The ongoing nationwide push to bridge the digital divide and modernize America’s telecommunications infrastructure continues to gain momentum across multiple states. In this week’s installment of The Buildout, Light Reading’s regular tracking column for broadband network deployments, fresh data highlights an estimated 100,000 locations across the United States reaching new service launches or active construction phases. These projects span privately funded corporate expansions, public-private partnerships, and federally backed initiatives aimed at bringing high-speed fiber-optic and enhanced cable connections to urban, suburban, and rural communities alike.
Kinetic Connects Fort Bend County
In Texas, Kinetic announced significant strides in its regional fiber footprint, reporting a nearly 25% expansion of its network over the past year within the greater Sugar Land and Fort Bend County area. Through a privately funded investment strategy, the company successfully added more than 7,600 new fiber locations, extending its high-speed broadband reach to more than 40,000 homes and businesses throughout the region.
To mark the connectivity milestone, Kinetic organized a series of community events spanning the week and weekend, engaging local residents and business owners. Kinetic operates as a subsidiary of Uniti Group, which formally completed its major merger with Windstream in August 2025, solidifying its operational foundation for ongoing infrastructure deployments across its service territories.
Wire 3 Halfway Done in Deltona and DeLand
Down in Florida, Wire 3 announced that it has crossed the halfway point of its extensive fiber construction project in the Volusia County cities of Deltona and DeLand, marking a major operational milestone for thousands of local homes and businesses. The company originally commenced construction on the ambitious $60 million build in May 2025, with initial areas going live in January 2026.
Wire 3 anticipates completing the entire construction schedule by the end of 2027. While official press releases from the company have not explicitly specified the total location count for this buildout, industry estimates place the figure around 35,000 locations. Wire 3’s ongoing expansion is heavily backed by combined financial investments from Guggenheim Investments and Oak Hill Capital, the latter of which came on board as a majority investor in 2024 to accelerate the provider’s regional deployment strategies.
Guilford Gets GoNetspeed
In Connecticut, GoNetspeed announced the connection of its very first customers in the town of Guilford, representing the initial wave of service for a broader regional project. The company is investing $4 million to reach a combined 4,200 homes and businesses across the New Haven County towns of Guilford and Madison.
Construction in the area kicked off this summer and is actively progressing according to corporate schedules. GoNetspeed, currently backed by Oak Hill Capital, is slated to undergo a major corporate evolution; the provider is set to be acquired and combined with Greenlight Networks through a $2 billion joint venture between T-Mobile and Oak Hill Capital that was initially announced earlier this year. That transaction remains on track to close in 2027, promising further scale for the regional fiber builder.
Armstrong Expands in West Virginia
Public officials and telecommunications leaders gathered in West Virginia last week as representatives from Armstrong Telecommunications joined federal authorities to provide updates on a sweeping rural broadband buildout across the state. Leveraging public-private partnerships alongside a combined investment of $100 million, the company is deploying 500 miles of new fiber infrastructure designed to reach more than 5,000 unserved locations across ten counties, including Cabell, Calhoun, Doddridge, Jackson, Lincoln, Putnam, Ritchie, Wayne, Wirt, and Wood. Additionally, the project is structured to sustain existing high-speed service for 10,000 rural homes and businesses.
According to company representatives, the funding stack for these builds is diverse. Approximately 1,000 locations are being supported through federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding; 3,300 locations rely on West Virginia’s Line Extension Advancement and Development (LEAD) program; and 775 locations receive backing via the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced ACAM) program. Enhanced ACAM funding is also instrumental in sustaining service for the broader pool of 10,000 locations. Armstrong confirmed that construction under the LEAD program is substantially complete, Enhanced ACAM work is actively underway, and initial field survey work for the BEAD-funded segments is now commencing.
Comcast Connects More South Carolinians
Broadband availability has expanded significantly in South Carolina, where Comcast announced that its Xfinity and Comcast Business services are now live for more than 1,000 new homes and businesses across Beaufort County and the Charleston County portion of Edisto Island.
The completed deployment was made possible through targeted federal funding awarded via the American Rescue Plan. Specifically, the Beaufort County portion of the expansion received vital support from the Capital Projects Fund, while the Edisto Island project successfully built upon a previously funded State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds initiative, helping to close critical connectivity gaps in coastal and island communities.
Empire Fiber Ready in Berwick, Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, Empire Fiber Internet, operating as Empire Access, officially launched its advanced fiber network in Berwick, a historic borough located in Columbia County. According to company announcements, the provider invested $1.4 million into the localized fiber buildout project, which now brings high-speed connectivity to 2,800 homes and businesses. Empire Access operates as a majority-owned subsidiary of Antin Infrastructure Partners, a prominent global private equity firm specializing in infrastructure investments.
TDS Turns It Up in Wisconsin
TDS Telecommunications has crossed a major threshold in Wisconsin, completing the first phase of an extensive network upgrade initiative designed to deliver symmetrical download speeds of 1 Gbit/s to customers. The upgrades cover communities in Neillsville within Clark County, Medford in Taylor County, Mosinee in Marathon County, and Junction City in Portage County.
To accomplish these performance gains, TDS installed nearly 350 miles of new fiber-optic cable, directly connecting nearly 5,500 locations across the four targeted municipal projects. The work was completed with financial support from the FCC’s Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (E-ACAM) program. Company representatives noted that this deployment represents the initial launch of multi-phase projects planned for each community, with all remaining E-ACAM eligible locations scheduled for completion by the end of 2028. Following that milestone, TDS intends to continue expanding local access through its own corporate capital investments. TDS is a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, which has recently received strategic financial backing from Oaktree Capital Management.
WOW Bumps It Up in Georgia
Rounding out this week’s widespread deployment updates, WideOpenWest (WOW) has completed the first phase of a major network upgrade in Newnan, Georgia. The project delivers substantial capacity, reliability, and speed gains to the Coweta County community, boosting download speeds from 1.2 Gbit/s to an impressive 2 Gbit/s while dramatically increasing upload speeds from 50 Mbit/s to 500 Mbit/s.
These enhancements form part of a broader regional investment exceeding $5 million, which aims to reach more than 40,000 homes and businesses by the summer of 2027. WOW was taken private in 2025 through a $5 billion transaction executed jointly by DigitalBridge Group and Crestview Partners, positioning the cable and broadband provider to aggressively pursue infrastructure modernizations and capacity enhancements across its footprint.
