This week in broadband builds: Virginia awards nearly $60 million; New York's Light Up Livingston breaks ground; Wahzhazhe Connect completes initial construction; TDS to connect new Oklahoma customers – and more.

Nicole Ferraro, Editor, host of 'The Divide' podcast

May 12, 2023

3 Min Read
Fiber optic cables lie on a construction site
(Source: dpa picture alliance/Alamy Stock Photo)

The Buildout is a column from Light Reading tracking broadband network deployments. This week we're tracking new construction and service launches reaching roughly 41,400 locations across the US. Send us your news right here. Keep up with every installment of The Buildout here.

  • Virginia awarded over $59.5 million in broadband grants through the state's Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) program this week. The funding went toward 14 projects serving 20 localities and will bring broadband service to 29,400 homes, businesses and community anchor institutions, according to a press release from the governor's office. Among the winning providers were Breezeline ($15.2 million), Empower Broadband ($8.5 million), Shentel ($6.3 million) and Verizon ($5 million). Other grantees include Riverstreet Networks ($3.5 million), FiberLync ($2.1 million), Citizens Telephone Cooperative ($1.3 million) and All Points Broadband ($1.2 million). With required matching funds, the total cost for projects funded this round is roughly $165 million.

  • Construction has officially started on "Light Up Livingston," a fiber buildout project in Livingston County, New York, funded with an $11.3 million grant through the USDA ReConnect program that was awarded nearly two years ago. The new network is being built by Empire Access, a family-owned telecom provider, in partnership with the county, and will bring broadband to 1,000 addresses, including "96 farms and 22 businesses," according to a press release from the office of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

  • Osage Nation's Wahzhazhe Connect announced that it is wrapping up its first broadband construction project funded with $54.5 million in federal grants, including $40.6 million received from the NTIA's Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) and $13.9 million from USDA's ReConnect program. This initial project will connect the Pawhuska Senior Housing neighborhood, according to a press release. Project partners are completing final tasks including adding equipment to housing units and conducting inspections "to make sure the neighborhood is clear of remaining rock, dirt, and debris from areas where boring and trenching were required." Construction on Wahzhazhe Connect started earlier this year and will ultimately result in 200 miles of fiber and 16 towers, bringing fiber and fixed wireless services to 3,158 unserved Osage Nation households.

  • Spectrum launched services in rural South Carolina and Wisconsin this week as part of its commitments through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). In South Carolina, Spectrum services are live for more than 430 homes and small businesses in Georgetown County, according to a press release. And in Wisconsin, the company launched services for 500 homes and businesses in Winnebago County, and another 500 homes and businesses in Columbia County. Ultimately, Spectrum's RDOF build will include more than 140,000 customer locations in Wisconsin. Charter Communications/Spectrum was awarded $1 billion through RDOF and is spending $5 billion overall to reach roughly 1 million customer locations across 24 states.

  • TDS Telecom announced this week that it's taking pre-orders for its TDS Fiber broadband services in Adair, Inola, Kellyville and Mounds, Oklahoma. The company began its buildout in the region in November 2022 and will start connecting customers this summer, according to a press release. The full project is expected to be complete this fall and will bring multi-gig broadband service to 2,865 homes and businesses. TDS reported in Q1 results this week that it is more than halfway toward its overall goal of building fiber broadband to 1.2 million marketable addresses by 2026, with support from federal and state broadband programs. The company said it had 607,000 marketable fiber addresses as of the end of Q1, with 25,000 deployed during the quarter.

  • Roanoke Cooperative's Fyber has completed construction on a fiber network expansion to South Bertie County, North Carolina. The new project brings broadband speeds of 100 Mbit/s ($60) or 1 Gbit/s ($100) to 3,000 homes and businesses. According to a service map, Fyber is currently under construction in Gates County, Northampton, Halifax and Edenton, North Carolina.

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The Buildout

About the Author(s)

Nicole Ferraro

Editor, host of 'The Divide' podcast, Light Reading

Nicole covers broadband, policy and the digital divide. She hosts The Divide on the Light Reading Podcast and tracks broadband builds in The Buildout column. Some* call her the Broadband Broad (*nobody).

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