Building Broadband: Brightspeed’s Arkansas build is now 50% complete; Comcast lights three additional Cities in Missouri with broadband

Brightspeed’s Arkansas build is now 50% complete
Brightspeed’s fiber network build in Arkansas is 50 percent complete, enabling access for 101,000 homes and businesses, with more than 202,000 locations planned statewide once the network is complete. The Brightspeed Fiber Internet network is 100 percent complete. Residents and businesses can now enjoy superfast connectivity in the following communities: Bald Knob, Carlisle, Clarendon, Corning, Cotton Plant, Des Arc, Dumas, England, Gillett, Hazen, Jacksonville, Judsonia, Kensett, Leachville, Marvell, McRae, Melbourne, Paris, Pocahontas, Rector, Russellville and Waldo. Brightspeed's Arkansas expansion is supported by nearly $26.3 million in federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding to build an additional 13,799 locations, boosting the company's private investment in the state. Additionally, the state awarded Brightspeed more than $470,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants to reach another 528 locations with its fiber network.

Comcast lights three additional Cities in Missouri with broadband
Comcast is connecting more than 4,200 new homes and businesses in Adrian, Archie and Butler, Missouri to multi-gigabit, symmetrical Internet. These three Missouri cities now join nearly 65 million homes and businesses nationwide.

Fidium launches 8 Gbps and Wi-Fi 7 in Laconia, N.H.
Fidium is expanding its fiber internet network in Laconia, making the city one of the first communities in New Hampshire to gain access to Fidium’s new 5-Gig and up to 8-Gig fiber internet plans, paired with next-generation WiFi 7 technology. Fidium’s investment in Laconia is part of its broader commitment to strengthening New Hampshire’s digital infrastructure. More than 400,000 homes and businesses statewide are now eligible for service across Fidium’s 17,000‑mile fiber network.

GoNetspeed adds Derby and Shelton to its Connecticut fiber broadband network
GoNetspeed plans to bring its fiber network to two additional Connecticut communities: Derby and Shelton. The combined $4.2 million investment will provide more than 8,600 residents and businesses with fiber-based internet. With construction actively progressing in both Derby and Shelton, expansion is moving quickly. Customers in Shelton’s initial build areas are now eligible for installation, while Derby’s first customer connections are expected by summer 2026. GoNetspeed’s expansion to soon serve Derby and Shelton builds on the company’s growing momentum in building out Connecticut’s fiber network, including its most recent $6 million expansion in Hamden. Derby, Shelton, Ansonia, Bridgeport, Danbury, East Haven, New Haven, Hartford, and more than 40 additional communities already served by GoNetspeed, along with many more currently under construction and on track to receive GoNetspeed’s fiber internet.

Greenlight Networks invests $62M to bring fiber internet to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley
Greenlight Networks plans to expand its fiber internet network across Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region. The $62 million expansion is set to bring access to tens of thousands of households and businesses across the region by the end of 2027. More than half of the investment, nearly $33 million, is earmarked for infrastructure within the City of Bethlehem, one of the first communities selected for the initial fiber network build. Construction is already well underway in the first neighborhoods of Central Bethlehem, marking the start of a phased build across the city. More than 22,000 homes and businesses are expected to gain access to Greenlight’s t fiber network with initial service availability starting this spring. Additional neighborhoods will come online throughout the summer and into the fall, bringing fast, reliable fiber internet one step closer to homes and businesses across Bethlehem. 

Race Communications’ Bakersfield fiber network is underway
Race Communications has begun the initial construction of its Bakersfield fiber network, further expanding the company's all-fiber footprint across Kern County and the San Joaquin Valley. This expansion will bring fiber-based internet to more than 50,000 homes and businesses in Bakersfield. With construction now underway, Race anticipates the first Bakersfield customers to be connected by the end of summer 2026. Once connected, households and businesses throughout the city will tap into future-proof fiber internet speeds of up to 10 Gbps, joining more than half of Kern County that is already connected to the Race network.

Spectrum expands fiber broadband to Hendricks County, Indiana
Spectrum is expanding its fiber broadband network to bring broadband and voice services to more than 820 additional homes and businesses in previously unserved or underserved areas of Hendricks County, Indiana. Its 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.