IQ Fiber furthers regional fiber M&A by completing its ThinkBig Networks acquisition

IQ Fiber has completed the acquisition of ThinkBig Networks, a Maryland-based fiber internet service provider, deepening its reach into the growing region.

Today, ThinkBig Networks serves customers in Charles, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Harford counties in Maryland, with additional network expansion underway.

For IQ Fiber, which got additional funding from SDC Capital Partners, the acquisition marks a significant milestone in the provider’s continued growth.

With the acquisition complete, Dee Anna Sobczak, CEO and co-founder of ThinkBig Networks, will become senior VP of the Chesapeake Region of IQ Fiber. ThinkBig will be rebranded as IQ Fiber in 2025, accelerating network expansion in Maryland and beyond.

IQ Fiber’s fiber network, currently deployed across North Florida and under construction in Savannah, Georgia, can deliver 10 Gbps symmetrical speeds.

Building on its success in North Florida, IQ Fiber continues to expand its footprint, now covering Jacksonville, Gainesville, Alachua County (Florida), Savannah (Georgia), and the Chesapeake Bay Region (Maryland). 

The service provider’s deal reflects a growing consolidation trend in the regional fiber broadband market, which AlixPartners said will continue to accelerate over the next year. 

According to the findings of the survey it issued last fall, more than 400 small fiber providers in the U.S. “are ripe for picking by investors or larger fiber companies when the inevitable major fiber consolidation wave occurs.”

Alix Partners estimates that there are about 1,900 small-scale fiber companies in the U.S., about 1,000 of which are either electric co-ops or already linked to more prominent energy players. AlixPartners estimates that roughly 400 of the remaining 900 small-scale fiber companies are meaningful candidates for mergers and acquisitions.

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