General

Broadband Bytes, October 2025 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS:1. BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Provisional Awards. Updated, Comprehensive List. Read more.2. NTIA BEAD Work to Continue During the Shutdown. BEAD and other programs at NTIA are not subject to the government shutdown. NTIA is continuing work on BEAD, the Middle Mile program, the Tribal Broadband Connectivity program, the Broadband Infrastructure Program, and the Connecting Minority Communities program. Overall, NTIA was able to keep 463 of its 600 employees, largely because their work isn’t tied to annual appropriations. Read more.3. Datacenter Segment Worth $321B by 2030. MarketsandMarkets says that the worldwide data center industry segment will be worth $320.89 billion by 2030 as artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies increase the need to handle more data in differentiated ways.  The increase will be stark: The segment will be worth $115.94 billion this year and will enjoy a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.6% during the term studied by MarketsandMarkets. Read more.4. Anchor institutions face a funding crisis that threatens connectivity for vulnerable communities. Schools, libraries, and healthcare facilities are struggling to maintain connectivity amid federal funding cuts and policy changes that threaten their ability to serve vulnerable communities. Read more.5. Fiber continues to dominate BEAD deployments. With BEAD proposals now largely submitted, representing $18 billion of the $41.6 billion appropriated for their use by Congress, fiber has still emerged as the technology of choice for over 2.2 million (at least 64%) of broadband serviceable locations (BSLs). Two Low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite providers snagged at least 770,000 BSLs (22%), terrestrial wireless collected 340,000 BSLs (almost 10%), and hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) picked up 35,000 BSLs (1%). Read more.6. 8M Americans Still Offline: Connectivity Report. Reviews.org, working from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) one-year estimates, found that almost eight million households in the US lack connectivity and are not yet online. The analysts found that the number of offline Americans declined from 10.2 million in 2023 to 7.9 million in 2024, a drop of almost 20%. Read more.7. Broadband Providers Invested $89.6B Last Year: Capex Report. America’s broadband providers are investing at a high rate, according to USTelecom – The Broadband Association’s 2024 Broadband Capex Report. The Association says providers invested $89.6 billion last year, which it called a “near-record.” Since 1996, broadband providers have invested $2.2 trillion. Read more.8. Verizon Partners with Tillman’s Eaton Fiber to Reach New Markets. Verizon announced that it will extend its Fios service into new markets through a commercial fiber agreement with Eaton Fiber, an affiliate of global infrastructure investor Tillman Holdings. The companies did not disclose build plans, locations, or timelines, but said the partnership would complement Verizon’s ongoing fiber builds and planned acquisition of Frontier. Under the agreement, Eaton Fiber, described as a wholesale, open-access fiber provider, will fund, build, and maintain the network. Verizon will be the exclusive retail provider of residential broadband services through the build phase and for an unspecified amount of time afterwards. Read more.9. Broadband Editorial: Where is Congress? Politics in DC is a mess right now. But the sudden indifference to broadband is a huge shift from the recent past. Broadband has always been one of the few topics that has had bipartisan support from rural legislators, because they all knew that this was important to their constituents. Over the last five or ten years, (many) County governments have said that the lack of good broadband was the number one issue for their constituents. That message has always carried upward to federal legislators, particularly in the House of Representatives. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. unWired embarks on $10m fiber upgrade in Wasco, California. unWired Broadband last month inaugurated their NextGen Fiber network in Wasco, Calif., marking the start of a planned $10 million upgrade to the city’s internet infrastructure.  Wasco is located in California’s San Joaquin Valley.  The company expects the buildout to finish by February 2026. Read more.2. Bluepeak has announced upgraded connection speeds for more than 25,000 customers in South Dakota and Minnesota. Internet provider Bluepeak announced that it has upgraded connection speeds for more than 25,000 customers in South Dakota and Minnesota as part of a multi-year effort to expand and modernize its regional fiber network.  The rollout follows Bluepeak’s broader expansion across several states, including Oklahoma, Wyoming, North Dakota and Texas. Read more.3. Astound Broadband Completes Fiber Network in Newport, Oregon. Astound Broadband announced that is has completed construction of Newport’s first fiber optic network, bringing the service to more than 5,000 homes, along with 900 business and commercial locations.  Astound invested $4.6 million to complete approximately 55 miles of new fiber infrastructure throughout Newport. Read more.4. Indiana Connectivity Program Awards Almost $655K in Broadband Grants. The Indiana Connectivity Program has awarded $654,676 in the 15th round of broadband grants. The awards will support 149 homes and seven businesses. Broadband service providers in Indiana are matching the grants in the amount of $1,116,469, which brings the total investment to $1,771,145. Projects must be completed within nine months of the contract date. The program has allocated more than $14 million and helped to provide service to 3,000 homes, businesses and anchor institutions across IN. Read more.5. Altice’s Optimum Partners with Tyler, Texas for Infrastructure Upgrades. Altice, which offers broadband and video service under the Optimum brand, will invest $4.4 million to upgrade Tyler, Texas’ emergency and government infrastructure with a fiber network. The money is being used construction of 40 miles of strategically designed fiber routes. Read more.6. VT program to provide broadband for low-income households. The Vermont Community Broadband Board has allocated nearly $8M from ARPA funding to the Affordable Long Drop program, which aims to connect about 2,000 low-income households in remote areas to high-speed broadband. The funding will offset the extra costs for homes located far from main roads, with the largest grants going to EC Fiber and NEK Broadband. EC Fiber is getting $3M, which will help connect about 750 homes, while NEK will receive a little over $2M for more than 400 properties. Read more.7. Lyte Fiber named as preliminary recipient of BEAD funds in Texas. Lyte Fiber has been preliminarily selected for $142 million in Texas BEAD funding to expand high-speed internet access across seven counties.  The Houston-based internet service provider said they’ve been preliminarily selected for the program’s third largest award in Texas. Money for the award involves BEAD funds and $23 million from the Texas Match Assistance Program (TMAP). Read more.8. IQ Fiber launches fiber internet in Charleston, South Carolina. IQ Fiber, a Jacksonville, Florida-based provider of 100% fiber-optic internet service, has launched its all-fiber network in Charleston, South Carolina, including the communities of West Ashley and the Town of Mt. Pleasant. IQ Fiber’s network now spans more than 2,700 route miles and serves customers in Jacksonville and Gainesville, Florida, as well as Savannah, Georgia. Construction is also underway in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, Florida. The company also operates in the Chesapeake Bay Region of Maryland through its subsidiary ThinkBig Networks. Read more.9. Ezee Fiber Begins Construction on Santa Fe, New Mexico Network. In partnership with the City of Santa Fe, Ezee Fiber announces plans to begin construction in the public right of way to expand the availability of high-speed internet services. The construction will begin in late October to early November. Ezee Fiber’s infrastructure upgrades will make its high-speed internet services available to nearly 5,000 Santa Fe homes in this first phase. 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. 

Nov 12, 2025

Products

UCL Swift North America’s Fiber Optic Connectors Made in Texas

Carrollton, Texas — October 6, 2025 — UCL Swift’s strategy for growth in the U.S. takes another step forward as it launches its line of domestically manufactured fiber optic fusion splice-on connectors. Utilizing the manufacturing capabilities of its co-located division, UCL Connections, UCL Swift North America can now produce its high-quality fusion splice-on connectors at its facility in Carrollton, Texas.Currently, LC and SC connector models with either OM4 multimode or OS2 single-mode fiber are manufactured at UCL Connections. UCL Swift intends to expand its domestically made product offering in the very near future. Brad Everette, General Manager for UCL Swift North America, said, “This project has been several years in the making. The increase in demand for U.S.-made products is timely, and we are very excited about assisting our customers with that need. Our domestic manufacturing division, UCL Connections, has years of experience producing U.S.-made copper and fiber optic cable assemblies. UCL Swift expects to manufacture more fiber optic fusion splice-on connectors domestically in the future.” Alex Ybarra, QA Manager for UCL Connections, added, “We have worked with our local Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Department of Agriculture to ensure compliance with manufacturing requirements. UCL Connections’ ISO processes are utilized to provide certificates of origin for customers requiring documentation related to projects.” Certification of U.S. manufacture is available for these products.About UCL SwiftFounded in 1982 as a high-precision tool manufacturer, UCL Swift launched the first optical fiber termination products in 1999 to meet customers’ needs for reliable and productive solutions. Since then, UCL Swift North America has developed and introduced innovative and dependable products for processing and splicing optical fibers. For more information, visit www.uclswiftna.com. 

Nov 12, 2025

General

Broadband Bytes, September 2025 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Going, Going, Gone? On September 5, NTIA issued a press release about the progress of the Benefit of the Bargain round for States to award BEAD funding…”states are already projecting savings of at least $13 billion for American taxpayers.” The $13 million referenced by NTIA is the difference between the funding allocated to each state for BEAD and the amount being awarded to BEAD grants. According to the IIJA legislation that created BEAD, any funds not spent on infrastructure were to remain with the States (See #6 below) to pursue other activities related to improving broadband. States aren’t going to easily let this funding go. Read more.2. FCC urged to Adopt Higher Rural Benchmark. NRECA and NTCA– The Rural Broadband Association were among the industry groups calling for raising the FCC fixed broadband benchmark from its current 100/20 Mbps benchmark.  NRTC/NRECA Rural Broadband Benchmarking Report found that more than 50 percent of consumers subscribe to services faster than 475/475 Mbps.  NTCA’s comments cited studies to show that consumer demand is rapidly exceeding 100/20 Mbps. Read more.3. Connected Nation’s BEAD Tracker. The Connected Nation BEAD Tracker compiles and aggregates data directly from published state BEAD final proposals. It will be updated with new data as final proposals are finalized.  To explore a breakdown of each state’s BEAD final proposal data submission, click here. Read more.4. Shirley Bloomfield to Retire as CEO of NTCA. NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association CEO Shirley Bloomfield announced that she will retire in March 2026. During Bloomfield’s tenure with NTCA, the association created the Foundation for Rural Service, which supports rural broadband providers, consumers, and policymakers with educational tools, products, and programming. As CEO, Bloomfield led NTCA in launching their Smart Rural Community and Gig-Certified programs. Read more.5. Fiber Deployments Fuel Consolidated Communications’ Name Change to Fidium. Fidium is now the official name of the company formerly known as Consolidated Communications. Prior to the name change, the provider used the Fidium name as a brand for its fiber broadband service for several years.  The announcement about the name change notes that more than 75% of Consolidated Communications’ broadband customers are now served by fiber.  The goal is to increase that to 80% “within the next few years.” Read more.6. MS Senator calls for states to keep their BEAD Non-deployment funds. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) is adding his voice to a growing chorus of Republican lawmakers urging the NTIA and Commerce Department to allow states to keep their leftover BEAD “non-deployment” funds. Wicker emailed constituents saying Congress “was clear” that states can use their remaining grant money — and he wants to direct it toward public safety tech, national security upgrades, and workforce training for emerging technologies like AI. The Commerce Department rescinded all non-deployment approvals back in June, freezing plans for things like broadband adoption and workforce programs, and now more than $17 billion is in limbo. Read more.7. Permitting a Key Broadband Deployment Factor. Permitting is one of the most consequential factors in broadband infrastructure deployment in this country, according to a new report from the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA). The report, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” highlights the best practices and persistent barriers in the permitting process. FBA suggests that the NTIA’s Environmental Screening and Tracking Tool provides a valuable blueprint for national reform, but local authorities, policies, and other factors are still proving to be large hurdles. Read more.8. Broadband Workforce Knowledge, Skill Level Seen as Lacking: Survey. More than half of broadband industry personnel recognize the importance of structured training programs to help build the broadband workforce and are working to implement them, according to a new survey. However, the survey also found that the effectiveness of the training and the time to productivity remain challenges.  The survey was conducted for the Fiber Broadband Association. More than half of respondents said the knowledge and/or skill of their current workforce is insufficient for current and future fiber projects. The opportunity and challenge are that almost 70% of fiber techs are nearing retirement.   Training the next generation of fiber technicians is a huge issue for the industry. Working with your key suppliers, like UCL Swift, is a great resource for additional training on fiber, fiber splicing, and fiber connectivity. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. GPC announces expansion into Louisville, Lexington, KY markets. Great Plains Communications (GPC) announced the expansion of its fiber-optic network into Kentucky. This 165-mile network will provide businesses, wholesale customers, wireless carriers, and hyperscalers with fully redundant fiber connectivity and a complete suite of enterprise-grade services with speeds ranging from 1 Gigabit to 400 Gigabits.  The new build will deliver fiber connectivity directly to key Kentucky markets, extending service capabilities statewide and across the Great Plains Communications 13-state network footprint. Read more.2. Segra Introduces Inland Fiber Route From Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Segra announced major network enhancements with the development of a new direct inland fiber route from the Myrtle Beach Cable Landing Station, a major hub for subsea international traffic, to Charlotte, North Carolina. This strategic expansion strengthens Segra’s offerings and supports the growing demands of hyperscale and international network providers. Construction for the new route is slated to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with an expected completion in the second quarter of 2026. Read more.3. Metronet Announces Expansion in Castle Rock and Castle Pine, Colorado. Metronet announced that it will begin building 100% fiber-optic networks in both Castle Rock and Castle Pines, Colorado, late this summer. Metronet is moving forward with a $38 million private investment to bring fiber internet to tens of thousands of homes and local businesses in the two cities.  The expansion is in partnership with T-Mobile Fiber. Read more.4. Blue Owl Capital Takes Majority Interest in Gigabit Fiber. A fund managed by Blue Owl Capital has made a majority investment in Gigabit Fiber.  Gigabit Fiber owns and operates approximately 500 route miles of high-count fiber networks connecting more than 50 data centers across its network, with a presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Austin, El Paso, San Antonio, and South Texas. The Blue Owl investment will help Gigabit Fiber increase its footprint across TX, NM. Read more.5. FirstLight Completes 280-Mile AI-Ready Fiber Network Across Pennsylvania. FirstLight, announced the successful completion of a 280-mile dedicated network across Eastern Pennsylvania, directly connecting several strategic AI and data center sites. The project leverages FirstLight’s owned Pennsylvania fiber backbone, which spans more than 3,200 route miles and provides connectivity across 50 of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties. Read more.6. Every BSL is a “Hard Target” in Illinois’ Draft BEAD Final Proposal. The Illinois broadband office rolled out a proposal that, unlike all other states posting to date, utilizes almost all of its original BEAD allotment. Designating 95.22% of its original BEAD funds, the IL proposal still allocates 15% for LEO and 9.10% for Wireless of the BSLs. The plan deploys fiber to 75.6% and HFC to .3%. The big winner is Illinois-based Wisper Internet, which will receive $350M to serve $37K of IL 162 unserved and underserved. Read more.7. Ripple Fiber launches fiber internet in Holden, Massachusetts. Ripple Fiber launches fiber service in Holden, Massachusetts. After breaking ground in May 2025, the provider plans to bring fiber internet access to over 11,000 households in areas of Worcester County, including the towns of Holden and West Boylston. Read more.8. Southern Telecom and Seimitsu have formed a new strategic alliance focused on the US Southeast named SouthernWaves. Southern Telecom, a subsidiary of Southern Company, and Seimitsu, a Savannah-based leader in broadband networking solutions, have announced SouthernWaves, a strategic alliance poised to deliver fiber-optic network services across the Southeast. Traditionally, Southern Telecom has been known for providing dark fiber services, which require customers to manage their own network equipment. SouthernWaves is introducing lit services, with Seimitsu responsible for illuminating and managing bandwidth on Southern Telecom’s secure fiber routes, which are installed in highly secure conduits. 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. 

Nov 12, 2025

General

Broadband Bytes, September 2025 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Comprehensive List as of 8/29/25: BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Provisional Awards. Most states are now on the same schedule for the BEAD Program, which means new announcements of provisional BEAD awards for the “Benefit of the Bargain” BEAD round are being made nearly every day. While some states have requested timeline extensions from the NTIA, many are announcing their provisional award lists. Those lists are below; each state’s list is arranged in order from the most money awarded to the least. Read more.2. As More States Post Draft BEAD Plans, Fiber Still at Two-Thirds of Locations. As more states release drafts of their final spending plans under the BEAD program, fiber still appears slated to serve about two-thirds of the funded locations. Read more.3. Big ISPs and BEAD. The following is an analysis of the 29 states that announced BEAD awards by August 29. This analysis only looks at the 23 states that have made BEAD awards of over $100 million. In the following analysis, the following are considered large companies: AT&T, Brightspeed, Charter, Comcast, Consolidated Communications, Frontier, Mediacom, and Windstream. There are seven states so far that have awarded 5% or less of the funding to large ISPs, led by Kansas, with no BEAD awards to large companies. Five states have awarded 50% or more of awards to large companies, led by North Carolina at 85.9%. Note, however, that this list is not final since some large states like Texas, California, Illinois, Missouri, and Florida have yet to announce BEAD grants. Read more.4. FCC Chair Proposes to End E-Rate Funding for Wi-Fi Hot Spots. Citing statutory authority and oversight concerns, the FCC may roll back COVID-era expansions to the E-rate program that funded take-home Wi-Fi hot spots and Wi-Fi on school buses. If adopted, the proposals would rescind a 2023 decision allowing school bus Wi-Fi to be reimbursed under the agency’s E-rate program, which has provided annual broadband subsidies to schools and libraries since its 1996 inception. The proposals would also overturn a 2024 ruling that extended support to off-campus Wi-Fi hot spots through schools and libraries. Read more.5. 20 states and territories given short-term BEAD extensions by NTIA. A full list of states and territories granted short-term extensions included Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina. Read more.6. Broadband.IO Feed provides details of BEAD resubmitted Final Proposals. Scroll the feed for proposed recipients, amount, which technology, % of funding, BSLs, and % BSLs. Read more.7. BEAD: Who Controls Non-Deployment Funds? NewStreet Research Policy Advisor Blair Levin says only about 44% of proposed appropriated funds have been deployed to perform the main function of the BEAD Program, which is connecting underserved and unserved areas. The NTIA, which is administering the BEAD Program, has not advised states on how they should allocate non-deployment funds. It has also been suggested, according to Levin’s research note, that the administration expects those funds to be returned to Washington. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick suggesting that states keep the excess funds and spend them on state-led initiatives that advance key national priorities. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. Highline Continues Michigan Expansion with Acquisition of 906 Technologies. Fiber-based service provider Highline continues to expand in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with the acquisition of the fiber assets and ISP business of 906 Technologies LLC.  Highline says that it has been in the telecommunications sector for 127 years and has built, owned, and operated fiber for 27 years. In addition to Michigan, the company is active in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and Georgia. Read more.2. Ezee Fiber Begins Construction of Network in Three Washington Towns. In partnership with the cities of Milton, Lakewood , and Fife, WA, Ezee Fiber will start construction in September in the public right-of-ways to expand the availability of high-speed internet services. Ezee Fiber recently announced its plans to invest $400 million in expanding its network in the Puget Sound region and hiring 350 people for sales, customer service, technician, and other roles. Read more.3. Gigapower Announces Network Expansion in Six States. Gigapower, a commercial wholesale fiber broadband network provider, announced that it has completed the expansion of its footprint and is now offering select communities greater access to its network. Gigapower’s open access network is now available in: Florida – Greater Orlando and Panhandle Area, New Mexico – Albuquerque, Northeastern Pennsylvania – Northeastern Area, North Carolina – Greater Charlotte Area, South Carolina – Greater Charlotte Area, Southeastern Minnesota – Southern Minneapolis. Read more.4. GoNetspeed Announces Expansion to Stratford, Connecticut. GoNetspeed announced that the Town of Stratford will be the next town to benefit from GoNetspeed’s 100% fiber-optic internet. GoNetspeed’s privately funded $7 million build in Stratford will equip more than 12,400 residents and businesses with state-of-the-art digital infrastructure.  Construction on GoNetspeed’s fiber-optic network in Stratford is slated to begin by fall 2025. Read more.5. Lumos Expands to Charleston County, South Carolina. Lumos, a 100% Fiber Optic Internet and network infrastructure leader, announced its expansion in Charleston County, South Carolina. As part of this initiative, Lumos will build more than 500 miles of fiber infrastructure, bringing high-speed internet to over 50,000 homes, small businesses, and multifamily communities in Mount Pleasant and the surrounding area. Lumos, now part of T-Mobile Fiber, is expanding its fiber network to strengthen South Carolina’s digital infrastructure. The network will provide service to consumers and businesses via T-Mobile Fiber, in addition to large businesses and bulk MDU complexes, which will be under the Lumos brand. Read more.6. Kinetic plans to bring fiber to another 50,000 locations in Georgia. Kinetic has secured preliminary approval for $156.6 million in federal BEAD program grants. The funds, provisionally awarded by four states—Georgia, Arkansas, New Mexico, and North Carolina—are designed to extend fiber broadband to nearly 52,000 rural homes and businesses, with a significant majority, approximately 49,346 locations, situated in Georgia. The grants are subject to final ratification by the NTIA. Read more.7. Ripple Fiber completes integration with HyperFiber customers. Charlotte-based Ripple Fiber has completed its integration with HyperFiber, formerly a fiber-focused, St. Louis-based ISP.  The completed integration means HyperFiber’s customers in Arkansas, Colorado, and Florida are now served under the Ripple Fiber brand.  The strategic merger aligns with Ripple Fiber’s plan to build 1.5 million new passings across 15 states within the next five years. 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. 

Nov 12, 2025

General

Broadband Bytes, August 2025 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS:Note: News of BEAD Final Plans below are subject to approval by the NTIA. The Department of Commerce deadline to submit revised final BEAD plans is September 4th. However, some states are requesting and receiving modest extensions.1. West Virginia Recommends Nine Providers for BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Funds. WV has recommended nine providers for a total of $624.7 million in funding through the BEAD program. The funding will cover some of the costs of deploying high-speed broadband to 73,701 underserved and unserved locations. That includes all locations eligible for BEAD funding. The companies slated to receive the most funding are Frontier and West Virginia-based Citynet. If approved, both companies will receive more than $200 million each for more than 24,000 locations apiece. Following them, in descending order by amount of funding proposed, are Comcast ($61.3 million), Micrologic ($52.9 million), GigaBeam ($23.4 million), Prodigi ($21.6 million), Armstrong ($12.7 million), Hardy Communications ($7.9 million), and SpaceX ($6.4 million). Awards will not be final until they are approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Read more.2. Six More States Release BEAD Award Recommendations. The BEAD recommendations vary considerably among the six states: Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania.  Arkansas –76% of locations would get fiber broadband. Colorado- about 60% LEO and FWA. Maine- about 85% fiber. Montana-strong emphasis on LEO. North Dakota- heavy fiber awards. Pennsylvania- estimate 64% fiber All award recommendations subject to NTIA approval. Read more.3. NTIA Grants CA Request for BEAD Deadline Extension. The Commerce Department has granted California’s request for more time to submit its final spending plan under the BEAD program. The state now has until October 2, rather than September 4, to submit the document. Read more.4. NTIA Gives Texas Until Oct. 27 to File Final BEAD Plan. Texas’s broadband office will have more time to submit a final spending plan under the BEAD program. The Commerce Department approved a new deadline of Oct. 27, 2025, rather than Sept. 4. (Texas had asked for an extension to November 21st.)  Read more.5. BEAD Showdown. Rural broadband is facing a dramatic moment when the NTIA decides what it’s going to do with the BEAD proposals that States have presented to it. State Broadband Offices (SBOs) have been submitting final BEAD plans that are still mostly fiber. New BEAD rules had a small loophole. SBOs could designate some BEAD applications as “priority broadband projects” if they met three criteria. (See article link for details.) NTIA now faces a big choice. SBOs (and actually the Governors they work for) have clearly said that they want BEAD money to build fiber. Three early states (LA,VA,WV) have Republican governors, and broadband is not a partisan issue at the state and local levels. This is a showdown moment. NTIA can concede to the requests from these States or play bad cop. What follows could be lawsuits. Read more.6. New Mexico BEAD ‘Savings’ About 1/3rd. Much like counterparts Montana (64%), Oklahoma (67%), and Washington (68%), New Mexico’s bargain shopping only saved a third or so of original allocation. New Mexico proposes, in its draft final proposal, to allocate $432,974,698, which is 64% of the state’s original allocation. Funding is slated to reach 43,274 BSLs. The projects’ technology breakdown is fiber (44%), fixed wireless (40%), and LEO (16%). Read more.7. But Some New Mexico BEAD builds could still top $40k per location served. The high per-location costs reflect the realities of providing broadband infrastructure in New Mexico’s rural and often remote regions. Read more.8. Fiber still dominates most BEAD locations. Several states’ final proposals released in the last few days show fiber still leads in BEAD location wins, with Colorado as the only state so far to select low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology for a majority of locations. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1.  Empire Access Fiber Expansion-Greece, New York. Empire Access is bringing fiber internet service to Greece, New York. By the end of August 2025, over 1,500 homes and 800 businesses throughout Greece will be lit up with Empire Access fiber internet, ready for residents and businesses to order service and get connected immediately. Read more.2. ImOn Communications (Cedar Rapids, IA) Completes Acquisition of Danville Telecom. Founded in 1901 as Danville Mutual Telephone Company, Danville Telecom delivers 100% fiber-optic telecommunications services to residential and business customers in Danville. Through its subsidiary iConnectYou, the company also provides broadband services in Burlington, Fort Madison, Keokuk, Montrose, Wever, and West Burlington. Read more.3. Ripple Fiber Launches Network in Midland, Michigan. Introducing a new internet option to residents, Ripple Fiber, a Charlotte-based provider of high-speed fiber internet, launched service in Midland, Michigan. The current build includes over 12,000 homes in areas such as Maryland Park, Dartmouth Park, and Greenfield Park. Read more.4. T-Mobile reportedly moves to acquire US Internet in Minnesota. T-Mobile appears positioned to take over U.S. Internet (USI), a Minnesota-based provider with a fiber footprint across the Minneapolis area.  According to the report, the deal would see USI customers become customers of T-Mobile on or after September 2, subject to regulatory clearances. USI “has provided internet service to the city of Minneapolis since 2008.” Read more.5. New York State Announces $52.6M in Broadband Grants. New York State has announced 15 grants through three broadband programs that will connect 6,900 locations, totaling about 24,000 households, businesses, and anchor institutions. The awards, which total $52.6 million, include connectivity for 19,000 affordable housing units. In all, the awards will create 234 miles of fiber and 46 wireless hubs.  Awardees are listed in the following link. Read more.6. Brightspeed Confirms $222M in BEAD Awards From Six States. Brightspeed announced it has been awarded federal BEAD program grants in Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The states’ combined grants awarded to Brightspeed total $222,165,886—enabling the company to reach an additional 73,709 homes and businesses with its Fiber Internet network. Read more.7. Texas BDO Requests Grant Applications for the Texas Middle Mile Program. The BDO has allocated up to $200 million from the state’s Broadband Infrastructure Fund to fund projects for the construction and improvement of middle-mile infrastructure across Texas. The TMM program Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) was published on the Electronic State Business Daily within Texas SmartBuy. Applications are due no later than Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. 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. 

Nov 12, 2025

General

Broadband Bytes, August 2025 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Schurz Communications to consolidate a network of fiber broadband providers. Schurz Communications, a family-owned firm with roots in newspaper publishing and broadcasting, announced the launch of a new division called Schurz Broadband Group (SBG) to consolidate its network of regional fiber broadband providers.  Overall, SBG will encompass six regional internet providers, including Antietam Broadband in Maryland, Burlington Telecom in Vermont, Hiawatha Broadband in Minnesota, Long Lines Broadband covering Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, NKTelco in Ohio, and Orbitel Communications in Arizona. Read more.2. NTIA Relaxes Letter of Credit Rules for BEAD Recipients. Providers participating in the program will still need to submit a letter of credit from a qualifying bank. However, that bank will no longer need a Weiss rating.  Instead, the bank must be classified as “well-capitalized,” according to standards set by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Read more.3. Washington Insider Slams BEAD Satellite Funding Rules. Blair Levin offers numerous reasons why diverting more BEAD funding to satellite is a bad idea. “From a state perspective, it is not clear what the states providing funds to satellite will actually gain, as their residents already have access to satellite broadband.” Although BEAD grants will require satellite providers to offer equipment for free, BEAD rules don’t limit what the providers can charge for service, Levin noted. Read more.4. Bluebird Fiber’s Everstream Acquisition Gains a Key Approval. Everstream, a business-only fiber network, announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas for the sale of substantially all of its operations to Bluebird Fiber, a regional provider of fiber-based connectivity solutions for businesses. Following an auction process, Bluebird emerged as the winner with a prevailing bid of $384.6 million. Read more.5. Tariffs will hit more on FWA than Fiber. Fiber impact not as great as expected. Fixed wireless more vulnerable, said wireless exec. Read more.6. Senate Bill Would Terminate USDA’s Community Connect Grant Program. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, introduced a bill to terminate the USDA Community Connect Grant program.  Ernst’s bill would cut the program – a federal initiative that funds broadband deployment in rural, economically-challenged communities where service does not exist. The USDA states, “The Community Connect program helps rural communities extend access where broadband service is least likely to be commercially available, but where it can make a tremendous difference in the quality of life for people and businesses.” Read more.7. Louisiana’s Revised BEAD Awardees: Who Gains? Who Loses? The new Louisiana proposal calls for 80% of locations to get fiber broadband, while 9% of locations will be served by low Earth orbit satellite (LEO) service, and the remainder will be almost equally split between cable and fixed wireless technology. The results may somewhat calm fears about an enormous shift to satellite service, although we don’t know yet whether other states will see Benefit of the Bargain results like Louisiana’s.  There were no new names on the new awards list. All were on the list of awardees released in January based on the initial rules. Read more. Read more.8. Fiber Looks Strong as Virginia Sends BEAD List for Approval: Awardee Rankings. The new BEAD rules eliminate the preference for fiber broadband that was a key element of the original rules. Nevertheless, most Virginia locations (81%) will be served by fiber broadband, with 10% served by satellite, 8% by cable and 1% by fixed wireless, according to New Street Research. According to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), funding will go toward making high-speed broadband available to 133,742 locations. A total of $613.3 million will be awarded, assuming NTIA approves the recommendations. Read more.FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. Ezee Fiber Plans $400M Chicagoland Fiber Build. Ezee Fiber announced the expansion of its 100% fiber network into the greater Chicagoland area. The buildout will deliver Ezee Fiber’s fiber internet to residential and business customers across the Chicago metropolitan area, beginning with communities in DuPage, Cook, Lake, Kane & Will counties. Residential and business customer installations are expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025. Read more.2. GoNetspeed Launches Fiber Network in NY Market. GoNetspeed, announced that residents of New Hartford can now officially sign up for 100% fiber-optic internet service. This milestone marks the official launch of New Hartford’s fully funded, $12 million fiber-optic network. Upon completion of GoNetspeed’s network, more than 9,200 New Hartford homes and businesses. Read more.3. Fiber broadband expansion SE Oklahoma. With a total investment nearing $59 million, a broadband expansion project led by the Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO), in partnership with Pine Telephone Company, is aiming to bring high-speed, internet access to approximately 1,512 homes and businesses with fiber optic technology. This initiative, part of a broader push to close the digital divide in rural communities,  is funded by $39.7 million in federal grants complemented by $19.1 million in matching funds from Pine Telephone Company, a provider with over 110 years of service in southeastern Oklahoma. Read more.4. Paul Buyan Fiber Expansion in Minnesota’s rural Arrowhead Region. A broadband expansion in Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region has reached 65% completion in the city of Coleraine, according to a recent update by the firm behind the project, Paul Bunyan Communications.  The expansion is part of a larger initiative by Paul Bunyan Communications to extend its GigaZone fiber-optic network to over 3,000 additional locations within Itasca and St. Louis Counties throughout 2025. Overall, the project is estimated to cost around $7.5 million. Read more.5. Fidium Fiber in Maine. Fidium Fiber is expanding its all-fiber internet network in Maine. The expansion to Clifton and Dedham, as well as parts of Eddington, will bring fiber internet to more than 3,600 homes and businesses. Today, more than 385,000 Maine homes and businesses have access to Fidium, with additional connectivity coming soon across the state. Read more.6. Fidium bringing their fiber optic internet network to more than 5,000 locations in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Today, more than 466,000 combined New Hampshire and Vermont homes and businesses have access to Fidium, with more availability coming soon across both states. Read more.7. Surf Internet invests $1.2M to light up rural Fowlerville, Michigan. A $1.2 million investment from Surf Internet will fully fund the company’s coming fiber expansion into Fowlerville, Michigan.  In their countywide effort, which is partly supported by the Michigan program titled Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN), Surf Internet plans to reach 4,500 rural homes. The internet service provider has invested $9 million in the project, while funds from ROBIN have contributed $17 million. Read more. 8. Massachusetts Broadband Institute Awards $31.5M in Grants. The state of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) have awarded $31.5M to four broadband service providers (BSPs) to bring connectivity to more than 13,700 housing units in 60 municipalities across the state. The four BSPs winning grants are Aervivo Inc. ($10,527,014 for 6,402 housing units), Archtop Fiber LLC ($481,955 for 164 housing units), Comcast Cable Communications ($12,932,384 for 5,179 housing units), and CBN Geneva LLC ($7,606,664 for 1,514 housing units). Read more.9. WOW! To Be Sold to Investors, Go Private in $1.5B Deal. WideOpenWest (WOW!) has agreed to be taken private by DigitalBridge Group and Crestview Partners in a deal valued at $1.5 billion.  WOW! passes nearly two million residential, business, and wholesale consumers. It is active in 20 markets, primarily in the Midwest and southeast, including Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Read more.10. Wire 3’s 100% Fiber Expansion in Lake County, Florida, Now Underway. Wire 3, a Florida-based, 100% fiber optic internet provider, announced that construction is underway to connect thousands of residents and businesses in Lake County, FL. Made possible through Wire 3’s $100 million investment, the first residential and commercial customers are expected to be connected as early as Winter of 2025. With construction now active in more than 50 communities throughout Central Florida. Read more.11. Lumos will begin a major fiber expansion in 2 Ohio counties. Lumos has announced a major expansion of its fiber network in Ohio, saying it will build nearly 3,000 miles of new infrastructure across Lorain and Cuyahoga counties.  When work is complete, Lumos hopes to extend service to more than 226,000 addresses in 27 communities. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2025.  Residential customers in newly served neighborhoods will receive service under the TMobile Fiber retail brand, while Lumos will continue to market to large business customers and bulk multidwelling units. 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. 

Sep 03, 2025