General

Broadband Bytes, September 2026 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS: 1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Provisional Awards. Updated: September 9, at 7:45 a.m. Pacific time. Updated Comprehensive BEAD Awards.  BEAD Progress Dashboard2. Broadband providers invested $92.6B in 2025: Capex report.  America’s broadband providers put $92.6 billion into U.S. communications infrastructure in 2025 — a 3.4% increase over the prior year — according to the 2025 Broadband Capex Report, released this week by USTelecom–The Broadband Association. The association said it was the third-highest annual total in more than two decades.  Cumulative industry investment has approached $2.3 trillion since 1996, which characterized the 2020 through 2025 stretch as the highest sustained investment era it has tracked, averaging $90.8 billion per year. Broadband providers invested $92B in 20253. Fiber has lower lifecycle carbon than cable and fixed wireless. FTTH networks generated less carbon than cable and fixed wireless alternatives across their full lifecycle, according to a recent white paper by the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA).  In the suburban comparison, the FBA said manufacturing components for a fiber network produced about 60% less embodied carbon than a comparable cable network, while installation carbon was 7% lower. The group reported that the operator’s access network used up to 96% less electricity with fiber, and that home equipment consumed up to 17% less than a cable modem.  For rural deployments, the association found that fiber’s installation footprint was 31% lower than FWA, access network electricity use was up to 98% lower, and home equipment used up to 70% less power. Fiber Study shows lower lifecycle carbon4. Severed fiber line causes major flight delays in Northeast. Hundreds of flights in the Northeastern United States were cancelled Monday 9/21 after a fiber-optic cable in New Jersey was accidentally severed during construction. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said flights were starting to resume at some airports as of Monday afternoon, hours after the incident first grabbed headlines. “This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future,” Duffy said on X.  Amtrak’s crew accidentally cut into a fiber line during construction. The incident caused a telecom outage and forced the FAA to pause flights in the Northeast.  Severed fiber line causes major flight delays5. Colorado freezes BEAD payment of more than $100M to Maverix Broadband. The Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) has outlined the steps it has and will take and other details about the alleged misuse of state and federal grants in the BEAD program by Maverix Broadband. Maverix Broadband, which now is in receivership, was awarded $103M in Colorado’s final BEAD proposal for fiber to 10,232 locations in rural areas of the state. The CBO says that it acted after receiving two whistleblower complaints in late May. Initial steps were to institute enhanced oversight of the firm, freeze payments, launch an inquiry, move to terminate six grants, and rescind more than $100 million in provisionally-awarded BEAD grants.  The investigation identified “financial mismanagement and misuse of grant funds.” CO freezes BEAD payments >$100M to Maverix Broadband6. Maverix Broadband disputes BEAD misuse allegations. Maverix Broadband, a Colorado broadband provider accused by state officials of misusing millions in grant funding defended itself, arguing it has submitted reams of paperwork documenting how the money was spent. Maverix won $103 million in BEAD funding to cover 10,232 locations across the state per the state’s final proposal. The awards represent nearly a quarter of the $420.6 million in total BEAD funding allocated by the state of Colorado. The Colorado Sun’s attempts to verify Maverix’s invoices with vendors named in the paperwork were unsuccessful. Maverix disputes BEAD misue allegationsFUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. LiveOak Fiber expansion Bluffton, SC. LiveOak Fiber, a regional all-fiber internet service provider, announced the start of construction on its network in Bluffton, SC. The build extends LiveOak’s Lowcountry network north from Savannah, adding more than 10,000 homes and businesses, with first customers expected online in early 2027.  Future phases are planned for Hardeeville and neighboring communities.          LiveOak Fiber expansion Bluffton SC2. Armstrong $100M BEAD-public-private partnership. Through the federal BEAD program, West Virginia’s Line Extension Advancement and Development (LEAD) Program, and FCC’s Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced ACAM) Program, Armstrong is deploying more than 500 miles of fiber infrastructure that both expands broadband access to over 5,000 unserved locations and sustains reliable service for approximately 10,000 rural homes and small businesses. The combined effort represents more than $100 million in both public and private investment in the future of West Virginia. Armstrong $100M BEAD-public-private partnership3. C Spire will build a high-capacity Mississippi to Memphis fiber route. C Spire announced plans to expand its digital infrastructure in Mississippi with a new 200-mile, fiber corridor connecting Jackson to Olive Branch. C Spire said the route connects Mississippi’s capital with the greater Memphis regional hub—a major center for logistics and data center growth. C Spire to build fiber route MS to Memphis4. Empire Fiber new service in Berwick, Pennsylvania. Empire Fiber Internet announced the launch of its 100% fiber network in Berwick, PA, made possible by a $1.4M local investment. The new network is now available to more than 2,800 homes and businesses, with service ready for installation. Empire Fiber new service Berwick PA5. Community-owned Gorgeous Broadband launches in The Dalles, OR. A new community-owned broadband provider now serves The Dalles, Oregon, offering residential fiber service over a network built and owned by QLife Network.  QLife, an intergovernmental agency formed by the city of The Dalles, Wasco County, and Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District, has historically served large businesses and institutions such as schools and medical facilities. QLife is expanding its fiber footprint to reach an additional 2,750 households within the city. Gorgeous Broadband will begin serving those homes by the end of the year and plans to expand further. Georgeous Broadband Launches in OR6. TDS Telecom announces expansion to several Wisconsin communities. TDS Telecom, headquartered in Wisconsin since 1969, is expanding service across its home state, bringing its high-speed fiber network to additional communities throughout the Badger State.  The company is announcing new fiber projects in development across Wisconsin including Beaver Dam, Ripon, New London, Hortonville, Brillion, Colby, and Abbotsford, which will serve a total of over 25,000 homes and businesses. TDS Telecom Wisconsin Expansion7. Ziply builds fiber ring for data centers in Quincy, Washington. Ziply Fiber has announced the completion of a fiber ring in Quincy, Washington, to connect multiple data centers.  Chris Gellos, general manager of Ziply’s commercial business, said that the Quincy campus includes data centers owned by the likes of Microsoft, Sabey, NTT, CyrusOne and H5.  Ziply is laying 874 fiber strands for the Quincy ring. Ziply builds fiber ring for DCs in WA8. ISP News Roundup 09-25-2026. Broadband Communities ISP News Roundup 9-25-26

Oct 02, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, September 2026 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS: 1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Provisional Awards. Updated: September 9, at 7:45 a.m. Pacific time. Updated Comprehensive BEAD Awards.  BEAD Progress Dashboard2. BroadbandUSA-NTIA August Monthly Newsletter  BroadbandUSA-NTIA August Monthly Newsletter3. NTIA opens new round of BEAD funding. The NTIA announced a new round of BEAD program funding that will let states and territories direct a portion of their program savings toward unserved locations that surfaced after their final deployment plans were submitted. The money can go to locations that weren’t included in the FCC broadband map, along with sites that became eligible because of defaults or changes in earlier federal and state broadband programs. Funding for the round comes from what the NTIA described as $21 billion in savings generated by the Commerce Department’s “Benefit of the Bargain” reforms to the program. NTIA opens new round of BEAD funding for unserved locations4. Ookla Looks at FWA Broadband. Is it meeting broadband standards? Ookla published an article that looked at speed test and coverage characteristics of FWA cellular broadband provided by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.  An interesting finding was that less than 40% of FWS speed tests in 48 states are exceeding the FCC’s definition of broadband at 100/20 Mbps. This may explain why the FCC is not willing to consider increasing the definition of broadband above 100/20 Mbps, since that might declare that FWA, satellite service, and some WISPs are not really broadband per the FCC definition. Ookla looks at FWA broadband-Is it meeting broadband standards?5. Digital divide shrinking, no thanks to BEAD: Report. Nearly five years after Congress allocated funding for the BEAD program, 79% of locations that had been identified as needing broadband internet are covered. It sounds rosy, but BEAD hasn’t been responsible for any of it. That’s according to a new report from The Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute (ACLP) at New York Law School. The count of eligible locations has fallen from about 11.9 million to about 3.7 million. That’s a decline of 69%, based on the methodology the group laid out in its July 2025 report about shrinking the digital divide. Digital divide shrinkingFUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. Empire Fiber Expansion Ithaca, NY. Empire Fiber Internet, a 100% fiber ISP serving communities across New York and Pennsylvania, announced the expansion of its fiber network in Ithaca, NY, making service available to more than 700 additional homes and businesses. The expansion builds on Empire Fiber Internet’s growing presence in Ithaca, bringing the number of homes and businesses passed to more than 5,400. Empire Fiber Expansion Ithaca NY2. Gateway Fiber expands to Milwaukee, WI. Gateway Fiber, a leading fiber internet service provider, is preparing to bring its fiber services to Milwaukee. Gateway Fiber Expansion Milwaukee WI3. Midwest Fiber Networks, FiberPath partner on 1,200-mile corridor. Midwest Fiber Networks (MWFN) and Midwest FiberPath, along with partner Hawkeye Land Co., announced an agreement to develop and commercialize roughly 1,200 miles of fiber corridors connecting major Midwest markets, including Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. Under the arrangement, MWFN will serve as the primary provider supporting commercialization and delivery of connectivity services across Hawkeye’s right-of-way corridor. MWFN and FiberPath Partner on 1200 mile corridor 4. TDS acquires Granite State Communications. TDS Telecommunications completed the purchase of Granite State Communications' fiber optic and voice operations. The deal adds over 11,000 service addresses to TDS' New Hampshire fiber footprint. TDS acquires Granite State Communications5. Douglas Fast Net confirms $42M BEAD award. Douglas Fast Net (DFN) has been awarded a $31.576M contract through Oregon’s BEAD Program to expand fiber internet access to 4,490 additional homes across rural communities in Douglas, Coos and Lane counties. Combined with $10.418M in matching funds contributed by DFN, the project represents a total investment of more than $42M in fiber infrastructure across the region.  DFN is a 100% Oregon-owned and operated internet provider and a wholly owned cooperative subsidiary of Douglas Electric Cooperative. Douglas Fast Net confirms $42M BEAD Award, Oregon6. Louisiana to complete BEAD construction for ~15K locations by early 2027. The Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity (ConnectLA) announced that construction for nearly 15,000 broadband serviceable locations are projected to finish by the end of the first quarter of 2027. To reach those locations, providers are deploying close to 1,800 miles of fiber across the state. Seven internet service providers are handling the connections in this phase of work. Swyft Fiber has the largest assignment at 5,830 locations across five parishes, followed by REV at 2,434 locations and Cajun Broadband at 2,221. Nextlink Internet, Pelican Broadband, Skyrider Communications and Star-Direct Communications are covering the remaining locations. Louisiana to complete Bead construction by early 20277. Clearwave and Visionary Broadband agree to join forces. Independent fiber providers Clearwave and Visionary Broadband have signed an agreement to merge, providing a combined fiber platform that spans 17 states and reaches roughly 700,000 residential and commercial locations. Clearwave, which operates under both the Clearwave Fiber and Point Broadband brands across the Southeast and Midwest, will lead the combined entity. Founded in 1994, Visionary Broadband brings a presence in challenging rural terrain across Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Washington.  The transaction is backed by private equity firms GTCR and Berkshire Partners, both existing investors in the platforms. Clearwave and Visionary Broadband to merge8. ISP News Roundup 09-10-2026.  Broadband Communities ISP News Roundup 9-10-26

Oct 02, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, August 2026 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS:1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Provisional Awards. Updated: August 25, 2026 11:30am Pacific time. Updated Comprehensive BEAD Awards.  BEAD Progress Dashboard2. Texas pauses BEAD disbursements after allegations it favored Starlink. The Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) has been ordered to pause all BEAD awards, following allegations that the BDO favored SpaceX’s Starlink bids and that the office has not been transparent in its processes. There have been rumblings out of Texas for weeks now, with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle complaining that the BDO showed favoritism toward Starlink, whose parent company SpaceX happens to be headquartered in Texas. Lawmakers called for an audit of the BDO over concerns about the BEAD award process. This has resulted in the Comptroller’s pause on BEAD awards while the audit is being conducted. TX pauses BEAD awards after allegations it favored Starlink3. Change of Railroad Rights-of-way? The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals made a recent ruling that could end up eliminating one of the biggest rights-of-way issues that slow down fiber construction projects. In the case of CSX Transportation v. Zayo Group, LLC, the court ruled that the easement that CSX owns for its railroad tracks only applies to the surface of the Earth and that the railroad right-of-way does not extend either above or below the tracks. The court said specifically that the installation of underground fiber lines or overhead fiber lines that are tall enough not to interfere with trains does not constitute “continuous trespass”. This ruling means that Zayo is free to place the fiber without the railroad company’s permission and that Zayo doesn’t have to pay any fees for the rights-of-way. It’s likely that this ruling will be appealed. Change for Railroad Rights-of-way?4. Are Digital Equity Grants Back? There seems to be a chance that the Digital Equity Competitive Grant (DECG) Program is back in play. In a status report filed by the Department of Commerce in the lawsuit where NDIA filed to reinstate the grant program, the government said it is targeting a December 2026 opening date for applications for the DECG Program. Like everything associated with BEAD and the DECG programs, nothing is final until it is put in place. The DECG Program will be administered and the grants awarded directly by NTIA. The budget for this grant program is $1.25 billion, which was set by legislation to be $250 million per year for the years 2022 through 2026. Are Digital Equity Grants Back5. Charter closes landmark acquisition of Cox. Charter Communications has closed its dual acquisition of Cox Communications and Liberty Broadband, creating a cable operator spanning 45 states.  Charter will rename its parent company to Cox Communications within a year while keeping its consumer products under the Spectrum banner. On the commercial front, Spectrum Business will absorb Cox Business and its enterprise fiber arms Segra and RapidScale. At the consumer layer, Spectrum is immediately offering legacy Cox broadband subscribers a free year of Spectrum Mobile to aggressively drive its wireless convergence playbook. Charter closes landmark acquisition of Cox  Charter and Cox complete merger-Telecompetitor6. NTIA approves final BEAD program proposal. The NTIA announced that it has approved Illinois’ BEAD final proposal. NTIA has now approved the BEAD final proposals of all 56 states and territories. The state of Illinois received a total BEAD allocation of slightly more than $1 billion. Its final proposal will result in total deployment costs of $831 million, covering 142,546 eligible broadband locations. Fiber will account for 68.1% of locations; fixed wireless access will account for 23.6%; and low-Earth-orbit satellite will get 8.1% of locations. NTIA approves final BEAD program proposal7. Meta reaches landmark $18B settlement with states in trial over teen social media addiction. 8/26/26. Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms as part of a landmark legal settlement that ended a trial over teen social media addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state. If approved by the court, the deal will stop an avalanche of litigation by states against Meta, although the company still faces lawsuits from individuals and school districts throughout the U.S. For the states, the settlement delivers money for mental-health programs for kids, including after-school or summer activities and digital literacy counselors. Meta reaches $18B settlement with states8. UCL Swift Launches SWIFT NID. UCL Swift announced the introduction of SWIFT NID, a wall-mounted network interface device (NID) designed to simplify fiber installation at residential and small-office/home-office (SOHO) locations while providing a clearly defined demarcation point between the service provider network and customer premises equipment (CPE). The SWIFT NID is available in two configurations: Standard and Quick Reel, giving network operators flexibility to select the installation approach best suited to their deployment. UCL Swift Launches SWIFT NID   UCL SWIFT NIDFUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. Virginia broadband project is back on track as ZiTEL steps in. Moneta, Virginia-based internet provider ZiTEL has signed an agreement to take over a major regional broadband expansion across Franklin, Henry, and Patrick counties in Virginia. ZiTEL will complete the remaining scope of the West Broadband Project, which aims to bring 14,161 fiber internet connections to unserved areas by the end of 2027. ZiTEL replaces original provider RiverStreet Networks, which was unable to finish the buildout after failing to secure remaining capital. VA broadband project back on track with ZiTEL2. IdeaTek to acquire Wave Wireless. Wave Wireless is becoming part of IdeaTek, according to an announcement on the Wave Wireless website. IdeaTek will consider extending fiber service to areas now served by Wave Wireless’s fixed wireless network while continuing coverage for existing customers.  A little more than a year ago, Oak Hill Capital and Pamlico Capital announced investments in IdeaTek and Socket Telecom, service providers headquartered in Kansas and Missouri, respectively, and the combination of the two companies into a single entity. At the time, the goal was for the combined company to pass more than 500,000 homes in the Midwest by 2028. IdeaTek to acquire Wave Wireless3. Wire 3 $40M expansion to Athens, Georgia. Wire 3, a 100% fiber internet provider, announced its continued expansion across Georgia with plans to bring its fiber network to Athens. Through a $40 million investment, Wire 3’s expansion will reach more than 39,000 homes and businesses. Construction is anticipated to begin this fall. Wire 3 $40M expansion to Athens, GA4. Fiber construction begins on New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo. Tribal members on the Laguna Pueblo will soon have access to high-speed internet after a broadband fiber infrastructure project — paid for by two state broadband office grants and the Pueblo — began construction on July 29. More than 100 miles of fiber is being installed to homes, businesses and Tribal community institutions on the Pueblo in Cibola County from broadband grants totaling $13.9M.  The Pueblo of Laguna has also contributed to these projects with its own cash match totaling $12.1M for a total project budget of $26M.  The Pueblo of Laguna Council has determined that one of its own entities, K’awaika Hanu Internet, the current wireless ISP, will become the FTTP internet service provider for the Pueblo’s fiber network once operational. Fiber construction begins on NM Laguna Pueblo5. Coos-Curry Electric Co-op Completes Biggest Fiber Expansion in History. Oregon’s Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative  and its subsidiary Beacon Broadband say they have completed the biggest fiber expansion project in the cooperative’s history expanding Internet access to thousands of previously unserved rural households in the Southern part of Oregon. The six-year, $60 million project was the largest infrastructure investment in the cooperative's 88-year history. 7,000 of the co-op’s 14,000 electrical customers are now subscribed to broadband service after the deployment of 14,000 miles of fiber optic lines. Coos-Curry Electric Co-op Fiber Expansion6. Vero Broadband to acquire MontanaSky. In a deal that impacts broadband in northwest Montana, Vero Fiber will acquire Montana Sky Networks.  MontanaSky, founded 30 years ago, has offices in Kalispell and Libby, Montana. Vero Broadband LLC is a subsidiary of VFN Holdings, which specializes in fiber-to-the-premises. Before the acquisition of MontanaSky, Vero Broadband expanded into Montana in March 2025 with the acquisition of Montana Digital, which served the Montana communities of Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Whitefish. Vero Fiber to acquire MontanaSky7. Pilot Fiber completes acquisition of Extenet Systems’ enterprise fiber business. Pilot Fiber, an enterprise connectivity provider in the New York metro area, has acquired the enterprise fiber business of Extenet Systems. The acquired network, including the former Hudson Fiber Network and Axiom Fiber Network assets, now operates under Pilot’s ownership.  The transaction extends Pilot’s owned fiber network into New Jersey and adds more than 20 data centers to its footprint. About 200 additional enterprise, carrier, and institutional customers across financial services, healthcare, media, and higher education will also transition onto Pilot’s network. Pilot Fiber acquires Extenet Sytstems' enterprise fiber business8. Star Communications NC Fiber Expansion. Star Communications, announced the completion of its USDA ReConnect grant-funded FTTH expansion project, bringing high-speed broadband service to underserved communities in Bladen and Sampson counties.  Funded through a $23.7 million ReConnect grant from the USDA, along with a $7.9 million investment from Star Communications, the project significantly expanded fiber-optic infrastructure into areas that previously lacked access to affordable, high-quality broadband service. The project constructed approximately 691 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure and made fiber broadband available to 8,749 households, 19 businesses, 10 educational facilities, and three critical community centers. Star Communications NC Fiber Expansion9. ISP News Roundup 08-26-2026. Broadband Communities ISP News Roundup 8-26-26    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. 

Aug 29, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, August 2026 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS: 1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Provisional Awards. Updated: July 17, 2026 2:00pm Pacific time. California’s final BEAD proposal was finally approved by the NTIA. The state became the 49th to have its final BEAD proposal approved, and now only Illinois remains. Updated Comprehensive BEAD Awards.  BEAD Progress Dashboard2. The digital divide lingers, especially in the western states. A new assessment of the nation’s broadband profile from Compare Internet found that the digital divide between rural and urban areas is highest in Idaho, with a 53.9% gap. It is followed by New Mexico (a 48.8-point gap), Wyoming (a 47.5%-point gap), Colorado (a 45.1%-point gap) and California (a 44.3%-point gap). The analysis made an important methodological decision by counting only fiber, cable, and DSL in its assessment. The rationale is that including wireless pushes virtually every state to 99% availability because these providers claim near ubiquity. The report aims to illustrate the real-world differences. Digital divide liners, especially in western states3. Upcoming NTIA Webinar: Permitting That Delivers August 26, 2026 3:00pm EST. Permitting That Delivers: Practical Tools & Strategies for Broadband Buildouts. NTIA will host a webinar highlighting the importance of taking an informed, proactive approach to permitting across a range of diverse broadband projects. NTIA Webinar Permitting That Delivers4. Fiber broadband spurs consumer AI usage. People who have a fiber broadband connection are doing more with AI than people who don’t have a fiber connection, according to new research from Recon Analytics, which surveys 6,000 people per week about AI. People who have fiber broadband typically ask 28.5 questions per AI session. But the number of questions goes down with the quality of their connection. For instance, fiber sessions are 50% more intensive than cable network sessions. Fiber broadband spurs consumer AI usage5. White House Nominates Danielle Thumann for FCC Spot. The short-staffed FCC could soon be getting a new commissioner after President Trump nominated lawyer Danielle Thumann to fill one of two empty seats at the agency. Thumann has already done two stints at the FCC, serving as a legal advisor to then-Commissioner Brendan Carr from 2021 to 2023 before returning to the same role in 2024. She was promoted to senior counsel for now Chairman Carr in January 2025. In between her roles at the FCC, Thumann worked as a senior government relations attorney at Crown Castle. Thumann could give the agency a stronger GOP tilt as it weighs key telecom and media issues. WH Nominates Danielle Thumann For FCC Spot6. Foreign Ownership of ISPs. The FCC’s Wireless Competition Bureau has approved the transfer of WideOpenWest to Japan’s Softbank Group. WideOpenWest is the eighth-largest cable company, which operates under the brand name of WOW! The proposed transaction has Softbank buying the DigitalBridge Group, which is WOW!’s majority owner.  There has been a statutory limit on foreign ownership in U.S. corporations that hold common carrier status or hold broadcast licenses that was created by the Telecommunications Act of 1934. However, the FCC has the ability to waive the 25% limit if it thinks the foreign ownership is in the public interest. Foreign Ownership of ISPs7. The Farm Bill Fight That Will Shape Rural Broadband. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, held a markup hearing on his version of the Farm Bill on August 6. It didn’t go very well. The long-delayed meeting was unable to move the bill forward.  Inside the Farm Bill’s rural development title is a provision that governs the future of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect broadband program. ReConnect has provided more than $4.4 billion in loans and grants for rural broadband deployment since 2018, reaching some of America’s most remote and expensive-to-serve communities. As Congress debates how to strengthen ReConnect, the program faces pressure. Farm Bill Fight Will Shape Rural Broadband8. Zayo teams with NVIDIA on 8,000-mile AI fiber expansion. Zayo announced a major network expansion in collaboration with NVIDIA to address growing bandwidth bottlenecks facing artificial intelligence in North America. The company said they plan to construct more than 8,000 miles of new long-haul fiber across six new corridors while boosting capacity in 10 existing markets.  The initiative is part of a 15,000-route-mile expansion Zayo has undertaken over the past 18 months, coming on the heels of its acquisition of Crown Castle’s Fiber Solutions business. Zayo Teams With  NVIDIA on 8000 mile AI Fiber ExpansionFUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. Swyft Fiber acquires portions of Fastwyre’s fiber network in three southern states. Swyft Fiber, a Louisiana-based provider, has purchased Fastwyre Broadband’s fiber network serving customers in parts of Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama. The acquired systems made up Fastwyre’s South Central FTTH network, aligning with Swyft Fiber’s existing broadband offerings. The Fastwyre systems in Texas and Alabama sit outside the states Swyft Fiber currently services, making the purchase an expansion into new territory. Swyft Fiber acquires portions of Fastwire's fiber network2. Sparklight invests more than $140M in Treasure Valley, Idaho network. Sparklight has invested more than $140 million over the past three years to expand and enhance its fiber-rich network in Boise, Caldwell, Eagle, Meridian, Nampa, Star and surrounding areas. With a fiber-rich network spanning more than 31,000 route miles, Sparklight’s investments help create the infrastructure needed to support emerging technologies and increasing digital demands. Sparklight invests over $140M in ID network3. United Communications celebrates launch of Huntsville, Alabama service. United Communications has joined the Huntsville business community. The regional fiber internet provider has a rich history in southern Middle Tennessee, dating back nearly 80 years. United serves customers across Middle Tennessee—including Giles, Lincoln, and Franklin counties near the Alabama state line. Locally owned and operated since 1947, United reaches over 130,000 homes, and businesses. United Communications launches new service Huntsville AL4. CentraCom acquires Gunnison Telephone Company UT. CentraCom has acquired Gunnison Telephone Company. CentraCom is the operating name of Central Utah Telephone Inc., and was the state’s first independent rural telephone company. The company expanded from basic telephone service and now offers a statewide fiber network to customers across Utah. CentraCom was one of Utah’s provisional BEAD award winners, receiving more than $1.69 million. CentraCom acquires Gunnison Telephone UT5. Hawaii begins $149.5 million broadband expansion. The Office of the Governor and the University of Hawaii announced that $149.5 million in BEAD funding will support projects targeting about 7,000 unserved and underserved locations. About 82% of those locations are expected to receive fiber-optic service. The state has finalized a contract with Hawaiian Telcom to provide fiber-optic connections to about 5,800 homes that lack modern broadband access. Hawaii begins $149M broadband expansion6. IQ Fiber acquires Orangeburg Fiber. IQ Fiber, a Jacksonville, Florida-based provider of 100% fiber-optic internet service, announced the acquisition of Orangeburg Fiber’s network assets, extending the company’s South Carolina footprint and bringing its service to the City of Orangeburg. The acquisition and network deployment represents a $35 million investment in Orangeburg and includes an upgrade to the existing infrastructure as well as service expansion throughout the community. IQ Fiber acquires Orangeburg Fiber7. Decatur County REMC Leads Indiana's BEAD Rollout. Indiana Cooperatives are at the front of the pack as the state prepares to expand affordable fiber access on the back of $483 million in BEAD broadband grants. The first round of BEAD funding is expected to connect an estimated 123,000 Indiana households and businesses that currently have either substandard Internet access, or no access at all. All told, the state’s BEAD deployment plan is slated to expand affordable fiber access to 91 of Indiana's 92 counties. Last June, the Decatur County Rural Electric Membership Corporation (DCREMC) was the first of the state’s 24 BEAD grant awardees to sign a contract with the Indiana Broadband Office. The cooperative’s $7.1 million BEAD award will help extend fiber service to roughly 2,800 additional homes and businesses across the rural and sparsely populated communities across Decatur County. Decatur County REMC Leads IN BEAD Rollout8. ISP News Roundup 08-11-2026.  Broadband Communities ISP News Roundup 8-11-26   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. 

Aug 29, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, July 2026 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS:1 Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Provisional Awards. Updated: July 17, 2026 2:00pm Pacific time. California’s final BEAD proposal was finally approved by the NTIA. The state became the 49th to have its final BEAD proposal approved, and now only Illinois remains. Updated Comprehensive BEAD Awards.  BEAD Progress Dashboard2. Full Merger for DT and T-Mobile? Deutsche Telekom (DT) has plans - for itself and T-Mobile. DT is already the biggest cellular company in the world with over 273 million mobile customers in fifty countries and is looking to potentially merge the two firms. (DT currently owns 54% of T-Mobile.) T-Mobile recognizes that the key to success is to own a large number of both fiber and cellular customers. The company has engaged in partnership deals to gain a share of fiber overbuilders. T-Mobile purchased a 50% stake in Metronet and engaged in a joint venture with EQT to acquire Lumos. Recently they purchased 50% of i3 Broadband, GoNetspeed, and Greenlight Networks. They also bought full ownership of US Internet in the Twin Cities. DT believes a merger is needed to give T-Mobile the resources it needs to fully succeed. Read more3. LEO operators might not take such a big slice of BEAD after all. Back in 2025, the BEAD Program looked like it would be awarding about 20% of locations to low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite operators. According to some reports, the NTIA has asked states to remove LEO BEAD project locations if they are now considered served per the latest FCC mapping data. States may be removing as many as 35% of locations that they awarded LEO operators. This translates to the removal of about 312,000 locations (roughly $354M in expenditures) that were slated to be served by LEO. Read more4. Digital Equity Act to move forward after court decision. The U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. — via Judge John D. Bates — ruled that Digital Equity Act programs can and should resume. The programs must move forward without any of the Act’s original race-based factors though, which Judge Bates deemed unconstitutional. The Trump administration said they would comply with the court’s decision and reimplement the Act’s programs quickly, without the race-based provisions. Read more5. Digital Equity Act to move forward but… You may read headlines that lead you to believe that the courts have restored the Digital Equity Act. The ruling from Judge John D. Bates is a lot more complicated than that. The government argued that making grants based on race was unconstitutional. The court agreed with that argument, which is a big win for the Administration, since this is the first Court to so plainly agree with that assertion. But the Court further ruled that if grant requirements based on race are removed, the rest of the lawsuit can continue. So what’s next? Read more6. GAO Documents How NTIA Handled $47.7 Billion in Broadband Grants. On July 22nd, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report describing what happened to money Congress appropriated in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).  For broadband, the relevant agency is the NTIA, the Commerce Department bureau that administers the BEAD program. This is the first GAO product to put numbers on NTIA's post-January 2025 grant review, including how many awards were flagged, on what basis, and who made the decisions.  Read more7. How all 50 states are approaching data centers: Open arms, regulations, and more. The policy tracking firm MultiState counted more than 300 data center bills filed across over 30 states in the first six weeks of 2026, following more than 200 such bills in over 40 states in 2025. The result is a patchwork. Some states are still expanding incentives to land large projects, while others have reached for tools once reserved for emergencies, including outright moratoriums. The outcome matters for rural broadband providers because a recent Pew Research Center analysis found that about two-thirds of planned U.S. data centers are slated for rural areas, reversing a footprint that has been overwhelmingly urban. Read more8. America Movil agrees to acquire Peru broadband provider Wow. America Movil has agreed to acquire Peruvian fixed broadband provider Wow Peru from Liberty Latin America and its partners, strengthening the operator's position in Peru's growing fiber broadband market.  Liberty Latin America said its stake in Wow, along with those of its investment partners, will be sold to America Movil Peru, the local subsidiary of Mexico-based telecoms giant America Movil. Wow operates primarily as a 100% fiber internet service provider in Peru. The transaction remains subject to closing review. Read moreFUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. GoNetspeed Fiber expansion Beverly, MA. GoNetspeed, announced that Beverly will become the next Massachusetts community to gain access to its 100% fiber-optic network. Through a privately funded $17.5 million investment, GoNetspeed’s expansion will expand its fiber network to more than 10,500 homes and businesses across the community. GoNetspeed is accelerating the expansion of its fiber networks across 11 states, including Massachusetts. Read more2. Virginia Fiber Express new VA Network. As data center campuses push south of Northern Virginia in search of land and power, a new fiber network aims to give hyperscale and AI operators a path that steers clear of the increasingly congested Interstate 95 corridor. Virginia Fiber Express Networks, a subsidiary of Infraforward Strategies LLC, announced that it had secured operating licenses, along with land use permits, from Virginia. The approvals clear the way for construction of Phase 1 of what the company describes as a planned six-phase fiber network eventually linking parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland. Virginia Fiber Express Networks, headquartered in Fredericksburg and Richmond, was registered in Virginia in March 2025and has been in development for roughly two years. Read more3. Ripple Fiber completes $20 million fiber build in the Outer Banks. Ripple Fiber, has completed its 100% fiber infrastructure project in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The $20M investment delivers fiber internet to over 20,000 homes and businesses across Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores, Duck, Kill Devil Hills, and Corolla, with additional expansion areas to be identified and built over time. Read more4. California approves $74M for rural fiber broadband. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) awarded funding for rural broadband through the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). The money will support fiber broadband infrastructure reaching nearly 1,800 previously unserved homes and businesses. The CPUC approved three grant resolutions totaling up to $74,095,939, funding six infrastructure projects across the region. The approved awards were: a) Surfnet Communications: $33,197,090 for 1,293 unserved locations b) WiConduit and GigabitNow: $32,398,849 for 341 unserved locations. c) Hankins Information Technology:  $8,500,000 for 154 unserved locations. Read more5. Matanuska Telecom Association confirms $108M BEAD award. MTA has secured a $108 million BEAD award to help extend fiber broadband to more than 10,000 homes and businesses across its service area in Alaska. MTA’s recent work shows the scale of the build already underway. In 2025, the cooperative deployed 153 miles of fiber, upgraded 4,000 locations, and improved network capacity for more than 31,000 connections. Read more6. Wire 3 $43M fiber expansion Jacksonville, FL. Florida-based Wire 3 announced that more than 42,000 residents and businesses will gain access to Wire 3’s 100% fiber network, thanks to a fully funded $43 million investment. Wire 3 anticipates the first Jacksonville residents and businesses to be connected as early as this fall. Wire 3 now operates in at least 50 Florida communities. Read more7. Altafiber forms public-private partnership with Westerville, Ohio for fiber build. The City of Westerville, Ohio, and altafiber have formed a public-private partnership to bring a fiber network to the community without the city spending capital dollars on the infrastructure. Construction is expected to begin this summer, with altafiber aiming to reach residents within three years. altafiber plans to build to roughly 15,000 addresses in and around Westerville. altafiber, the operating name for Cincinnati Bell in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, has invested more than $1.5 billion in its Midwest fiber network. Read more8. ISP News Roundup. 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. 

Aug 02, 2026

General

Broadband Bytes, July 2026 Issue 1

BROADBAND NEWS: 1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Provisional Awards. Updated: July 7, 2026 2:00pm Pacific time. Updated Comprehensive BEAD Awards   BEAD Progress Dashboard2. Rural Broadband Customer Survey. Innovative Systems recently released its eleventh annual survey about rural household broadband usage. The survey was conducted in the first quarter of 2026 to consumers across the country. The survey asked about people’s interaction and satisfaction with their ISP, and includes other interesting findings. CCG-Rural Broadband Customer Survey  Telecompetitor-Rural Broadband Customer Survey3. FCC is urged to prepare for AI’s future infrastructure demands. The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) is urging the FCC to prepare for AI network infrastructure demands. In their filing, FBA President and CEO Gary Bolton stated that the rapid emergence of autonomous AI agents and workloads is shifting network demand from traditional human-driven traffic to continuous, machine-to-machine data “swarms” that route heavily between distributed GPU clusters and data centers. The FBA argues this paradigm shift requires urgent infrastructure upgrades focused on abundant bandwidth and ultra-low latency, triggering an era of explosive investment in fiber and associated electronics. Read more4. Supreme Court expands presidential firing power, overturning 90-year-old ruling. Could affect FCC and NTIA. The Supreme Court ruled that removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission are unconstitutional and overturned a 90-year-old decision that allowed Congress to shield members of certain independent agencies from being fired by the president at will. The decision from the high court expands the president's power over many independent boards and commissions, which Congress had insulated from political pressure by saying their members could only be removed by the president for cause. In a 1935 decision in a case known as Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which involved removal protections for the FTC, the Supreme Court said Congress could restrict the president's ability to fire officials from multi-member agencies at will. But the ruling from the high court's conservative majority in the case Trump v. Slaughter overturns that 90-year-old decision. Read more5. FCC may reduce broadband label demands for providers. The FCC plans to consider a proposal later this month that would update its broadband consumer label rules to reduce compliance burdens for service providers.  According to a July 1 FCC fact sheet, the draft report and order would simplify disclosure requirements if adopted at the FCC’s July 22 open meeting. The document states that the initial ruling created complex labels that strayed beyond the statutory framework and increased administrative costs. Read more6. The Future of State Broadband Offices. Pew recently wrote an article that cautioned that States Must Consider Future of Broadband Offices. They note that some states have a sunset date embedded in the enabling legislation that will mean the end of State Broadband Offices if state legislatures don’t act. Most States are busy right now trying to get BEAD grants in place with ISPs. BEAD grant construction is supposed to conclude in four years, and States are on the hook to verify that construction meets the BEAD specifications.  Will those state broadband offices be there to do so? Read more7. Canada Broadband Market 2026. Reference Article on the Broadband Market in Canada in 2026: including Best ISPs and Fiber Broadband Expansion. Read more8. CIB and partners to invest $165 million to expand broadband service in Manitoba. Under the terms of the agreement, the CIB (Canada Infrastructure Bank) will loan $26.9 million towards the approximately $165 million project. Valley Fiber will be responsible for all aspects of construction, installation, operations and maintenance of the new broadband service. The project involves deployment of 1,224 km of fiber-optic cable, allowing high-speed internet access to approximately 7,800 underserved households with dedicated FTTH in rural municipalities, including four First Nations communities. Read moreFUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS1. Washington state awards $5.1M in ARPA broadband grants. The Washington State Public Works Board (PWB) — using money from its Coronavirus Capital Project Fund, part of ARPA —has awarded communities in Island, Kitsap, and Okanogan counties a total of $5.1 million for four broadband projects.  The awards include fiber projects with Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and Whidbey Telephone Company, Island County. Read more2. TDS fiber expansion in Central Wisconsin. TDS will expand its high-speed all-fiber internet network in Central Wisconsin, bringing a new choice of internet, TV providers, and phone and mobile services to more communities in the Badger State. The Wisconsin-based company plans to bring its services to Ripon, Beaver Dam, Waupun, Lomira, Theresa, Horicon, Brownsville, Juneau, and Iron Ridge, serving a total of more than 29,000 homes and businesses. Construction is expected to begin later this year. Read more3. Ezee Fiber expansion in Illinois communities. Houston based Fiber internet provider, Ezee Fiber, announced the expansion of its fiber-optic network across Chicagoland, with construction underway in Streamwood, Roselle, Downers Grove, Naperville, Oak Brook and Bartlett, extending the company’s footprint in the state and bringing service within reach of thousands of additional homes and businesses. The expansion follows Ezee Fiber’s $400 million investment in Chicagoland announced in July 2025. The company established an office in Elk Grove Village and employs approximately 25 people. Read more4. Ziply grows fiber footprint in Northwest. Ziply Fiber is beginning construction this summer in multiple regions in the Northwest US, with work beginning in the states of Idaho, Washington and Oregon. In Idaho, Ziply will start work this summer to reach more than 1700 homes and businesses.  In Washington, Ziply Fiber is expanding to approximately 20,000 homes and businesses and in Oregon, Ziply Fiber will start construction this summer to reach 1,600 homes and businesses. Ziply Fiber was acquired by Bell Canada (BCE) in August 2025. Read more5. Intrepid Fiber to acquire Ubiquity network in San Diego County. Open access infrastructure provider Intrepid Fiber Networks has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ubiquity’s southern California network. Assuming the deal closes, Intrepid will gain 35,000 fiber passings in the San Diego County communities of Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, and Oceanside. The company currently has active fiber construction in Corona, Riverside, Vista, and San Marcos. This would give Intrepid, which is a Brookfield Infrastructure portfolio company, more than 100,000 home and business passings in the region. Read more6. California approves nearly $53M for rural and Tribal broadband. California regulators approved nearly $53M in new grants to expand broadband access in some of the state’s most underserved rural and Tribal communities. The four projects are expected to bring high-speed broadband access to more than 1,000 previously unserved locations. Tribal communities nationwide also gained access to new federal funding options in June, when the NTIA opened applications for two grant programs worth a combined $790 million. Read more7. Oregon announces reassigned awardees for BEAD projects. The Oregon Broadband Office (OBO) announced preliminary replacement awardees in the BEAD program. Those companies will take over projects that were declined by the initially chosen providers. Two rounds of competitive reassignment yielded six replacement providers for Oregon’s BEAD program: Alyrica, Amazon LEO, the City of Sherwood, Columbia County, Douglas Fast Net (DFN) and Stimulus Technologies. Four providers — Alyrica Networks, Columbia County, Douglas Fast Net/Douglas Services and Stimulus Technologies — are both initial awardees and reassigned awardees. Read more8. Bluepeak reaches 500K fiber passings. Bluepeak, a leading provider of high-speed fiber internet serving communities across Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Texas, and Wyoming, announced the company has now passed 500,000 homes and businesses within its fiber network. Since launching new fiber expansion in 2021, Bluepeak has invested hundreds of millions of dollars across its six-state footprint to build a modern, FTTH network. Read more9. Race Communications Fiber expansion Fresno CA. Race Communications announced an expansion of its 100% FTTH network into the City of Fresno. Continuing to build on its statewide initiatives, Race is pouring even more into the Central Valley and Fresno, initially bringing more than 38,000 homes and businesses access to an all-fiber network. initial construction throughout Fresno is anticipated to begin this fall.  Across California, Race has invested more than $650M and has an additional investment of more than $200M underway for 2026 to build out the company’s all-fiber network. Read more10. ISP News Roundup Broadband Communities ISP Roundup-7-10-23   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. 

Aug 02, 2026