The Buildout: Frontier wins $13.3 million in West Virginia

West Virginia announced over $18.6 million in broadband grants this week. In a press release, Governor Jim Justice's office said the awards cover applications in the state's Line Extension Advancement and Development (LEAD), Major Broadband Project Strategies (MBPS) and Wireless Internet Networks (WIN) programs, and will extend broadband access to 8,250 locations. In addition to $18.6 million in grants, the state said an additional $19.15 million will be leveraged from other sources and matching funds for a total investment cost of $37.8 million. Grant recipients include Frontier ($13.3 million across two grants), Prodigi ($4.36 million) and USCellular ($929,950 across two grants).

The town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island, earlier this week celebrated the launch of BroadbandBI: a new taxpayer-funded municipal fiber broadband network, built in partnership with Sertex Broadband Solutions, to service the region's community anchor institutions including its school, library, public safety complex and medical center. The town, part of Block Island – which has 1,000 year-round residents – voted to authorize the $8 million project in July 2020. Construction was completed in February 2023, with activations starting recently. According to a press release, BroadbandBI is the state's first municipally owned fiber broadband network and will recover costs through an annual property tax starting in 2025 and through monthly service fees.

Spectrum this week announced plans to launch and expand services in Clinton County, Ohio. According to a press release, the company – which began construction in January 2022 – is 85% done with service activations on its initial build, which will ultimately reach 2,000 homes and small businesses as part of Spectrum's commitment through the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). In addition, the company announced that it formed an agreement with Clinton County to build out to an additional 3,000 locations, marking "an $18+ million investment from Spectrum and Clinton County."

Nextlink, an ISP based in Texas, announced it is building out fiber broadband to the town of Gatesville. According to a press release, construction has started and will reach over 2,600 homes and businesses "over the coming weeks." Nextlink, which has 94,000 subscribers across seven states, announced earlier this year that it acquired Bluestem Networks, a fiber provider in Nebraska, as part of its network expansion strategy.

Conexon announced this week that it was selected by Georgia's GreyStone Power Corporation to design and manage the cooperative's fiber network construction. In a press release, Conexon said the project will "span hundreds of miles of aerial and underground fiber," reaching unserved and underserved homes in GreyStone's service area of 126,000 members. Construction on the multimillion-dollar project is expected to start this year, with the first customers to come online in 2024. Last month, GreyStone announced it will deliver broadband service via new fiber subsidiary GreyStone Connect.

TDS Telecom has started connecting customers to its new fiber network in Sparta, Wisconsin, said the company in a press release this week. According to TDS, the network will connect 4,500 addresses in Sparta; followed by an additional 4,500 addresses in Tomah, Wisconsin, after construction starts in that area "in the coming weeks."

Two rural cooperatives in Arkansas and Mississippi reached broadband milestones recently, according to a press release from DZS. Connect2First, a subsidiary of First Electric Cooperative in central and southeastern Arkansas, and FASTnet, the ISP arm of 4-County Electric Power Association (4CEPA) in central Mississippi, have more than doubled their homes passed in the last year, reaching a collective 12,000 subscribers. The co-ops, which are building out in partnership with DZS and Irby, using over $50 million in federal funding, ultimately aim to reach 140,000 homes, businesses and anchor institutions.

Pennsylvania's VNET Fiber will expand its network to Summit Township in Erie County, connecting an additional 44 households with gigabit services. According to local reporting, VNET was awarded a $341,560 grant from Summit Township, including a $168,000 match from Erie County.

Birmingham, Alabama-based Lit Fiber announced progress on a middle mile network buildout in Brownsville, Texas. According to a press release, Lit will turn on the first middle-mile connections in June or July, with the full project expected to take three years. The network will help bring broadband service to "32 anchor institutions such as police and fire stations, post offices, City and public utilities offices, and public parks," said the release, and will help bring last-mile connectivity to "tens of thousands of homes, businesses, and other organizations." Last month, Lit Communities said it received $150 million from Oak Hill in primary capital to fund its fiber buildouts.