Building Broadband: Brightspeed begins lighting up East Texas; Comcast activates new Miami-Dade fiber network

In this latest issue of Building Broadband, we’re tracking new broadband and new broadband deployments from Brightspeed, Comcast, GoNetspeed, Lumos, and others. 

Brightspeed kicks off its East Texas fiber network build
Brightspeed has begun the permitting process to connect thousands of residents across Henderson County and Smith County, Texas, to its fiber Internet service. The company is currently working to connect more than 30,700 families and local businesses across the communities of Gun Barrel City, Athens, Payne Springs, Chandler, and Bullard. This announcement comes on the heels of the company receiving $2.3 million in grants to expand its broadband network in Henderson County.

Comcast activates new Miami-Dade fiber network
Comcast has activated a new internet network in the 33155 and 33143 Miami-Dade zip code areas, the result of a $7.5 million investment. The cable MSO said that thousands of homes and businesses in South Miami, Coral Terrace, and West Miami will have access to Xfinity and Comcast Business services, the latter of which has recently been enhanced through a collaboration with Starlink. The company reports symmetrical speeds of up to 1 Gbps for residential customers and up to 100 Gbps for businesses.

GoNetspeed ties bow on Manchester, CT fiber broadband network
GoNetspeed's recently begun construction has officially concluded in the Town of Manchester. Through GoNetspeed’s fully funded $5.8 million investment in Manchester, 10,800 customers can tap into 100% fiber internet right inside their homes or businesses.

Grain Management completes majority investment in 123NET
Grain Management has acquired a majority investment in Michigan-based fiber provider 123NET. This partnership continues Grain’s industry-specialist approach to creating value through fiber and data center technology investments. Since founding in 1995, 123NET has invested in Michigan's infrastructure, partnering with communities and carriers to enhance fiber networks throughout the state. It has built an expansive 3,100 route-mile network, including long haul and dense metro fiber networks in Michigan's largest cities. 123NET's network is further enhanced by Michigan's largest carrier hotel, which houses the Detroit Internet Exchange ("DET-iX"), the seventh largest exchange point by throughput in North America. Its data center portfolio includes four high-density data centers in metro Detroit and Grand Rapids.

Kansas governor awards $10M for rural Kansas broadband projects
Governor Laura Kelly recently announced that $10 million has been awarded to 12 ISPs in the latest round of Broadband Acceleration Grants. The awards will be paired with an additional $12.7 million in matching funds, resulting in an investment of nearly $22.7 million for high-speed broadband access projects across 14 rural Kansas counties. The Broadband Acceleration Grant, initiated in 2020, is a 10-year, $85 million program designed to bring essential internet access to Kansas communities. Administered by the Kansas Office of Broadband Development and funded through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program (IKE), this latest round of grants brings the program’s total investment for broadband infrastructure to more than $41.5 million.  

The 2024 Broadband Acceleration Grant recipients are: 

Lumos to expand fiber network to Ohio
Lumos is investing $230 million to build nearly 2,000 miles of fiber optic network in Ohio, marking the company’s first expansion to the state. Homes and small businesses in Mahoning County and Trumbull County will have access to fiber from Lumos, and engineering work for the new network is expected to begin in late 2024.

SiFi connects first Kenosha, MI homes to its FiberCity network
Kenosha FiberCity® has moved into the connection phase of the open-access FiberCity Network in partnership with SiFi Networks now that the city's first area has gone live. The community is partnering with T-Mobile Fiber to provide residential fiber internet. Plans start at $55 monthly and include options for 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, and 2 Gbps speeds. With this service, customers will be able to access symmetrical speeds and a Wi-Fi 6 router is included in the price of the plan.

South Valley Internet and LCB Communications receive $30M in CPUC grants to expand broadband
South Valley Internet Incorporated (SVI) and LCB Communications have been awarded two grants totaling over $30 million by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to enhance broadband Internet and telecommunications services to multiple underserved communities throughout San Benito County. The two service providers will use the new capital to serve 1,300 underserved households in Central California.