Building Broadband: Brightspeed’s fiber internet buildout gains momentum in Monroe County, Michigan; Comcast starts building out broadband to 12K Westport, CT locations

Brightspeed’s fiber internet buildout gains momentum in Monroe County, Michigan
Brightspeed is connecting thousands of homes and businesses to its fiber network in rural Newport, Michigan and the surrounding areas in Monroe County. Now, roughly 700 families and business owners across this community have access to Brightspeed’s fiber broadband service. Once the company’s full fiber network buildout in the community is complete, roughly 3,200 homes and businesses will have access to Brightspeed’s gigabit speed fiber internet service.

Comcast starts building out broadband to 12K Westport, CT locations
Comcast has begun construction to connect nearly 12,000 homes and businesses in Westport, CT, to symmetrical broadband service. Westport will join the more than 64 million homes and businesses nationwide. Comcast expects to complete the Westport project by the end of 2026 as part of its ongoing investment in Fairfield County, which includes recent expansions to Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stratford, and Wilton.

Conexon Connect completes twelfth rural electric cooperative fiber build
Conexon Connect has completed its twelfth electric cooperative fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network since the company's launch in 2021. The latest 1,800-mile fiber network, built in partnership with Cairo, Georgia-based Grady EMC, is Conexon Connect's seventh broadband project to be completed in the state. The network brings Conexon Connect's total reach in rural Georgia to more than 158,000 homes and businesses. The Connect, powered by Grady EMC, fiber network delivers broadband access to all of the EMC's 13,000 members across Grady, Decatur, and Thomas counties. The Grady EMC partnership was announced in February 2023, with network construction officially completed in June 2025.

C Spire expands fiber internet to Puckett residents
C Spire is expanding its fiber infrastructure in Puckett to increase fiber access for nearly 200 residents in Puckett, Miss. Construction is underway in one fiberhood with planned completion expected within the next three months. The provider’s expansion in Puckett is possible through a public-private partnership, supported by both federal and private investments. The project is funded in part through the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi Capital Projects Fund grant program, as well as significant capital investment from C Spire. These fiber expansion projects in the central Mississippi area are expected to have a total cost of over $16 million and will help expand fiber connectivity to underserved rural areas.

DigitalC secures $500K donation from Google Fiber to extend service to more underserved Ohio households
DigitalC recently received a $500,000 in-kind donation of broadband technology from Google Fiber (GFiber) to help accelerate the nonprofit’s mission of delivering affordable, high-speed home internet to underserved Ohio communities. The donation includes next-generation Fixed Wireless Access (ngFWA) equipment from Tarana, which will allow DigitalC to expand its Canopy home internet service – offering symmetrical 100 Mbps internet at an affordable rate – to even more neighborhoods in Ohio. This milestone comes on the heels of DigitalC connecting its 6,000th household in Cleveland, a city once ranked the worst-connected large city in the U.S. by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. DigitalC already uses Tarana’s ngFWA technology to power its citywide network. The additional equipment from GFiber will allow faster deployment to even more neighborhoods that have historically lacked access – without the delays or costs of laying fiber.

Ezee Fiber wraps Tachus Fiber in Internet acquisition
Ezee Fiber has closed on its previously announced agreement to acquire Tachus Fiber Internet, based in The Woodlands, Texas. This move broadens Ezee Fiber’s service footprint across communities of Greater Houston, including in fast-growing northern metro areas. Over the past 24 months, Ezee Fiber has announced a $200 million expansion in Houston; a $250 million expansion in New Mexico; a $400 million expansion in the state of Washington; a $400 million expansion into the greater Chicagoland area, and its acquisition of Tachus. Ezee Fiber is planning further expansions into additional markets across the United States in 2025.

Gateway Fiber makes Elk River and Otsego, MN, its next fiber broadband target
Gateway Fiber is bringing its fiber internet service to Elk River and Otsego, MN, joining other Twin Cities communities, including Blaine, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Plymouth, and others, as the company expands its footprint in the area. Construction on the new network is set to begin in September, with the first customers scheduled to come online later this fall. Most residents will see service available in 2026. 

Lumos breaks ground on Illinois fiber network expansion
Lumos has broken ground on its 3,000-mile fiber installation in DuPage and Cook Counties, a milestone in the company’s expansion into the Illinois market. The company’s fiber network will serve more than 20 Chicagoland communities, including Naperville, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Wheaton and Bolingbrook. The planned network will reach portions of Illinois currently lacking a fiber provider, bringing critical connectivity to underserved and unserved neighborhoods. Engineering for the expansion is underway, and residents will receive updates by mail as construction begins in their area.

Sprocket Networks bolsters fiber network expansion with funding from Digital Alpha
Sprocket Networks, a provider of fiber infrastructure, has secured new funding from Digital Alpha, an investment firm specializing in digital infrastructure. The infusion of capital is earmarked for a large-scale expansion of Sprocket's fiber network, creating a digital backbone designed to serve the rapidly growing demands of the entire North Texas region. By building a new layer of fiber, the partnership will strengthen the region's position as a hub for digital innovation and commerce. The partnership's initial focus will be the Fort Worth Fiber Project, which is an approximately 300-mile fiber backbone that is already under construction, with a large anchor tenant already in place. Sprocket's network will provide multi-terabit capacity to support services for residential, commercial, and government services and applications throughout the city of Fort Worth, Texas. Beyond this initial anchor project, the expanded network is designed to provide infrastructure for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) providers to accelerate countywide broadband expansion, enable the widespread deployment of technologies such as fixed and mobile wireless services, and support smart city applications.

TDS designates Altoona, Wis., as Eau Claire County’s newest official Fiber-Fast Community
TDS Telecom has named Altoona, Wisconsin, its latest Official Fiber-Fast Community designation at a recent city council meeting. The award marks the completion of the company’s fiber network project in the area that is now delivering up to 8 Gbps internet connections in the community. In April 2022, TDS announced that Altoona and Chippewa Falls would be part of its Eau Claire County fiber expansion. Construction started a year later, with the first customers enjoying symmetrical fiber internet speeds by August of 2023. In total, the company has connected nearly 4,500 Altoona homes and businesses to its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network. TDS’s fiber build work continues in the city of Eau Claire and Lake Hallie.