Building Broadband: Brightspeed awarded $110.7 million in BEAD grants, enhancing broadband in four states; Empire Access extends fiber Internet footprint to Greece, NY

Brightspeed awarded $110.7 million in BEAD grants, enhancing broadband in four states
Brightspeed has secured a total of $111 million in federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program grants to enhance its fiber expansion efforts in four states. The new funding will help connect an additional 19,222 homes and businesses to its fiber internet network in Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Tennessee. This follows the company's recent announcement that it was awarded more than $222 million in BEAD grants to reach more than 73,000 locations in Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin with its fiber network. The BEAD grants build on more than $261 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds already awarded to Brightspeed in Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina and Tennessee. Combined with nearly $128 million in the company's private investment, the ARPA funds will give more than 114,000 Americans in those four states access to high-speed connectivity.

Empire Access extends fiber Internet footprint to Greece, NY
Empire Access is bringing its fiber internet service to Greece, New York. It is connecting 1,500 homes and 800 businesses throughout Greece to its Empire Access fiber internet service.

Lumos expands to Charleston County, South Carolina, bringing service to 50K locations
Lumos has expanded its network in Charleston County, South Carolina, bringing fiber internet to over 50,000 homes, small businesses, and multifamily communities in Mount Pleasant and the surrounding area. Now part of T-Mobile Fiber, Lumos' network will provide service to consumers and businesses via T-Mobile Fiber, in addition to large businesses and bulk MDU complexes, which will be under the Lumos brand. Engineering work is already underway in Mount Pleasant and Charleston County, and construction will begin soon.

Midco Taps Harmonic for DOCSIS and fiber broadband upgrade
Midco is leveraging Harmonic's cOS™ virtualized broadband platform to support DOCSIS and fiber services. This is powering the operator's $500 million Fiber Forward investment, an initiative that leverages the cable MSO's fiber network and next-gen technology to bring 10G speeds to the region. The provider is deploying Harmonic's cOS broadband platform in a distributed access architecture (DAA) with Pebble Remote PHY Devices and Ripple modular DAA nodes. The Ripple nodes provide Midco with a solution that opens a range of options for fiber service delivery. The Harmonic solution provides Midco with a common platform for DOCSIS and fiber services while minimizing hardware and power requirements, significantly reducing expenses. Featuring advanced telemetry, Harmonic's AI-powered cOS Central will automate workflows for Midco and offer real-time network visibility for proactive resolution of network issues.

Tillman Fiber invests $100M to create Miami-Dade County open access network
Tillman Fiber has committed over $100 million to build an open-access fiber network in Miami-Dade County, Florida. In addition to utilizing advanced technology, Tillman Fiber aims to create meaningful career opportunities in fiber installation, engineering, and network operations. Construction began in June 2025 and will be completed in phases.

WOW! reaches 100K fiber-enabled homesp milestone in Greenfield markets
WOW! has surpassed 100,000 fiber homes passed in its Greenfield markets, moving it closer to reaching its goal of passing 400,000 fiber homes in new communities in the coming years. The provider’s Greenfield market strategy, announced in 2022, focuses on bringing the company's all-fiber network to areas where its services were previously not available. It has activated customers across Livingston and Genesee counties in Michigan; Greenville County in South Carolina; and Hernando, Orange, and Seminole counties in Florida. Most recently, WOW! launched services in Flint, Michigan and Simpsonville, South Carolina. Earlier this year, WOW! reached another 100,000 milestone which included homes passed in both Greenfield and Edge-out markets. The company will continue to focus on Greenfield expansion efforts, with more communities being added in the coming months.