Building Broadband: Wecom Fiber, Arizona Commerce Authority and local partners celebrate Town of Parker broadband build

Dobson Fiber, Comcast, Fidium, Optimum, Pavlov Media, Spectrum, TDS Telecom, and Wecom are leveraging a mix of private and public funding to expand broadband in various markets.

In this week’s Building Broadband series, we’re highlighting Wecom Fiber’s completion of the Arizona Broadband Development Grant project. Wecom is joined by Dobson Fiber, Comcast, Fidium, Optimum, Pavlov Media, Spectrum, and TDS Telecom, which are building out broadband in various markets across the nation.

Wecom Fiber, Arizona Commerce Authority and local partners celebrate Town of Parker broadband build
Arizona's broadband expansion efforts reached a new milestone in connecting residents, businesses and community institutions with high-speed internet. Wecom Fiber, alongside the Arizona Commerce Authority, Town of Parker and the Parker Regional Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, recently celebrated the ceremonial ribbon-cutting marking completion of the Arizona Broadband Development Grant project — a multi-year build spanning Mohave and La Paz counties, with the Town of Parker as its final segment. The project serves 124 Community Anchor Institutions—such as libraries, schools, public safety, and more—connecting 15,000 homes and businesses. In November 2023, Governor Hobbs and local leaders broke ground on the $10 million Arizona Broadband Development Grant project spanning Mohave and La Paz counties. Wecom Fiber invested $3 million, bringing the total project investment to $10 million. 

Dobson Fiber celebrates 90 years with Oklahoma broadband expansion 
Dobson Fiber is using its 90th anniversary not only to celebrate where it has been, but to look ahead at where it is going next. The company continues to expand its high-speed broadband network in both rural and urban communities, delivering internet speeds of up to 10 Gbps for residential customers and up to 400 Gbps for business customers. After making multi-million-dollar investments in Oklahoma communities, including Ada, Ardmore, Henryetta, and others, the company is expanding further in Oklahoma City and Edmond, bringing fiber to more neighborhoods and business corridors.

Comcast’s broadband internet is now available to nearly 2K locations in Hardee County, Florida
Comcast is bringing broadband services to nearly 2,000 homes and businesses in Hardee County, including more than 1,300 locations that previously lacked broadband access. A public-private partnership with the State of Florida made the project possible. It will bring fiber Internet to locations in and around Buchanan, Crewsville, Gardner, Lemon Grove, Moffitt, Oak Grove, Sweetwater, Wauchula and Zolfo Springs. Comcast’s expansion in Hardee County is part of the company’s latest Florida investments, which also include network builds in Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Glades, Highlands, Lake, Leon, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties.

Fidium serves up fiber internet for Milton, N.H.
Fidium has expanded its all-fiber internet service to Milton, N.H., with multi-gig speed access now available to more than 2,100 homes and businesses. Residents can access symmetrical speeds ranging from 300 Mbps to 2 Gbps over its fiber-optic network. In New Hampshire, Fidium’s all-fiber network spans 19,000 miles and serves more than 450,000 homes and businesses.

Optimum lights up broadband in Abbeville, LA
Optimum launched its new fiber network in Abbeville, giving residents and businesses internet speeds of up to 8 Gbps and making a $10,000 investment in four local schools: James A. Herod Elementary, Eaton Park Elementary, J.H. Williams Middle School, and Abbeville High School. The new network marks Optimum’s first fiber build in Abbeville and brings the company’s advanced fiber technology to a growing community. As part of its commitment to Abbeville, Optimum will donate $10,000 to James A. Herod Elementary, Eaton Park Elementary, J.H. Williams Middle School, and Abbeville High School to support STEM resources. The investment is part of Optimum’s broader commitment to being a community partner and supporting the schools, students and organizations that help local communities thrive. 

Pavlov Media expands Savoy, Illinois residential fiber network
More Savoy residents will soon have access to Pavlov Media’s fiber Internet as the company continues expanding its network throughout Central Illinois. The latest expansion will bring Gigabit-speed fiber Internet to homes in the Lake Falls subdivision. Construction of the new fiber infrastructure will be led by Campus Communications Group (CCG), Pavlov Media’s fiber construction subsidiary. CCG will manage the planning, design and construction needed to extend Pavlov Media’s fiber network into the Lake Falls community. When service launches in Lake Falls, residents will have access to Internet speeds up to 1 Gbps with no data caps, no installation fees and 24/7 technical support.

Spectrum deepens its internet reach in rural Sullivan County, Indiana
Spectrum has expanded its fiber broadband network to bring Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 760 additional homes and businesses in previously unserved or underserved areas of Sullivan County, Indiana. Spectrum is driving the multi-year rural construction initiative with more than $7 billion in private investment. It will ultimately add 100,000 miles of fiber network infrastructure and deliver symmetrical and multi-gigabit speeds to more than 1.7 million new locations across the country.

TDS completes fiber network in Dodgeville, Wisconsin
TDS Telecommunications has completed construction on its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network in Dodgeville. The expansion project brings residents and businesses high-speed internet access, along with TDS TV®+ and phone options. The project, which began in 2023, extends TDS’ fiber network to more than 2,500 addresses in the community. Residential customers in the building area can choose internet speeds up to 8 Gbps, while businesses can access dedicated connections up to 10 Gbps. The Madison-headquartered company is accelerating its fiber-optic expansion across Wisconsin, constructing fiber networks in Beaver Dam and surrounding communities, Eau Claire, Fitchburg, Greenville, Janesville, Marshfield, and Mineral Point. TDS also recently announced new projects, including Abbotsford, Brillion, Colby, Hortonville, and New London.

Lightwave tracks service providers' ongoing efforts to extend broadband to more homes and businesses through our Building Broadband series. If you want to share a new broadband build, contact Lightwave’s Editor-in-Chief Sean Buckley at [email protected].

About the Author

Sean Buckley

Sean Buckley

Sean is the Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave. He establishes and executes Lightwave's editorial strategy across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products. Before coming to Lightwave in July 2023, he served as editor of Broadband Communities. Earlier, he served as senior editor of FierceTelecom and the editor of the former Telecommunications Magazine. He got his start in the optical industry in 1998 when he became the editor of enterprise and optical networks at Information Gatekeepers. He has a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and lives in Dracut, Mass, with his wife, two sons, and his cat, Dove. 

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