Building Broadband: Alaska Communications secures $124M in BEAD funding to deploy fiber, broadband wireless services; Brightspeed Fiber build hits 75% milestone in South Carolina

Alaska Communications secures $124M in BEAD funding to deploy fiber, broadband wireless services
Alaska Communications is expanding its high-speed broadband network thanks to funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. With a grant award of over $124 million, Alaska Communications will deploy fiber and next-generation fixed wireless broadband infrastructure to serve over 9,000 unserved and underserved locations across Alaska. Alaska Communications will also invest its own capital alongside the BEAD grant to extend broadband access to another 12,000 locations. Alaska Communications’ network expansion will deliver up to gigabit speeds to communities including Anchorage, Akhiok, Anchor Point, Bird Creek, Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Homer, Hope, Indian, Kasilof, Kenai, Kodiak, Manley Hot Springs, Minto, Old Harbor, Salcha, Soldotna, Sterling and Womens Bay.

Alaska Power & Telephone Company’s fiber builds supported by $4.6M in BEAD grants
The Alaska Broadband Office has selected Alaska Power & Telephone Company to receive four grants totaling $4.6 million to help fund fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) buildout projects in its rural service territories. AP&T will be providing $1.2 million in matching funds. Initial construction is scheduled to commence later in 2026, pending environmental approvals. The grant funding is provided through the Alaska Broadband Grant Program, which distributes federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. AP&T’s projects will provide fiber connectivity to hundreds of rural families in the communities of Tok, Naukati, and the Goose Creek neighborhood of Thorne Bay. 

Brightspeed Fiber build hits 75% milestone in South Carolina
Brightspeed’s fiber network build is nearly 75 percent complete in South Carolina. Now, more than 47,000 homes and businesses in the Palmetto State have access to the country's fastest internet service. Construction crews remain active in Beaufort, Greenwood, Hampton, Jasper, Laurens, Orangeburg and Saluda counties. Construction of the company's fiber network in the community of Ninety-Six is well underway. Approximately 20 percent of the fiber network built in that community is complete.

Comcast is lighting up broadband for Florida’s Miami-Dade coastal communities
Comcast is connecting over 3,700 new homes and businesses in Miami-Dade County’s coastal communities to multi-gigabit, symmetrical Internet. The network expansion projects span the City of Miami Beach, North Bay Village, and the towns of Bay Harbor Islands and Surfside. Construction is underway in Miami Beach’s La Gorce and Nautilus neighborhoods to connect more than 1,400 homes to the fiber network. Work also continues in Miami Beach’s Normandy Isles and the Venetian Islands, where more than 750 homes will have access by summer. In Bay Harbor Islands, Comcast is on track to offer Xfinity and Comcast Business services to more than 250 locations by summer. Comcast’s network expansion to these Miami-Dade County coastal communities is part of the company’s latest investment in Florida, which also includes expansions across the state, including Inverness, Lehigh Acres, Havana, and Okeechobee.

Fidium expands fiber internet to Meredith, N.H.
Fidium has expanded its all‑fiber internet service in Meredith, bringing new fiber‑to‑the‑home (FTTH) access to more than 4,600 residents and businesses. With this expansion, residents and businesses in Meredith can now benefit from fast, reliable, symmetrical multi‑gig speeds delivered over Fidium’s fiber network.

GoNetspeed rolls out $4.5M Plan to Connect Oneonta, NY, with fiber Internet
GoNetspeed plans to launch its fiber network in Oneonta, NY, marking the company’s first fiber deployment in Otsego County. Through a privately funded $4.5 million investment, the Northeast’s largest independent fiber builder will deliver multigigabit internet speeds and a new level of reliability to yet another New York Community. GoNetspeed continues to expand its fiber internet service across New York and the Northeast. With this buildout, Oneonta residents will join those in Buffalo, Geneva, Lockport, Utica, and nearly 30 other New York communities that already have access to GoNetspeed’s service— along with many additional areas currently under construction.

Twin Valley invests $12.3M to improve rural Kansas broadband
Twin Valley is investing $12.3 million in 2026 to expand and modernize broadband infrastructure across rural Kansas. The initiative includes $4.7 million in private investment by Twin Valley, along with more than $7.6 million in grant funding awarded in partnership with the Kansas Office of Broadband Development (KOBD). Grants will be funded by the Kansas Broadband Acceleration Grant (BAG) and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) programs. The projects will elevate connectivity from legacy copper, cable modem, and fixed wireless technologies to fiber infrastructure and Air Fiber, a next-generation fiber-fed fixed wireless solution. About 1,000 homes and businesses will be upgraded to fiber, featuring up to 8 Gbps symmetrical service, and another 6,000 homes and businesses will be covered by Air Fiber, delivering speeds up to 500 Mbps.

unWired Broadband brings broadband to Lost Hills, CA via a public-private partnership
unWired Broadband has launched its broadband service in Lost Hills, CA. This project was developed and executed in partnership with The Wonderful Company and Kern County Board of Supervisors. The service is designed to provide residents in the Lost Hills area with affordable, high-speed Internet access, while also expanding connectivity to the broader community. To deliver this service, unWired has equipped a tower in the community with fixed wireless technology from Tarana Wireless, offering speeds up to 1 Gbps.