’re starting to question whether BEAD — since the Trump administration changed the rules in mid-2025 — is going to make a real difference in closing the digital divide. There are concerns about the large amount of BEAD funds that are leftover. People are also questioning whether satellite will provide enough bandwidth over time. And at least one industry consultant predicts there will be defaults in the BEAD program.  NTIA has now approved the BEAD final proposals of 53 out of the 56 states and territories.  Fiber deployments will account for about 63% of BEAD projects, while fixed wireless will account for about 12% and satellite will account for about 23%. Read more.3. Pew Study: BEAD is important, but separate state initiatives are also vital. The BEAD program gets most of the attention about the impact of investment in broadband networks and related initiatives. But, as big as BEAD is, it is not the only game in town, according to a study from Pew Charitable Trusts. The study found that state legislatures collectively passed more than 160 bills and resolutions related to broadband last year. The study suggested that progress is being made on two key barriers that state broadband offices found to be obstacles. The first is that states are trying to coordinate federal, state, local and private permitting processes. Efforts are also being made to increase the availability of trained workers. Read more.4. New Mexico calls for the release of their full BEAD allocation. New Mexico has called for the federal government to release $293 million that was originally appropriated to them as part of the BEAD Program. The BEAD program has been targeted for reforms by the Department of Commerce. (DoC) As such, states have been directed to submit proposals that the department considers more cost effective.  New Mexico has joined other public officials pressing the DoC on the issue.  New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion Director Jeff Lopez said it’s imperative that the NTIA release the funds appropriated to New Mexico by Congress. He said the funds would help New Mexico reach goals relating to broadband deployment, workforce development, and digital opportunity. Read more.5. Analysis: What BEAD frontrunner states tell us about the federal award approval process. The NTIA doesn’t appear to have made major changes to states’ award recommendations in the Benefit of the Bargain round in the BEAD program, at least not based on analysis of NTIA award approvals for several states. Telecompetitor reached out to states that were furthest along in the BEAD process as of March 16. At that time, 20 states had received approval on their BEAD final proposals from NTIA and NIST and had signed an award agreement, according to NTIA’s BEAD Progress Dashboard. Read here and here.6. Hyperscale data center capex jumped 57% in 2025 as AI deployments accelerated. A new Dell’Oro report revealed that hyperscalers and AI model developers are expected to sustain strong capex momentum in 2026. Data center capital expenditures increased by 57% in 2025, reaching over $420 billion among the top hyperscalers. The four largest US cloud providers collectively spent over $340 billion, with Amazon leading at $125 billion. The DC capex is projected to surpass $1 trillion in 2026, driven by high-end accelerators and infrastructure needs. Read more.7. Neo Network Development envisions nationwide public fiber network to boost affordability, security. While there is a lot of private capital investment in the telecommunications landscape, Neo Network Development envisions a publicly owned fiber optic core spanning thousands of anchor points along federal transportation rights-of-way. The company, a proponent of open access networks backed by public-private partnerships, is gathering input on its National Broadband Master Plan, a five-year action plan to migrate U.S. digital infrastructure from individual retail circuits to a unified fiber core that sits directly alongside U.S. Interstate highways and federally funded state and county roads. The idea is to establish a “general fund project” overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which would direct other federal and state transportation agencies to construct the network. Read more.8. Analysis suggests Starlink requirements could cost some homeowners $10K–$50K. Starlink has a significant technical challenge that could hurt its ability to participate in the BEAD Program, according to an analysis Tom Reid, the principal of the Reid Consulting Group. Reid’s critique is conceptually simple: Starlink’s low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites move very quickly (his analysis said 17,000 miles per hour). They also are comparatively low. Thus, service must be handed off as the satellites serve end users. To do so smoothly requires a field-of-view cone of 110 degrees.  Reid states “LEO services represent an amazing technological feat. However, many of the locations slated for LEO will be unable to receive the service due to terrain or foliage obstructions. It has been suggested that homeowners, at their own expense, build towers ranging in height [from] 50’ to 150’ to get a clear view of the sky — an absurd logistical and financial burden.” Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. GFiber to merge with Astound Broadband. GFiber, the unit of Alphabet formerly known as Google Fiber, announced that it will merge with Astound Broadband in a deal that will create a new, independent fiber internet provider. The combined company will be majority owned by Stonepeak, an infrastructure investment firm, while Alphabet will retain a significant minority stake. Additionally, the management team of the current GFiber business will continue to run the combined operation with the idea that GFiber’s experience in high-speed metropolitan networks will pair with Astound’s more established infrastructure and customer base. Read more.2. Twin Valley announces $12.3 million investment in rural Kansas. Twin Valley, Kansas’ largest privately-owned broadband and communications company, announced a $12.3M investment in 2026 to expand and modernize broadband infrastructure across rural Kansas. The initiative includes $4.7M in private investment by Twin Valley along with more than $7.6M in grant funding awarded in partnership with the Kansas Office of Broadband Development. Read more.3. United Communications announces Middle Tennessee expansion with $18.1M BEAD grant. United Communications is expanding its fiber network across Middle Tennessee with an $18.1M award from Tennessee’s BEAD program. United is building an extensive fiber network through a combination of private investment, strategic partnerships, and targeted public funding. The award will help connect approximately 1,800 currently unserved and underserved homes and businesses—representing roughly 4,500 residents—across Maury, Rutherford, Trousdale, Williamson, and Wilson counties to United’s fiber broadband network. Read here and here.4. Wire 3 expands to Georgia with fiber service in Macon. Wire 3 announced its expansion into Macon, Georgia — its first market outside Florida. The fully funded $60 million investment will deliver 100% fiber internet to more than 60,000 homes and businesses throughout the community.  Wire 3’s construction is set to begin immediately, with the first customers expected to be connected as early as summer of 2026. Read here and here.5. Greenlight Networks fiber buildout across nine northeast Pennsylvania towns. Greenlight Networks is set to accelerate the construction of its fiber internet network across Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and surrounding Northeast Pennsylvania communities in 2026. The project is backed by a more than $24 million dollar investment. Nearly 42,500 households and businesses now can connect to Greenlight’s network in NE Pennsylvania, with several thousands more to come online by the end of the year. Read more.6. GoNetspeed announces expansion to Oneonta, New York. GoNetspeed announced plans to launch its 100% fiber-optic network in Oneonta, NY marking the company’s first fiber deployment in Otsego County. Through a privately funded $4.5 million investment, GoNetspeed will deliver fiber internet to yet another New York community. Construction is expected to begin in the coming weeks, with the first homes and businesses connected as early as this spring. Read more.7. Fidium raises $664.6M via asset-backed securitization financing. Fidium (formerly Consolidated Communications) says it has closed its third fiber-backed asset backed securitization (ABS) transaction and that it raised $664.6 million. The American Bar Association defines securitization as “pooling illiquid financial assets — such as mortgages, auto loans, or credit card debt — and converting them into tradable securities sold to investors.”  The Fidium ABS transaction is secured by revenue from existing and future fiber-enabled customers and the fiber and network infrastructure supporting them. Fidium’s fiber business has grown 35% to 40% annually over the past three years. Read more.8. North Carolina awards $26M in broadband grants. North Carolina awarded nearly $26M from the state’s Stop-Gap Solutions program to connect 5,161 rural North Carolina homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions in 66 counties to high-speed broadband by the end of the year. Read more.

Apr 01, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, March 2026 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS: 1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Awards. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Provisional Awards.  Last updated:  March 11, 2026, 8:45 am Pacific time. Read more.2. FCC approves $34.5B deal between Charter and Cox. The FCC has approved a $34.5 billion deal which will see Charter Communications acquire a wide range of assets from Cox Enterprises. The deal includes Cox’s residential cable, commercial fiber, managed IT, and cloud businesses.  The recently approved deal was first announced back in May. Read more.3. AARP: States and NGOs must bridge senior broadband gap. Nearly a third of older Americans (32%) lacked fully wired broadband access at home according to 2023 data, amounting to more than 19 million people. That figure was an improvement from 2018, when 22 million seniors lacked wireline broadband access. The AARP study didn’t count 5G home internet or 5G mobile plans as broadband access, saying 5G services can be inconsistent and may impose data caps or surprise slowdowns. That can be a big problem for “aging-in-place systems such as medical alerts, in-home monitoring devices, and smart-home technology for accessibility (e.g., voice-activated assistance). Read more.4. NTIA Needs More Time to Issue Guidance on Non-Deployment Funding. Federal guidance on how states can spend $21B in broadband funding, and on which states are potentially ineligible to use their slice of the money, has been delayed. The head of the NTIA, Arielle Roth, said the agency’s guidance on the issue, expected March 11, was being pushed back so the agency could review the large volume of input and hear again from state broadband officials in Washington, D.C. next week. Read more.5. FCC to Vote: Onshoring Customer Service? The FCC plans to vote on rules later this month that will curtail the use of overseas customer service by companies regulated by the agency. It’s not clear that the FCC has the authority to tell ISPs, cellular carriers, and cable companies how to operate their day-to-day business. Charter already uses 100% U.S.-based customer service agents. Verizon mostly uses U.S. agents but has some limited overseas customer service. The big companies that could be impacted the most are Comcast, AT&T, and T-Mobile, each of which uses a lot of overseas customer service agents. The big question is whether the FCC has the authority to order this. Read more.6. Fiber access grew in the last half of 2025. Fiber internet providers grew their footprints at a rate of 8.4% in the last half of 2025, up from a rate of 6.9% compared to the previous reporting period. The growth meant that an additional 5.2 million addresses now have access to fiber internet services, according to a new analysis of federal data by CostQuest Associates.  Cable internet access remained relatively stable, and DSL access was essentially flat.  The analysis includes useful maps and statistical breakdowns on a county-by-county level, including information on fiber, fixed wireless, and other technologies. Read more.7. Could war with Iran impact America’s data center boom? As the conflict drags closer to entering its third week and continues to involve more nations, analysts are warning of massive supply chain impacts if the Strait of Hormuz is further engulfed by war. It could have larger implications for the ongoing buildout of data centers in the United States The Associated Press quoted Hakan Kaya, senior portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, as saying closure of the Strait of Hormuz could cause “the largest supply disruption in modern history.” Like the supply chain, technology infrastructure in the immediate region also remains vulnerable as the conflict continues.A report from Rest of World detailed how Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have spent years building data centers across the Persian Gulf region. Three AWS data centers, two in the UAE and one in Bahrain, were damaged in strikes this month, Rest of World reports. In addition, the Rest of World report noted that many data centers in the Middle East are also reliant on subsea fiber-optic cables that run through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Both bodies of water now come with serious security concerns, the report detailed. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. FiberLight deepens West Texas fiber reach with new 1,400 route-mile build. FiberLight is dedicating $350M to building 1,400 route miles of new network infrastructure across West Texas. This investment is in addition to the company’s previously announced $150 million West Texas initiative, bringing FiberLight’s total regional commitment to nearly $500 million. Read more here and here.2. Building Broadband. GoNetspeed (CT), Greenlight Networks (NY), i3 Broadband (IL), LightBox, RightFiber (TX), Spectrum and WOW! are using various funding sources to expand broadband access to more communities. Read more.3. Zayo becomes managed connectivity Starlink reseller. Zayo announced an agreement with Starlink that enables Zayo to deliver Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity. Through this collaboration, Zayo now delivers Starlink LEO connectivity as a managed connectivity solution, alongside its full suite of managed services and fiber connectivity solutions. Read more.4. Vero Raises $500M to Accelerate Fiber Buildout, M&A. VFN Holdings, Inc. (Vero), a fiber infrastructure and broadband provider, has closed a $500 million growth equity investment led by funds managed by Hamilton Lane, Braemont Capital and Delta-v Capital. The capital will fund expansion of Vero’s FTTP and wholesale fiber networks, while supporting strategic acquisitions across both new and existing US markets. Read more here and here.5. Aspire Fiber gets majority investment from Arenova Capital. Aspire Broadband Holdings, Inc. dba Aspire Fiber is a So. California-based internet service provider, delivering FTTH internet to consumers throughout So. California and beyond. Arenova Capital, a Dallas-based growth equity firm, has committed to a majority investment of $50 million of equity capital into Aspire to fuel the Company's network expansion. Read more here and 6. Surf Internet closes $407M asset-backed securitization. Surf Internet has closed a $407M asset-backed securitization marking its first foray into securitized finance as it aims to accelerate fiber network expansion across the Great Lakes region.  The deal consists of $332M in term notes backed by fiber network revenue plus a $75M variable funding note facility.  Surf Internet, headquartered in Elkhart, is a regional fiber provider serving parts of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan with a workforce of more than 350. Read more.7. Bluebird Fiber completes purchase of Everstream assets. Bluebird Fiber, a Midwest business-only fiber network, announced that it has completed the purchase of substantially all of the assets and operations of Everstream, an approximately 25,000 route mile fiber network serving business customers in the Midwest. The combination gives Bluebird Fiber a network that spans from Kansas to Ohio and north to the Canadian border, with over 36,000 route miles of fiber, and over 400,000 near net buildings in 12 states that can be connected in less than 90 days. Read more here and here.

Apr 01, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, February 2026 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Awards. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Provisional Awards. Last updated: Thursday February 25, 2026, 3:15 pm Pacific time. Read more.2. FCC clears Amazon Leo to launch 4,500 more satellites. The approval will allow the company to launch 4,504 additional satellites, bringing the full complement to 7,727 devices.  Under the approval, Amazon Leo must launch half of the approved satellites by February 10, 2032, and the remaining half by February 10, 2035. Amazon Leo has been in development since 2019, aiming to challenge meteoric rise of SpaceX’s Starlink. Starlink already has around 9,000 satellites in orbit, and recently secured approval to increase this number to 15,000. Read more.3. SpaceX acquires xAI as Musk eyes space-based data centers. In a deal between companies he already owns, Elon Musk says that low Earth orbit provider SpaceX has acquired xAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) company that he founded in 2023. The update suggests that the integration of SpaceX and xAI will take on a vexing challenge for the AI industry: the amount of electricity necessary for the nascent technology to thrive is overwhelming and beyond the scope of terrestrial data centers. The goal is to use solar power to run the data centers. Musk envisions millions of tons of satellites being launched annually, with each ton generating 100 kW of compute power. DL Comment: As someone that has visited many data centers, I find this fascinating for future sales travel approval! Read more.4. Community Network Map Shows Tribal Networks Across U.S. There are 82 active Tribal Internet Service Providers in the United States, returning control of this core service to the people it services. View the map. Read more.5. Report: Texas will usurp Virginia as top hub for data centers. Texas is poised to become the world’s largest market for data centers by 2030, a report from global investment management firm JLL reveals.A summary of the report says vacancy in the North American data center market remains “locked at a record low 1%.” The report also said over half of the new data center construction volume is in frontier markets, which excludes areas like Dallas-Fort Worth, Northern Virginia, and Silicon Valley.  Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Ohio were also listed as states capitalizing on land availability and “business-friendly operating environments,” where data center construction is booming. In total, the report also says 64% of the market’s new construction pipeline now extends beyond traditional mature markets. Read more.6. Hawkeye Land Company, Inc. and Anderson Pacific Capital Announce Formation of Midwest FiberPath, to Develop State-of-the-Art Fiber Infrastructure. Hawkeye Land Company, Inc. (HLC) and Anderson Pacific Capital have joined forces to form Midwest FiberPath, a new venture created to design and build a 420-mile, state-of-the-art, multi-conduit fiber-optic infrastructure system from Joliet, Illinois to Council Bluffs, Iowa on exclusive railroad Right of Way owned by HLC. Read more.7. Non-BEAD Broadband Grant Deadlines. The industry has been focused on BEAD grants for the last few years. But there are a lot of federal broadband grants that have been issued under other grant programs, many of which are facing completion deadlines. This includes grants from programs like CAF II, RDOF, ReConnect, the Capital Projects Fund, ARPA grants funded through SLFRF, NTIA middle-mile grants, and the NTIA Tribal Grants.   A lot of projects under these grants have a deadline to be completed this year or in 2027.  State Broadband managers believe the Federal government has no appetite for any extensions of this funding. With no extensions, any work done after the deadline may not be reimbursed.  Providers working with a State Broadband Office need to understand their specific requirements. Read more.8. Is cable approaching a tipping point on PON? Cable ops are going with FTTP in most greenfield buildouts, but a new report from cable industry vet Jay Rolls suggests that some operators are pivoting to fiber in legacy HFC areas, too.  There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to the future of the HFC network, but the trend is pointing toward PON among some operators as they analyze the capital and operational benefits. Notably, Rolls’ analysis suggests that the capital spent to complete a DOCSIS 4.0 overhaul can be comparable to an FTTP rebuild, and can cost even more in some instances. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. IBT begins construction on fiber network in DeSoto County, Florida. IBT announced that construction is officially underway on a new fiber-to-the-premises broadband network in DeSoto County, Florida.  Once complete, the network will provide fiber broadband service to more than 4,700 homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions across the county. Read more.2. Lightcurve opens fiber network in Centralia and Chehalis, Washington. Lightcurve, a broadband provider serving communities across Washington state announced that it is making its new fiber optic networks in Centralia and Chehalis available to customers, bringing internet service to thousands of homes and businesses in Lewis County. In Chehalis, nearly 2,000 locations are now eligible for Lightcurve’s fiber service. In Centralia, Lightcurve’s new fiber network now reaches hundreds of locations, and more than 1,000 additional locations are planned to come online in 2026. Read more.3. Blue Stream Fiber positions for more growth in Texas, Florida. Blue Stream Fiber announced a wave of executive promotions as the fiber-optic provider positions itself for faster expansion across Florida and Texas. The company said the moves are meant to sharpen its focus on operations and customer experience and growth. Read more.4. Astound to start work soon in Washington state’s Nisqually region. In partnership with Washington state’s Pierce County, Astound will soon begin construction to expand the availability of high-speed internet to the Nisqually region. When construction is complete, more than 3,500 homes will gain access to broadband internet.  Astound will build 113 miles of infrastructure, including a mix of aerial and underground fiber construction.  This project is a $13.3 million public-private partnership, with Pierce County contributing $7.97 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and Astound covering the remaining $5.33 million. Read more.5. Indiana Connectivity Program awards $620K in 16th round of broadband funding. The Indiana Broadband Office today awarded 172 addresses — 165 homes and seven businesses — a total of $620,503 for broadband projects in the 16th round of the Indiana Connectivity Program. Broadband service providers in this round are matching the grants in the amount of $213,763, bringing the total investment to $834,266. Projects must be completed within nine months of the contract date.  So far, more than $14 million has been provided through the Indiana Connectivity Program. Read more.6. Midwest FiberPath plans 1,200-mile multi-conduit network to meet needs of AI traffic. Midwest FiberPath says it will build a 1,200-mile multi-conduit long-haul backbone intended to support the increased traffic created by artificial intelligence (AI) in east-west and north-south directions in the Midwest. The long-haul topography will have three primary corridors. Read more.7. altafiber connects 70,000 Dayton, Ohio locations with fiber as part of $200M investment. altafiber (previously Cincinnati Bell) has reached the midway point of its fiber build in Dayton and the surrounding region, as their fiber network is now available to 70,000 residential and business addresses. altafiber’s infrastructure investment into Dayton and the surrounding region will total approximately $200 million and 2,300 fiber route miles when completed. Read more.8. RightFiber announces North Texas expansion. RightFiber, a brand of Ritter Communications headquartered in Arkansas, said construction is already underway in Seagoville. They will invest more than $50 million to expand its 100% fiber-optic network across North Texas.  In recent years the provider has expanded its footprint to include areas in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. Read more.   Broadband Bytes is a weekly collection of broadband news highlights from leading industry resourcescompiled by David Levine, RCDD. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois Universityand a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions. 

Mar 18, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, February 2026 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Awards. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Provisional Awards.  Last updated: Wednesday, February 9, 2026, 1:30 pm Pacific time. Read more.2. AT&T and Lumen complete $5.75B fiber business deal. Lumen announced that it had completed the sale of its fiber business — including Quantum Fiber — to AT&T for $5.75 billion. The deal was originally announced in May of last year. “The divestiture of our consumer fiber-to-the-home business marks a pivotal moment for Lumen.  We are doubling down on where we are strongest and where the opportunity is greatest for us — powering the digital infrastructure that enterprises and public sector organizations need to win in the AI era,” said Lumen CEO Kate Johnson. Read more.3. New Mexico unveils free program to develop broadband workforce. New Mexico announced a program designed to help state residents gain certifications that the state says will help them acquire broadband industry-related jobs. The program is free of charge, with monthly classes and workshops administered by the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) and paid for by the U.S. Congress. BICSI will provide lab equipment, workbooks, tools, and all teaching equipment. Texas instituted a similar workforce development program last year, which was designed to cultivate and develop a workforce that can build, maintain, and expand a statewide fiber-based broadband network. Read more.4. BEAD Non-deployment Complications. The NTIA should be getting close to approving all of the state BEAD initial grant proposals. Once that has been done, one of the last big steps will be for NTIA to announce how States can receive and use the BEAD non-deployment funds.  The nondeployment process got complicated when the White House issued an executive order that said that NTIA “must provide that States with onerous AI laws … are ineligible for non-deployment funds, to the maximum extent allowed by Federal law.” Several State Attorneys General have expressed a willingness to sue NTIA should they be denied non-deployment in general, but also specifically if they are denied because they have state AI regulations. In an article written by Lawfare, it concludes that States have a great argument to question if NTIA or an executive order can overcome the intent of Congress when it passed the original BEAD rules. Read more.5. Amazon Leo asks FCC for extension to launch satellites for broadband. Amazon Leo has filed a request for an extension with the FCC to meet its upcoming satellite launch deadline. Amazon had committed to launch 1,618 satellites by July 30, 2026. But it only has 180 in orbit currently and cannot possibly meet the deadline.  The July deadline is an interim milestone, in which Amazon had promised to have launched more than half of its full constellation of 3,232 satellites.  Now, the company wants a 24-month extension and promises to launch all of its 3,232 satellites by the final deadline of July 30, 2028. Read more.6. SpaceX hints at abandoning BEAD unless granted certain exemptions. SpaceX has issued a document addressed to state broadband offices that it said constituted a rider outlining the differences between the rules of the BEAD Program and how SpaceX perceives its responsibilities as a low-Earth orbit (LEO) provider. The letter seeks to release LEO providers from many BEAD Program standards. The rider threatens to exit the BEAD Program if the changes are not made. There is no explanation for why the changes, which are significant, are being addressed so late in the process. Read more here, here, and here.7. NTIA Advises States Against SpaceX Request for BEAD Exemptions. The NTIA, on February 4th, formally advised states against signing a “contract rider” that the aerospace firm SpaceX circulated last month, requesting special exemptions from certain requirements of the BEAD Program. The NTIA’s advisement, included in a new volume of FAQs about the BEAD program, comes after several states reported receiving letters over the last couple weeks from SpaceX with riders attached. But the NTIA affirmed that its rules are final and internet providers like SpaceX’s Starlink cannot rewrite or alter the rules of the contract or BEAD’s terms and conditions. Read more.8. Lutnick testifies his intent to “hew exactly” to BEAD statute. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick clarified Tuesday that he intends to “hew exactly to the statute” of the $42.45 billion federal BEAD program. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., pressed Lutnick during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing for answers regarding the administration’s plans for unspent funds in BEAD. Moran sought clarification on what would happen to money not used for infrastructure construction, commonly referred to as “non-deployment” funds. “We are going to spend that money,” Lutnick testified. “That money that you have appropriated.” Read more.9. Only 6 final approvals are waiting to be greenlit for BEAD. Only six eligible entities have yet to see their final BEAD proposals approved by federal officials, according to Arielle Roth, who serves as NTIA administrator. Eligible entities yet to see their final proposals approved include the District of Columbia, Alaska, California, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Washington. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. Macquarie Capital Surf Internet Investment. Surf Internet, a fiber-optic internet provider serving communities across Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, announced an investment led by Macquarie Capital, alongside Bain Capital and Future Standard. In February 2025, Surf announced a $175 million equity investment to accelerate fiber deployment and expand access to reliable, high-speed internet in underserved and rural communities. Read more.2. Citizens Mutual Telephone Cooperative to purchase Van Buren Telephone. Fiber provider Citizens Mutual Telephone Cooperative — also known as CM Tech — has agreed to buy 100% of the stock of Van Buren Telephone Company in a deal between two southeastern Iowa providers.  The deal would enable Citizens Mutual to operate a fiber network of approximately 1,365 square miles and serve approximately 6,100 business and residential customers in the region. Read more.3. Empire Fiber brings free Wi-Fi to downtown Cortland, New York. Empire Fiber Internet, a fiber-optic provider serving communities across New York and Pennsylvania, has officially lit up the Downtown Cortland Wi-Fi Project in partnership with the City of Cortland. Empire Fiber first brought its fiber network to Cortland in 2024, delivering connectivity to more than 5,500 homes and businesses. Read more.4. Bluepeak announces fiber project in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Bluepeak has announced a multimillion-dollar project to bring fiber internet to Pawhuska, marking the company’s 17th market in Oklahoma.  The rollout was framed as an effort to boost technological capacity for the city and Osage County. Read more.5. Clearwave Fiber works to expand fiber network into Marietta, GA. Clearwave Fiber has begun construction to extend its 100% fiber-optic network into Marietta, Georgia, and nearby parts of Cobb County. The rollout will cover neighborhoods including Fair Oaks, West Marietta, and East Cobb. Construction is already underway, and the company expects the first residential and commercial customers to go online early this year. Read more.6. TDS celebrates fiber expansion progress in Montana. TDS Telecommunications has reached a milestone in Montana, announcing it has connected its 10,000th customer in the state as it ramps up an expansion of its fiber network.  TDS is extending fiber in multiple Montana cities, including Helena, Billings, Butte, Great Falls and Missoula, and announced plans to start work later this year in the Laurel and Lockwood areas. Read more.7. US Signal announces 1,000+ new fiber miles across Ohio and Indiana. US Signal, a digital infrastructure provider backed by Igneo Infrastructure Partners, announced the construction of over 1,000 miles of new, high-density fiber and conduit infrastructure across Ohio and Indiana.  Approximately 30 percent of the network is already complete and the remaining routes are scheduled for completion by the beginning of 2027. Read more.8. 5 Vermont communities slated for a fiber-to-the-home expansion. Sertex Broadband Solutions, a provider of fiber optic infrastructure services throughout the Northeast, has been awarded a $1.58 million contract to expand Vermont’s Deerfield Valley Communications Union District (DVFiber) fiber-to-the-home network across five towns in southeastern Vermont. The expansion project includes approximately 60 miles of new fiber construction in West Brattleboro, Dummerston, Marlboro, Newfane, and Guilford, Vermont.  The expansion will roll out in three phases through August 2026. Read more.9. Ezee Fiber Announces Acquisition of Daynet Fiber Optic Assets in Dayton, TX. Ezee Fiber has acquired the assets and network of DayNet, a provider of fiber-based telecommunications services to residences in Dayton, Texas. This acquisition includes 76 miles of installed fiber infrastructure. The network was built by the city of Dayton in 2022 and mainly serves residences in Dayton, an area Ezee Fiber has targeted for expansion and growth. Houston-based Ezee Fiber 100% fiber-optic network spans Texas, New Mexico, Illinois, and Washington. Read more.   Broadband Bytes is a weekly collection of broadband news highlights from leading industry resourcescompiled by David Levine, RCDD. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois Universityand a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions. 

Mar 02, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, January 2026 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Awards. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Provisional Awards.  Last updated: Thursday, January 27, 2026, 8:10 am Pacific time. Read more.2. Pew Analysis Lists Potential BEAD Roadblocks After Distribution of Funds. The Pew Charitable Trusts examined factors that could cause future delays in BEAD project completions. The legislation authorizing BEAD gives states and subgrantees just four years after distribution to finish construction. Federal and state officials will have to work together to streamline permitting issues during construction preparation. However, the Pew analysis notes that NTIA has concerns about whether federal agencies have the staffing required to meet the likely upturn in permitting requests BEAD will cause. The analysis also addresses the ongoing controversy over BEAD non-deployment funding. Read more.3. Leveraging Custom Connectivity to Scale Underground Networks. The partnership between LiveOak and UCL Swift does more than just connect homes. It streamlines the entire business model. Based in Niceville, Florida, the ISP has committed to building a 100% underground fiber network across Florida and Georgia. The industry standard has long relied on pre-terminated cable assemblies, but in a distributed split system. These “one-size-fits-all” solutions create a “slack” problem. To solve this, LiveOak transitioned to a “cut-to-length” strategy powered by UCL Swift North America.  By utilizing the KF4A-HDC All-In-One fusion splicer and UCL Swift’s 8145 flat drop cables, technicians now pull the exact length of cable needed for each unique residence—averaging 300 feet—and splice on the connectors in the field.  By terminating the cable on-site, LiveOak eliminated cable waste and moved to smaller, more cost-effective underground enclosures. Beyond the hardware, the shift optimized LiveOak’s most valuable resource: its workforce. Read more.4. Latest BEAD Approvals Represent Lots of Delay, Few Changes. With about three-quarters of all final proposals for the BEAD Program now approved, it appears so far that the yearlong enforced review and delay saved $462,305,075. That’s just over 1 percent of the original BEAD appropriation of $42.45 billion. Read more.5. Survey: 2026 Fiber Deployment Costs to Rise Again. Fiber deployment costs rose in 2025, and they are expected to increase again this year, according to the latest annual report from the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and Cartesian. 92% of survey respondents said they faced higher deployment costs last year, with nearly one-third saying those costs were “significantly” higher. Labor and materials were the main culprits. These trends are expected to continue into 2026, but perhaps not as sharply. Read more.6. FCC Changes to Lifeline Could Raise Costs. Households eligible for the government’s Lifeline program stand to lose up to $9.25 per month, and as much as $34.25 per month on Tribal lands, if changes to the program are passed next month. That’s according to FCC Commissioner Ana M. Gomez, who released a statement calling the proposed changes “especially shortsighted” given high costs of living and the recent lapse of the Affordable Connectivity Program. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the proposed changes will combat waste, fraud, and abuse. Read more here and here.7. The Value of Broadband to a Community. Bento J Lobo, PH.D, of the University of Chattanooga, authored a report, From Gig City to Quantum City: The Value of Fiber Optic Infrastructure in Hamilton County, TN 2011-2035, that quantifies the benefit of the citywide municipal fiber network to the City. The fiber network is operated by EPB, the electric and fiber utility owned by the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The utility serves just under 200,000 homes and businesses. EPB began offering communications services to the business community in 2000. The utility began offering gigabit broadband to residents in 2010. The study concludes that the fiber network has brought $5.3 billion in value to Hamilton County and Chattanooga between 2011 and 2025. Lobo also says that the fiber network has created over 10,000 jobs during that time. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. ImOn Communications Announces Completion of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Fiber Upgrade. ImOn Communications is completing the transformation of its Cedar Rapids-area network to 100% fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) Internet. The upgrade replaces ImOn’s remaining hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) infrastructure.  ImOn has already deployed FTTH Internet across most of the Cedar Rapids metro. This final phase ensures every remaining neighborhood in Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha has access to FTTH Internet by replacing the final stretch of coaxial cable with fiber optic technology. Read more.2. New York Makes $36M in Broadband Grants Available Through ConnectALL MIP. New York’s Municipal Infrastructure Program (MIP) request for applications has reopened and is making as much as $36 million available through the ConnectALL broadband office. Applications will be accepted through the end of April. Projects must be completed by the end of the year. To date, MIP has provided $268 million in funding to projects in 24 counties. The program will lay more than 2,300 miles of new fiber infrastructure and create 68 wireless hubs. The projects will serve more than 96,000 homes and businesses. Read more.3. California Awards $21M in Last-Mile Broadband Funding. Four grants approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) from its Last Mile Federal Funding Account (FFA) will provide as much as $21 million in broadband funding to Contra Costa, Inyo, and Monterey counties. The California broadband funding will expand broadband access to 1,752 locations. In all, they will impact approximately 64,000 households, small businesses, and community institutions. Read more.4. Ripple Fiber Kicks Off Construction in Ocean Shores, Washington. Ripple Fiber has begun construction in Washington with a 126-mile fiber build in Ocean Shores, the first city in the state to break ground. This deployment marks the initial phase of the provider’s broader $250 million investment to deliver fiber internet to more than 200,000 homes and businesses across Grays Harbor County and King County. Ripple Fiber anticipates launching service to its first Washington customers within the first quarter of 2026. Read more.5. Lightcurve Begins Fiber Network Construction in Selah, Washington. Lightcurve announced the start of construction on a new fiber network in Selah, Washington.  The new network will serve approximately 2,900 locations across Selah.  Lightcurve also recently announced the start of new fiber network builds across Central Washington, including Thorp and Edgemont. Read more.6. GoNetspeed Invests $1.6M in Manchester, Connecticut Network Expansion. GoNetspeed, is investing more than $1.6 million to expand its 100% fiber-optic network in Manchester. Construction is already underway, and once complete, the expansion will bring fiber service to more than 5,000 additional homes and businesses. This latest investment increases GoNetspeed’s total commitment to Manchester to $8.2 million. Read more.7. Fatbeam Fiber Announces Network Expansion to Federal Way, Washington. Fatbeam Fiber announced the launch and expansion of its Fiber to the Home service to Federal Way, Washington. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2026. For more than 15 years, Fatbeam has delivered connectivity to schools and businesses across the Northwest. Now, that same high-performance fiber network is coming directly to Federal Way homes. Read more.   Broadband Bytes is a weekly collection of broadband news highlights from leading industry resourcescompiled by David Levine, RCDD. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois Universityand a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions. 

Feb 11, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, January 2026 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Provisional Awards. Last updated: Thursday January 8, 2026, 12:45 pm Pacific time. Read more.2. Broadband M&A 2025: Summary by Telecompetitor. Almost all last year’s broadband mergers and acquisitions fell into one of two categories. Major providers such as T-Mobile, Verizon, Charter, and Cox made strategic broadband M&A deals. And private equity firms invested in companies pursuing high-speed broadband builds. Here is a summary of most of them by Telecompetitor. Read more.3. Dated 1-6-2026: Starlink offers free internet in Venezuela. Starlink has announced that they will provide free internet to users in Venezuela until February 3. The announcement comes in the wake of the U.S. military’s capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Since the operation to capture Maduro, President Donald Trump has repeatedly affirmed that the U.S. is in charge of Venezuela. Starlink’s announcement comes as Trump and Musk were pictured dining together recently at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Read more.4. Some Hope for Non-deployment Funds? There is still some hope that states will see some of the BEAD non-deployment funds but the issue is far from settled.  In early November, Arielle Roth (Asst. Sec of Commerce for Communications and Information) characterized the nondeployment funds as savings in a speech made to the Hudson Institute, which signaled that NTIA didn’t want to send the money to States. However, in a forum at the Free State Foundation on December 2, Roth said she was “operating under the assumption that the states will get to use their BEAD savings. But again, nothing has been finalized.” She also said in that forum that “any spending must produce real, measurable value, not duplicate investment the private sector is already making.” Read more.5. 2025 Fiber Gains, 2026 Growth. In 2025, the fiber industry set another record for growth, hitting 11.8 million homes passed according to the latest FBA research conducted by RVA Market Research & Consulting. Total broadband passings have reached nearly 100 million homes in the US when you include homes with more than one passing. Taking out the multiple-passings, there are 84.6 million unique addresses that have fiber. Nationwide, fiber now passes over 60% of U.S. households. There are still nearly 60 million first-passing U.S. broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) left to address. Read more.6. BEAD changes broke the law: GAO. The Government Accountability Office found that last summer’s tweaks to the program should be submitted to Congress for approval before they can take effect. The GAO ruled that the changes NTIA had made were too great to be pushed through without congressional approval. Experts said the impact of this GAO decision is unclear. The CRA gives Congress 60 days to review and reject rules issued by federal agencies, and if Congress were to enact a resolution of disapproval, those rules would be struck down. Whether that would happen and Congress responds remains to be seen. Read more.7. CommScope cancels $60M expansion plan in N.C. then loses $2M state grant. Vistance Networks, formerly CommScope, cancelled their plans to expand its fiber manufacturing plant in Catawba, North Carolina. The company cancelled a $60 million plan that intended to create 250 jobs due to financial uncertainties. Vistance informed the state in December that it would not achieve its local hiring or investment goals, and this week the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee terminated the company’s nearly $2 million economic development grant. The news comes just after Vistance closed its $10.5 billion sale of Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS) to Amphenol. Read more.8. Uniti Wholesale 1,100 miles of dark fiber in TX. A new landmark expansion of Uniti Wholesale’s dark fiber network will link deployments in key AI hubs like Amarillo and Haskell, Texas. The deployment will add 1,100 route miles of ultra highcapacity fiber. Additionally, Uniti Wholesale said the expansion will upgrade space and power at over 20 colocation sites, linking first tier markets with fastgrowing AI hubs. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. TDS Telecom will opportunistically use M&A to enhance its fiber reach. TDS Telecom plans to pursue small, highly synergistic M&A opportunities to bolster its fiber network, avoiding large-scale deals typical of bigger providers. The company added 42,000 fiber addresses in Q3 and aims to reach 1.8 million by 2025, with 80% of addresses served by fiber.  TDS’s M&A strategy focuses on assets aligned with its fiber goals. In recent years, the service provider has divested assets, including its cable operations in Oklahoma and Texas. Read more.2. Take-private acquisition of WOW! is completed. DigitalBridge Group and Crestview Partners have completed their take-private acquisition of broadband provider WideOpenWest Inc. (WOW!) The deal values WOW! at an enterprise price of about $1.5 billion and will pay WOW! shareholders $5.20 in cash per share, after which WOW! common stock will no longer trade on any public exchange. Read more.3. Cable One makes move to expand Clearwave Fiber. Cable One will combine its Clearwave Fiber joint venture with Point Broadband, aiming to establish “one of the largest independent fiber operators in the U.S.” with more than 500,000 passings across 12 states. Launched in 2022 by Cable One and a trio of private equity partners, Clearwave provides residential and commercial fiber in the Midwest and Southeast U.S. Point Broadband, which is also PE-backed, was founded in 2017 and serves 10 states. Read more.4. Cable One to fully acquire Mega Broadband. Cable One Inc. and Mega Broadband Investments Holdings (MBI) have entered into a definitive agreement under which Cable One will acquire the remaining portion of MBI that it does not already own.  MBI, which operates under the Vyve Broadband brand, provides broadband to the southwest, northwest, and mid-south. It had about 210,000 residential and business data customers and 675,000 passings as of the end of last September. Cable One currently owns 45% of MBI. The balance of the company is owned by “certain affiliates of GTCR LLC” and MBI management. management. Read more.5. Wire 3 activates first fiber connections in Deltona FL. A privately funded, $60 million buildout will extend fiber to thousands of homes in Volusia County, FL.  Wire 3 positions itself as Central Florida’s 100% fiber internet provider. The company currently lists other service areas including Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Holly Hill, Port St. Lucie and New Smyrna Beach. Read more.6. Stellar Broadband and 123Net partner on Michigan fiber network. STELLAR Broadband, a Michigan  provider of fiber internet and technology solutions for Multi-Dwelling Units (MDUs) and planned communities, announced a strategic partnership with 123NET, a provider of fiber internet to expand fiber connectivity from Lansing to Grand Rapids. The partnership represents a significant multi-million investment in high-density fiber infrastructure. Read more.7. GoNetspeed Fiber network construction kicks off in Newport, Rhode Island. Construction has begun on a 100% fiber-optic network in Newport, Rhode Island. GoNetspeed announced a rollout the company says will eventually reach more than 8,200 homes and businesses. The company, a Northeastern regional provider, is investing in local infrastructure as it expands into Rhode Island, where it now operates in what the company calls its 10th state.  The provider noted it has been expanding across the Northeast since a 2021 partnership with Oak Hill Capital. Read more.8. Astound launches East Coast fiber route. Astound Business Solutions has built a new fiber network route, spanning more than 300 miles across the East Coast, from New York City to Ashburn, Virginia. This strategic build enhances connectivity between two of the nation’s most critical data hubs. Read more.   Broadband Bytes is a weekly collection of broadband news highlights from leading industry resourcescompiled by David Levine, RCDD. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois Universityand a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions. 

Feb 11, 2026