Building Broadband: Brightspeed enhances Pennsylvania broadband reach; Comcast deepens broadband reach to over 50K Hagerstown, MD area locations

Brightspeed enhances Pennsylvania broadband reach
Brightspeed has made its fiber-based broadband service available to over 131,000 Pennsylvania homes and businesses. The provider will expand its fiber broadband service across five towns and cities in the state. Once completed, Brightspeed's network will reach over 190,000 fiber-enabled locations across its Pennsylvania footprint. Brightspeed is expanding its fiber network to get more than 4 million homes and businesses across 20 states as part of a broader, multi-billion-dollar investment.

Comcast deepens broadband reach to over 50K Hagerstown, MD area locations
Comcast launched an effort to extend broadband to 50,000 homes and businesses in the Hagerstown, MD, area. The provider’s network expansion includes all homes and businesses in the City of Hagerstown and surrounding communities such as Cavetown, Fairplay, Funkstown, Smithsburg, Tilghmanton and Williamsport. Xfinity and Comcast Business services are already available to thousands of addresses across the Hagerstown area, with additional homes and businesses rolling out in phases.

Highline ramps expansion into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Highline announced the continuation of its significant investment in expanding fiber internet access in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This year, the provider will service homes and businesses in Marquette, Iron, Schoolcraft, Luce, Mackinac, and Chippewa counties. The project will encompass 1,400 miles of new fiber optic cable, reaching 14,000 homes and businesses with Internet and voice services. Residents and businesses can expect internet speeds up to 2Gbps, enabling seamless streaming, video conferencing, online gaming, and more. Highline's network will ultimately serve over 50,000 homes and businesses in the Upper Peninsula. Once winter is over, Highline plans to start construction on the network in June and is expected to be completed by the end of November. 

LiveOak Fiber speeds up network expansion via Seimtsu partnership
LiveOak Fiber is accelerating its high-speed fiber network expansion in Savannah through a strategic partnership with Seimitsu. This collaboration enables LiveOak Fiber to bring connectivity to residents in Mayfair and adjacent communities ahead of schedule, furthering its mission to enhance digital access across the region. This collaboration enables LiveOak Fiber to bring connectivity to residents in Mayfair far sooner. By leveraging Seimitsu’s existing infrastructure, LiveOak Fiber has fast-tracked its buildout,  reducing deployment time and enabling service to reach thousands of residents in Mayfair and surrounding neighborhoods faster than expected.

Lumos launches fiber broadband to nearly half a million Florida locations
Lumos announced its growth in Florida with an investment of nearly 7,500 miles of fiber internet. This expansion marks Lumos’s eighth state of operation and will bring fiber-based internet to over 30 communities statewide, passing almost 500,000 homes and small businesses. This expansion marks the company's third new market announced in 2025, kicking off the new year with unprecedented growth. Lumos will be the first fiber provider for households and businesses in select markets throughout the state, including Osecola, Escambia, Citrus, Lee, Pinellas and Charlotte County.

Optimum plans to enable multi-gigabit speeds in 65% of footprint by 2028
Optimum plans to deliver multi-gigabit internet speeds across 65% of its service footprint by 2028, doubling the availability of these speeds over the next three years. The new initiative coincides with Optimum Fiber internet service now passing three million locations, representing nearly one-third of its footprint. This expansion includes the introduction of mid-split upgrades across areas of the company’s HFC network, enabling download speeds of up to 2 Gbps downstream and the continued extension of Optimum's fiber network, which delivers symmetrical speeds of up to 8 Gbps. Optimum has expanded its fiber network to three million passings, primarily in the New York tri-state area. The company is focused on expanding its network, with plans to add 175,000 passings in 2025, most of which will be fiber.

Shentel expands broadband service to an additional 5K Shenandoah County homes
Shentel has extended gigabit internet service to about 5,000 additional homes in Shenandoah County and plans to add over 2,000 more by the end of the year. This $47 million construction project is partly funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia's nationally recognized Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI). The rest of the funding comes from Shentel's capital investment and a significant contribution from Shenandoah County.

Vero Fiber secures $240M to fuel network growth
Vero Fiber has expanded its existing credit facility to $240 million of committed capital, with an accordion providing up to $310 million of total capacity. The facility was jointly arranged by Hancock Whitney Bank, UMB Bank, and Texas Capital Bank, with CIBC as the Documentation Agent. The provider will use this credit facility to continue its investment in fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and dark fiber network solutions. Since its inception in 2017, Vero has expanded its network footprint to include 250 markets in 20 states.