Building Broadband: Empire Fiber, Lightcurve, Ripple, Spectrum and others expand broadband

Empire Fiber Internet deepens Rochester, NY, footprint
Empire Fiber Internet, a fiber internet service provider serving communities across New York and Pennsylvania, continues its ongoing expansion in the Greater Rochester area with the completion of its buildout in Irondequoit, New York. Residents in Irondequoit can now order service. This expansion delivers symmetrical fiber internet speeds to over 3,500 homes. The company’s broader expansion across New York and Pennsylvania has already connected thousands of homes and businesses, including last year’s expansion in Greece, which connected over 1,500 homes and 800 businesses.

New Mexico’s First Connect pilot broadband program lights up service in rural Chaves County
New Mexico’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) recently completed a broadband infrastructure project in a remote subdivision in Chaves County, providing high-speed internet to 52 rural homes in the Cherry Decker subdivision near the community of Hagerman. With the project completed, these residents can now sign up for high-speed internet service. The Chaves County project is OBAE’s first grant project to reach 100 percent completion and the first Connect New Mexico Pilot Program project funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund to reach the final stage. In 2023, OBAE awarded an ARPA grant of $487,000 to the Artesia, NM-based Penasco Valley Telephone Cooperative Inc. (PVT). Construction includes nearly 11 miles of pole-attached aerial fiber to the rural residences. With matching PVT funds, the broadband project’s total budget was $649,000.

Lightcurve Internet begins fiber network construction in Selah, Washington
Lightcurve, a broadband provider serving communities across Washington state, began construction of a new fiber network in Selah, expanding access to high-speed internet for residents and businesses. The new network will serve approximately 2,900 locations across Selah, offering symmetrical internet speeds of up to 2 Gbps. Construction is now underway, with service availability expected to roll out in phases as the project progresses. The Selah project builds on Lightcurve’s continued expansion across Central Washington. In addition to lighting up fiber networks in nearby Ellensburg, Lightcurve also recently announced the start of new fiber network builds in other Kittitas County communities -- including Thorp and Edgemont.

Ripple Fiber kicks off Washington network construction with Ocean Shores project
Ripple Fiber has begun construction in Washington with a 126-mile fiber built in Ocean Shores, the first city in the state to break ground. This deployment marks the initial phase of the provider’s broader $250 million investment to deliver fiber internet to more than 200,000 homes and businesses across Grays Harbor County and King County. Ripple Fiber anticipates launching services to its first Washington customers within the first quarter of 2026. Following shortly after Ocean Shores, residents in Federal Way can expect construction crews to begin work in the coming weeks. With construction underway, Ripple Fiber plans to open an office and hire locally to enhance customer experience and demonstrate its commitment to building a strong local presence in each market. 

Spectrum expands Bourbon County, Kentucky fiber broadband network
Spectrum has begun expanding its fiber broadband network to bring Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV, and Voice services to more than 1,800 additional homes and businesses in previously unserved or underserved areas of Bourbon County, Kentucky. The cable MSO’s multi-year rural construction initiative is driven by more than $7 billion in private investment from Spectrum. It will ultimately add 100,000 miles of fiber network infrastructure and deliver symmetrical, multi-gigabit speeds to more than 1.7 million new locations across the country. Spectrum Internet provides speeds up to 1 Gbps and Advanced Wi-Fi for residential and business customers, with starting speeds of 500 Mbps and no modem fees, data caps, or contracts. 

Wyyerd Fiber brings fiber broadband service to Lakeside, CA
Wyyerd Fiber’s fiber internet service is now available in Lakeside, California. Residents and businesses now have a new option for Internet from a local Southern California provider. Wyyerd’s network is built on advanced fiber-optic technology and can deliver up to 8 Gbps. Customers can get unlimited data with no contracts, data caps, or long-term commitments.