General

Broadband Bytes, May 2025 Issue 1

Summary: Four Trends in Infrastructure Spending, Technology Equality, BEAD delays lead to layoffs, Fiber Investments drive Europe Infrastructure, Dish sells off its fiber biz, Cuts to USDA Broadband Funds?, Trump to kill Digital Equity Act Funds?, BEAD guidance to states delayed, 500 Mbps—the New Entry-Level Broadband Speed.Funding, Network Expansions, M&A:Paul Bunyan Comm. Fiber Expansion MN, Greenlight Networks Fiber Expansion PA, PhireLink to acquire Arkwest Comm., $40M in NJ Broadband Grants, Ripple Fiber NC Expansion, Fidium Fiber Expansion NH, PRIME FIBER partners with AT&T in AZ, New Las Vegas Dark Fiber Network, Bell Canada to focus on Ziply Expansion.1. Four Trends in Infrastructure Spending. Infrastructure Spending is Up, But Spending as a Share of GDP is Down. State and Local Governments Fund Most Infrastructure Spending. The Share of Infrastructure Spending on Maintenance is Climbing. State And Local Revenues More Important than Federal Grants. 4 Trends in Infrastructure Spending2. Technology Equality. There was an article published 4/25 by Dr. Christopher Ali in Tech Policy Press that asks if we should be making widespread broadband grants to Starlink and other low-orbit satellite technologies. Dr. Ali is Professor of Telecommunications in the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State. He says, “There is an important difference between technological neutrality and technological equality. LEO and fiber are unequal, and any policy that treats them as such will widen the divide we have spent decades trying to bridge.” Technology Equality3. BEAD delay causes Louisiana layoffs at construction firm. Delays to BEAD forced a Louisiana broadband construction firm to layoff 80% of subcontractors according to Josh Etheridge, the co-owner of EPC. Etheridge said EPC was ready to put boots on the ground to begin BEAD deployments on January 25. BEAD delays lead to layoffs4. Advancing Full Fiber Investment in Europe: Financing the Path to Universal Connectivity. It is essential to reinforce fiber as strategic infrastructure. Europe’s digital transformation relies heavily on the widespread deployment of full fiber networks. To reach the current 75% coverage rate, European operators have invested close to €120 billion in FTTH deployment, with 57% of this capital originating from alternative operators—primarily funded through private financing. This reflects the growing recognition of fiber networks as a resilient, long-term infrastructure asset class. Nevertheless, significant gaps remain. To reach 90% coverage, a further €120 billion in investment will be required, while extending to 99% necessitates a further €50 billion. Fiber investments- the path to Universal Connectivity in Europe5. Dish sells off its fiber biz. Mereo Networks, a bulk broadband provider, acquired DISH Fiber Internet from DISH Network. DISH Fiber, a bulk fiber internet and video content provider, launched in 2019 aimed at multi-family communities. Dish Fiber serves over 25,000 residential units across 33 states. The transaction, which closed April 30, 2025, strengthens Mereo’s presence across key growth markets in the Sun Belt, Mountain West and Great Lakes regions. Mereo Networks will rebrand as Mereo Fiber and plans to increase its footprint of over 80,000 residential units to 37 states.6. Trump Plan Wants to Cut USDA Broadband Funding. The Trump administration unveiled a new budget plan that called for halting new broadband funding through the United States Department of Agriculture. Congress established the USDA’s ReConnect Program to expand rural broadband access in 2018. Since the program’s creation, Congress has issued $2.3 billion in funding for ReConnect programs and loans for rural broadband deployment.Trump budget proposal wants to cut USDA Broadband Funding7. Trump wants to axe digital equity funding. President Trump wants to do away with the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act, a move that could hinder efforts to close the U.S. digital divide. Trump called the Digital Equity Act unconstitutional amid the admin’s broader anti-DEI push. Experts warned that reversing the law could make the digital divide worse. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and Public Knowledge warned ending the Digital Equity Act would halt progress in closing the digital divide and hurt communities in both red and blue states. Trump wants to axe digital equity funding8. BEAD Guidance to States Delayed Until Summer. States have been expecting updated guidance from the Commerce Department on a $42.45 billion broadband expansion plan by the middle of this month. That guidance appears to have been delayed until June or July. It’s not clear whether the newly delayed guidance will call for sweeping changes to the program that could require states to redo some of their grant application work. More than 40 states have started accepting bids from ISPs seeking deployment grants, with many well into the process of selecting winners. BEAD Guidance to States Delayed until Summer?9. Report: 500 Mbps Is the New Entry-Level Broadband Speed. Tarifica, a market research firm, has released a new report examining home broadband pricing and speed from 21 providers across four major U.S. cities. Among the finds is that the 500 Mbps tier has replaced the 100 Mbps tier as the entry-level standard for broadband service in the U.S. The firm found that the average monthly cost for a 500 Mbps plan was $57.66, and a 100 Mbps plan was $49.11. “The pricing gap between 100 Mbps and 500 Mbps has effectively disappeared, which tells us that consumers now view 500 Mbps as the baseline for modern broadband,” Will Watts, Tarifica’s vice president of product, said in a prepared statement. “This shift reflects both consumer demand and provider repositioning of their entry-level tiers.” 500Mbps New Entry Level Broadband SpeedFUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. Paul Bunyan Communications to Expand to 2,000 Additional Locations in St. Louis County, MN. Paul Bunyan Communications will be expanding its all-fiber optic network to over 2,000 more locations in St. Louis County this year with five different projects. Construction will take place over the summer/fall with services expected to be available by winter. Paul Bunyan Communications Fiber Expansion MN2. Greenlight Networks continues fiber buildout in Chambersburg, PA. A $5.8 million investment will fuel Greenlight Networks’ expansion in Chambersburg this summer. According to Greenlight Networks, the project will deliver access to more than 5,000 locations when completed. Greenlight Networks $5.8M fiber expansion PA3. PhireLink to Acquire Arkwest Communications, Expand to Arkansas. PhireLink announced that it will acquire Arkwest Communications, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spectracomm, Inc. The acquisition will expand PPhireLink’sbusiness into the Arkansas market. The company already has broadband business in Louisiana, Colorado, and Kansas. Arkwest Communications has a fiber network covering more than 900 route miles. The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the year. PhireLink to acquire Arkwest Communications4. New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Approves $40M in Broadband Grants. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has approved $40 million in grants that will bring broadband to more than 9,000 broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) in seven counties in the state. Awardees included the City of Vineland, the County of Salem, the Borough of Penns Grove, Brightspeed (as Connect Holding II LLC), and Verizon New Jersey Inc. $40M in NJ Broadband Grants5. Ripple Fiber has earned a $4 million grant for Harnett County through a program led by North CCarolina’sBroadband Infrastructure Office. The grant will help the provider reach over 850 unserved and underserved locations in Harnett County. According to Ripple Fiber, the transaction is a result of the ccompany’sfinalized agreement to acquire fiber infrastructure assets from CloudWyze. Ripple Fiber NC Expansion6. Fidium Fiber expands access to thousands of homes and businesses in Jackson and Newport New Hampshire. More than 3,800 homes and businesses in Newport and 2,100 locations in Jackson have gained access to FFidium’sall-fiber network. In total, over a quarter million residents in New Hampshire have access to FFidium’snetwork. The provider, a brand from Consolidated Communications, currently offers services in eight states. Fidium Fiber Expands access in NH7. PRIME FiBER Expands Wholesale Fiber Partnership with AT&T to Arizona. PRIME FiBER, a commercial open-access fiber infrastructure company, has signed agreements with AT&T for the provision of wholesale fiber access services in the Sun City area of Maricopa County and the City of Peoria, Arizona. PRIME FiBER was established in late 2023 and operates as the wholesale open-access arm of NOVOS FiBER, a retail fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) company serving residents and small businesses. The business is backed by InLight Capital, a private investment firm based in Sugar Land, Texas. PRIME FIBER partners with AT&T in AZ8. Construction is underway for new dark-fiber network in Vegas. A new 60-mile ring of route fiber around Las Vegas will reach four cities and multiple data centers, according to the firm behind the project. In an announcement May 5th, Light Source Communications (LSC), the company building the network, said construction on the network is underway. The network, to be completed later this year, is the third major project LSC has undertaken this year. LSC is also undertaking similar efforts in Tulsa and Phoenix.  New Las Vegas Dark Fiber Network    Broadband Bytes is a regular feature by David Levine of UCL Swift. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, a certified BICSI RCDD,and a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions.He currently works as a Business Development Manager for UCL Swift.

May 21, 2025