Building Broadband: altafiber targets 43K Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana locations with fiber; Brightspeed awarded first BEAD funds from Louisiana

altafiber targets 43K Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana locations with fiber
altafiber is expanding its multi-gig XGS-PON fiber network into Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, adding approximately 43,000 addresses in the Tri-State. Construction in these geographies is currently scheduled to begin in late 2025. The regional fiber broadband expansion plan includes the following locations in each state:

• Indiana: Richmond
• Ohio: Eaton, Greenville, Washington Court House, and Wilmington.
• Kentucky: Carrollton

In 2023, altafiber announced it would bring fiber to approximately 400,000 homes outside its incumbent territories, including new markets in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Brightspeed awarded the first BEAD funds from Louisiana
Brightspeed has been awarded its first federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program funds from the state of Louisiana. The state awarded Brightspeed $7.5 million to help reach an additional 2,800 locations with its planned fiber broadband network build in Louisiana. This includes approximately 40,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana, which ranks 46th in the nation regarding internet coverage, speed, and availability. More than 24,000 Louisiana locations already have access to multi-gig-speed Brightspeed Fiber Internet service with thousands more coming online in the following months. The service provider continues pursuing state and federal grants and funds to augment further its planned build in the states it serves, including BEAD program funding.

Fidium fiber broadband is now available in Readfield, Maine
Fidium has expanded its multi-gig, symmetrical-speed internet service to Readfield, making its future-proof fiber network available to more than 1,800 homes and businesses. Recent studies confirm that fiber broadband drives economic growth, particularly for rural communities, increasing business growth by 213% and leading to a 44% higher GDP. For individuals, fiber access resulted in self-employment growth of 10% and increased per capita income by 18%. Today, more than 294,000 Maine homes and businesses have access to Fidium, including Fayette, Livermore Falls, Oakland and more communities, with additional availability coming soon across the state.

FirstLight and Maine Connectivity Authority to bring broadband to underserved Western Maine communities
FirstLight has finalized an agreement with the Maine Connectivity Authority to receive funding to build more than 450 miles of fiber to provide Internet service to several areas of Western Maine. The grant, which is part of a statewide initiative called Partnerships for Enabling Middle Mile (PEMM), will provide high-speed, low-latency connectivity to more than 6,600 locations that either don't have access to the Internet or have access to slower broadband or copper-based connections.

The project will benefit the areas of Bethel, Newry, Greenwood, Woodstock, Bryant Pond, Albany, Gilead, West Bethel, Mason, Upton, Turner, North Turner, Buckfield, Hebron, Canton, Sumner, West Paris, Andover, Roxbury Pond, North Norway, Hartford, Minot, Hanover, Milton Township, Byron, and Livermore. Construction will be completed in phases, beginning with the Town of Bethel, over the next several months. This regional infrastructure project represents an investment of over $11 million, including contributions of $317,000 from the towns of Bethel, Greenwood, Gilead, Woodstock, and Oxford County. It is expected to be completed in 2029.

Oklahoma Broadband Office, Dobson Fiber launch rural Oklahoma expansion 
Eight high-speed internet expansion projects totaling $17.3 million were officially launched recently by the Arapaho by the Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO) and Dobson Fiber. The projects, funded through $11.6 million in federal grants administered by the OBO and $5.7 million in matching funds from Dobson Fiber, will connect 1,829 homes and businesses with fiber-based broadband internet. The award from ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) was made earlier this year by the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board. The Dobson Fiber projects are in Atoka, Beckham, Custer, Garvin, Grady, Greer, Muskogee, and Washita counties. ARPA-SLFRF-awarded grant projects will result in some 50,000 homes and businesses statewide being served with high-speed internet. But the growth of broadband access across Oklahoma is just beginning. In late fall, the Governing Board gave tentative approval to more than $158 million in ARPA Capital Projects Fund grants to 12 internet service providers for 50 projects in 28 counties. Dobson Fiber received over $24 million of these tentatively approved grants. Now, ISPs are competing for more than $750 million in additional grant funds through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

RightFiber acquires Ruston City, Louisiana network
RightFiber has agreed in principle to acquire the City of Ruston, Louisiana’s fiber optic broadband network. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. RightFiber will continue serving existing business customers at that time. This acquisition expands the provider’s operations into the northern Louisiana area. The service provider plans to expand its fiber network within the business community and Ruston residential neighborhoods, positioning the region as a regional broadband leader and making it a Gigabit City.

Trailrunner taps Tarana to accelerate New Hampshire broadband network
Residents in more rural communities of New Hampshire will soon have access to high-speed broadband technology, thanks to the launch of Trailrunner Broadband's upgraded high-speed network. The upgraded service will reach customers starting in North Stratford. There will be 11 site locations upgraded by the end of 2025. The existing Trailrunner network uses standard 4G LTE Cellular technology. Trailrunner has selected Tarana Wireless, a manufacturer of next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA), to enable its broadband service. The upgraded Trailrunner network was recently deployed in Dexter, Maine and will shortly expand to deliver service to thousands of households in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.