EPB Fiber Optics is also celebrating a milestone this week. The utility broadband provider out of Chattanooga said it is approaching 75,000 customers for its gigabit and 100 Mbits/s Internet services*, making it the number-one provider in its service region. EPB is hoping to expand beyond its existing customer footprint now that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken down barriers to certain municipal broadband deployments. However, the state of Tennessee is still fighting the FCC's ruling in court, forcing EPB to hold off on extending its reach further. (See FCC Clears Way for Muni Network Expansion.)

The Cox Communications Inc. Gigablast service is now up and running in parts of San Diego. While the footprint is limited to one large apartment building and some single-family home communities in the area, Cox plans to offer gigabit service everywhere by the end of next year. Beyond San Diego, the company has introduced gigabit service in parts of Irvine, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Las Vegas, Nev; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.; and Omaha, Neb. (See Cablecos Going Gaga Over Gigabit.)

C Spire is picking up some gigabit momentum. The telco announced this week that it's adding one more fiberhood in Madison, Miss., to its list of targeted gigabit deployments. There are now three communities in the area on the company's roadmap, and C Spire plans to start construction later this month. Customers will pay $80/month for gigabit service, or $70/month when bundled with a C Spire wireless plan.

Home Telecom in South Carolina is also expanding its reach. The telco started offering its Velocity Gigabit service in 2013 and plans to serve more than 50 neighborhoods by the end of 2016. Home Telecom currently has nearly 60,000 miles of fiber deployed and passes roughly 15,000 homes and more than 9,000 commercial businesses.

Note: An earlier version of this story reported that EPB is approaching 75,000 gigabit customers. The total number is actually spread between customers with the gigabit tier, and those receiving speeds of 100 Mbits/s.

— Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video, Light Reading