The Buildout: News from Mid-Hudson Cable, Empire Access, GoNetspeed and more

Mid-Hudson Cable will deliver a broadband network in the town of Westerlo, New York. According to local reporting, the company was approved this week by the town board to build out 40 miles of cable to provide high-speed Internet access to 301 homes. Construction is expected to start in summer 2024. The news follows Westerlo's receipt of $1.68 million last year in federal funding for broadband.

Empire Access, an ISP serving upstate New York and parts of Pennsylvania, announced that it will expand into Bloomfield, New York. In a press release, the company said the expansion will be complete in fall 2023, making broadband services available to homes and businesses. According to census data, Bloomfield has over 608 households. Empire Access was acquired by private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners earlier this year, with plans to expand its fiber footprint.

GoNetspeed has started construction in East Hartford, Connecticut. In a press release, the company said its "fully funded" $2.7 million investment in the region will ultimately connect over 6,700 homes and businesses. Initial services are expected to launch "in the coming months," and the company expects to complete the build this winter. GoNetspeed is building out in multiple states with funding from Oak Hill Capital.

Spectrum announced that it completed its fiber network expansion in Carlos, Minnesota. The company invested $1.1 million to reach more than 350 homes and businesses with high-speed connectivity, according to a press release.

Kinetic announced the completion of a $580,000 public-private partnership in Texas. As part of the project, the company installed 60,000 feet of fiber to deliver connectivity to Throckmorton public schools and roughly 650 of the region's homes and businesses. Funding for the project came from Kinetic ($420,000), as well as city and county funds from the American Rescue Plan ($140,000) and from the Throckmorton Collegiate Independent School District ($20,000). That investment from the school district makes Throckmorton "the first district in Texas to support fiber broadband construction," said Kinetic in a press release.

Omni Fiber announced that construction is "underway" in multiple Ohio regions, including Bucyrus, Defiance, Eaton, Fremont, Greenville, London, Monroeville, Mount Gilead, New Philadelphia, Perkins Township, Perrysburg, Sandusky and Wooster. The company will soon start construction elsewhere in Ohio and has also begun construction in parts of Pennsylvania, its first non-Ohio market, including North Uniontown and South Uniontown. In a press release, Omni Fiber said it will begin installations this fall and early next year.

The NTIA awarded $53.9 million through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) for eight broadband projects in Alaska. According to a press release from Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, those receiving awards for broadband deployment efforts include Alaska Tribal Spectrum ($29.5 million), which will install a wireless network "using a Tribally-controlled 2.5Ghz spectrum and/or satellite service" to connect 2,569 unserved households, 125 unserved businesses, and 89 community anchor institutions. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Tribal Broadband received an award of $4.5 million to install Starlink satellite terminals for 1,410 homes and nine community anchor institutions. Alaska Village Initiatives was granted $7 million to construct last-mile wireless infrastructure in 13 Alaska Native Villages, utilizing 2.5Ghz licensed spectrum and fiber-to-the-premises in one Alaska Native Village. Other funding went toward planning, feasibility and sustainability studies, as well as network and customer equipment upgrades.

New Mexico recently awarded $66.8 million in grants to 11 broadband projects. The grants are part of the Connect New Mexico pilot program, with funding from the American Rescue Plan capital projects fund. The projects will help connect over 10,300 homes, businesses and community anchor institutions. Matching funds will be provided for a total cost of $106.3 million across the 11 projects. Winners this round include Comcast ($15.55 million), Jemez Mountain Electric Cooperative ($5.99 million) and Tularosa Communications ($4.24 million), among others. Most funding went directly to five pueblos, including Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Santa Ana and Santo Domingo.