The Buildout: New York awards $140M for municipal broadband

New York awarded over $140 million to roll out and connect over 60,000 homes and businesses to municipal broadband infrastructure. Projects will expand connectivity across Central New York, the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Mid-Hudson and Western New York. Awards include: $11 million for Orleans County, in partnership with RTO Wireless; $30 million for Mohawk Valley, in partnership with MIDTEL; $26 million for Central New York, in partnership with Empire Access; $13.1 million for Franklin County, in partnership with Mohawk Networks; $29.9 million for Sullivan County, in partnership with Archtop Fiber; and $29.9 million for the city of Jamestown, in partnership with EntryPoint Networks and Quanta Telecommunication Services. Funding for these projects comes from the Treasury Department's capital projects fund, via the American Rescue Plan. Prior to this funding round, New York also committed $70 million in capital projects funds for public broadband projects in August 2024. In addition to announcing the latest round of funding, New York also launched a ConnectALL Dashboard, showing a real-time view of the state's federally funded broadband projects in progress.

Oregon awarded $133 million for broadband deployment this week, with funding allocated from the American Rescue Plan's capital projects fund. Projects are expected to reach 12,182 locations, 10,755 of which are unserved. Networks must be up and running by the end of 2026. Grant recipients include Beacon Broadband ($19 million), Farmers Mutual Telephone Company ($18.9 million), Pioneer Telephone Cooperative ($12.6 million), Casco Communications ($10 million) and others. Ziply Fiber also picked up three grants totaling $18.6 million. Ziply is in the process of being acquired by Canada's BCE for $5 billion in cash and debt.

Comcast announced that it is kicking off a $55 million buildout to connect 10,000 locations in Indiana. The company is building out with funding awarded through the state's Next Level Connections grant program over the summer. In a press release, Comcast said it will deliver services to portions of Boone, Morgan, Shelby, Miami, Delaware, Fayette and Rush counties.

Brightspeed has launched services in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania. In Ohio, the company's network went live for 23,000 homes and businesses in Warren, and Trumbull County. And in Pennsylvania, Brightspeed launched services for more than 9,000 homes and businesses in Chambersburg.

NKTelco announced that it will build out its Flight Fiber network in Darke County, Ohio. In a press release, the company said the new network will ultimately reach 1,450 homes and businesses in Arcanum and is part of NKTelco's $2 million capital investment in the region. NKTelco was acquired by Schurz Communications in December 2021. In addition to NKTelco, Schurz also owns Antietam Broadband, Burlington Telecom, Hiawatha Broadband Communications, Long Lines Broadband and Orbitel Communications.

GoNetspeed will start construction "in the coming weeks" to build out a fiber network in Springfield, Massachusetts. According to a press release, GoNetspeed will invest $8.3 million to connect more than 17,400 homes and businesses, with the first locations to come online "as early as this winter." The full project is slated for completion in early 2026. GoNetspeed is funded by Oak Hill Capital.

Metronet has started construction to bring its fiber network to Chaska, Minnesota. According to a press release, the company is investing "tens of millions of dollars" to reach homes and businesses "throughout the city," with the first ones coming online "early next year." As per census data, there are over 10,000 households in Chaska. Metronet is in the process of being acquired through a joint venture formed by T-Mobile and existing Metronet investor KKR. Metronet's other investor, Oak Hill Capital, will retain a minority stake.

Conexon Connect has completed its fifth nationwide network, and its first in Missouri, in partnership with Osage Valley Electric Cooperative. The project, which commenced in 2021, now brings fiber broadband to 13,500 homes and businesses across seven rural counties. Conexon Connect is the ISP arm of Conexon, which designs and builds rural fiber networks.

Comporium has completed construction to bring its fiber network to 1,000 homes and businesses across York and Lancaster counties in South Carolina. The $5.4 million saw Comporium build out 139 miles of fiber in the last few months. In Lancaster County, Comporium is now available for 647 addresses; and in York County, where Comporium has partnered with York Electric Cooperative (YEC), the service now reaches 373 addresses. Comporium was awarded $51.9 million in American Rescue Plan funds via South Carolina's broadband office in December 2023.

Charter's Spectrum has launched services in more regions associated with the company's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) awards. In Tennessee, Spectrum services launched for more than 1,100 homes and businesses in Benton County; and for more than 2,800 homes and small businesses in Monroe County. And in Indiana, Spectrum services launched for more than 410 homes and businesses in Floyd County. Charter, which was a big player in RDOF, said on its latest earnings call that it does not expect to go as big on the federal government's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.