Building Broadband: Brightspeed continues fiber internet rollout in Coastal and Eastern North Carolina; Ezee Fiber establishes Chicagoland area foothold with $400M fiber investment

Brightspeed continues fiber internet rollout in Coastal and Eastern North Carolina
Brightspeed is connecting thousands of homes and businesses to its fiber network in the rural communities of Eastern and Coastal North Carolina. Now, roughly 21,000 families and business owners across Morehead City, Beaufort, Newport and Washington, N.C., have access to fiber-based internet service. According to Broadband Now, six out of ten homes and businesses in North Carolina don’t have access to a fiber internet plan, making it hard to thrive in today’s economy. Once the company’s full buildout in the area is complete, nearly 38,000 families and small businesses – almost 85% of the combined population – will have access to Brightspeed’s multi-gig-speed fiber internet service.

Ezee Fiber establishes Chicagoland area foothold with $400M fiber investment
Ezee Fiber is expanding its fiber broadband network into the greater Chicagoland area. The buildout will deliver Ezee Fiber's multi-gig fiber internet to residential and business customers across the Chicago metropolitan area, beginning with communities in DuPage, Cook, Lake, Kane and Will counties. Residential and business customer installations are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2025. Ezee Fiber will create over 400 employment opportunities throughout the region, including construction personnel, installation technicians, sales, marketing, and community engagement associates. The company intends to establish a regional headquarters in Elk Grove Village, IL, and has already begun posting available positions.

Fidium’s expansion will upgrade internet access, offering benefits that come with fiber broadband access, including improved educational outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, and enhanced economic opportunities. Today, more than 143,000 Vermont homes and businesses have access to Fidium, including Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Marlboro and Wardsboro, with more connectivity coming soon for more locations across the state.

Glo Fiber expands fiber to Blacksburg, Virginia, via the WideOpen Blacksburg network acquisition
Shentel plans to expand Glo Fiber service in Blacksburg, Virginia, with an agreement to acquire Blacksburg Broadband, which operates under the name WideOpen Blacksburg. Glo Fiber, powered by Shentel, provides fiber broadband services to residential and commercial customers with symmetrical 5 Gbps speeds.

GoNetspeed completes Danbury, CT fiber broadband network build
GoNetspeed has completed its $7.6 million fiber network in Danbury, unlocking access to fiber internet for more than 14,300 residents and businesses. The service provider continues to ensure that more communities throughout Connecticut gain access to fiber internet infrastructure. Danbury joins Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, and more than 40 additional communities in gaining access to GoNetspeed’s service, along with many other communities that are well on their way to having access to GoNetspeed’s fiber internet.

IdeaTek targets Emporia, Kansas, with fiber internet
IdeaTek is making a $14 million investment to deliver a fiber network to Emporia, Kansas. The Buhler-based internet provider will provide symmetrical 2.5 Gbps to 10,000 homes and businesses. Construction in Emporia is set to begin immediately, with the first neighborhoods connecting this fall. IdeaTek has already been working to establish a strong presence in Emporia as part of its broader vision to bring fiber internet to underserved Kansas communities. Earlier this summer, IdeaTek celebrated a groundbreaking — in partnership with the State of Kansas — for a new middle-mile fiber project that will enhance connectivity statewide and tie into key anchor institutions, including Emporia State University. IdeaTek began building the Freestate Middle Mile Network this summer.

RightFiber extends fiber network to Alma, Arkansas
RightFiber is expanding its fiber internet service to homes in Alma through a $1.5 million network investment. This expansion reinforces RightFiber’s continued commitment to the Arkansas River Valley Region, building on the company’s initial $12 million investment in 2022 to deliver fiber internet and a full suite of telecommunications services to local businesses. The project is on track for completion later this summer, expanding access to next-generation fiber internet for even more customers across Alma.

Surf Internet’s Fowlerville, Michigan fiber build gets underway
Surf Internet will soon begin construction on a new fiber internet project in the Village of Fowlerville, Michigan. Fully funded by Surf, the $1.2 million investment will bring high-speed fiber service to approximately 960 locations throughout the village. The Fowlerville project is Surf’s latest step in expanding internet access across Livingston County. It complements a broader $26 million infrastructure effort funded in part by Michigan’s Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) Grant. Focused primarily on rural areas in the northwest portion of the county, the ROBIN project will deliver high-speed internet to approximately 4,500 unserved homes.