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This week in broadband builds: Lyte Fiber invests $15 million in Baytown, Texas; Metronet available for most homes in Jacksonville, North Carolina; Brightspeed live in Butler, Pennsylvania – and more.
The Buildout is a column from Light Reading tracking broadband network deployments. This week we're tracking new construction and service launches reaching over 100,000 locations across the US. Send us your news at [email protected]. Keep up with every installment of The Buildout here.
Lyte Fiber, a new ISP based in Houston, is investing $15 million to build out a fiber network in Baytown, Texas, which marks the company's inaugural market. The network will initially bring service to 15,000 homes and businesses "over the coming months," according to a press release. Lyte Fiber was formed in 2023 in partnership with private equity firm SDC Capital. The company further noted in its press release that "nearly 100% of its infrastructure" for the Baytown network will be buried underground, "establishing it as one of Texas's most weather-resistant networks."
Metronet announced progress on its network builds in parts of Iowa and North Carolina this week. In Iowa, Metronet has launched in "initial construction areas" in the region of Marshalltown. It expects to wrap up construction in the fall of 2025. And in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where Metronet started construction in October 2021, the company said its $20 million network is now available to the majority of homes and businesses in the city (there are roughly 22,000 households in Jacksonville, according to census data).
Brightspeed has launched services in Butler, Pennsylvania, making its network available to 15,000 homes and businesses. According to a press release, work is ongoing and the project will ultimately reach 18,000 locations.
Charter's Spectrum has completed a network buildout in Rockingham County, North Carolina, reaching over 3,000 homes and businesses. The $14.4 million project was funded with $10.4 million from Spectrum, as well as investments from the Rockingham County Government, Reidsville Area Foundation, Rockingham County Schools and Rockingham Community College, according to a press release. Spectrum also announced this week that it launched services for more than 50 homes in Steele County, Minnesota. The region is part of Spectrum's broader buildout across the rural US, for which it was awarded $2 billion through the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).
Kinetic has completed a fiber buildout in the Doniphan region of Ripley County, Missouri, reaching 300 homes and businesses. The $890,000 project is one of 32 fiber builds Kinetic has underway or completed in Ripley County, according to a press release.
Ziply has started construction in the regions of Homedale and Parma, Idaho, to bring its fiber network to 1,100 homes and businesses. Currently, more than 350 addresses in Homedale and 100 addresses in Parma can access Ziply's network, "with more than 300 additional addresses coming [to] each city in the coming weeks," according to a press release.
Lumos will invest $110 million to expand into Summit County, Ohio. In a press release, the company said it plans to build out 1,400 miles of fiber. The news follows Lumos' announcement in July that it will invest $230 million to build out 2,000 miles of fiber to connect Ohio's Mahoning Valley. In April, T-Mobile confirmed plans to form a joint venture with EQT to acquire Lumos. The companies aim to expand Lumos' fiber network from roughly 320,000 locations to 3.5 million US locations by the end of 2028.
WideOpenWest (WOW) has connected its first customers to its new fiber network in Spring Hill in Hernando County, Florida. The company announced in October 2023 that it would soon start construction in the region, with plans to ultimately connect 44,000 locations in the county. Construction is ongoing, and more homes and businesses will be connected in the "coming weeks and months," according to a press release.
Consolidated's Fidium Fiber has started construction in the New Hampshire regions of Ossipee, Center Ossipee, Freedom and Effingham, plus parts of Tamworth, Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro. Once complete, the fiber network is expected to reach 9,000 homes and businesses.
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