CountryWide Broadband Group (CWBG) says it has acquired Rhode Island based triple-play service provider Full Channel Cable. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company also announced it has expanded its i3 Broadband fiber-optic networks in the greater Peoria and Champaign-Urbana, IL, markets by more than 25% since their acquisition. Seaport Capital of New York helped fund both the acquisition and the fiber cable footprint expansion.
Full Channel provides broadband video, internet access, and telephone services to residents and businesses in the East Bay area of Rhode Island, south of Providence. The company operates what CWBG describes as "a deep fiber network." Full Channel currently offers maximum internet speeds of 320 Mbps; CWBG says it will boost that to 1 Gbps and deliver new video and telephone products.
Meanwhile, CWBG unit i3 Broadband fiber-optic cable network expansions add connectivity to more than 20 new neighborhoods, according to the company. CWBG acquired the Peoria-area network in 2016 and the Champaign-Urbana network in 2017 (see, for example, "i3 Broadband expanding fiber-optic network in Champaign-Urbana, IL"). Further footprint expansion is scheduled for this year, the company adds.
"The CountryWide Broadband Group team brings years of operating knowledge and industry experience to i3 Broadband and Full Channel," said Bill Luby, partner at Seaport. "We've worked closely with them over the past two years as we pursued plans to acquire broadband properties in order to bring high-speed broadband services to consumers in smaller cities normally overlooked by larger telecom companies. We look forward to further acquisitions and growth."
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