The Buildout is a column from Light Reading tracking broadband network deployments. This week we’re tracking new construction and service launches reaching over 26,500 locations across the US. Send us your news at [email protected]. Keep up with every installment of The Buildout here and sign up for the Light Reading Broadband newsletter here to get The Buildout in your inbox every Friday.
Comcast wraps work in Glades County, Florida
More than 2,800 homes and businesses throughout Glades County, Florida, can now access Comcast’s Xfinity and business broadband services. The network buildout project was completed in partnership with the state of Florida and includes over 2,100 previously unserved locations, according to a press release. Comcast was awarded $50 million in broadband grant funding through Florida’s Broadband Opportunity Program in 2023 to connect 40,000 locations across 23 counties, including the now-connected Glades County communities of Lakeport, Moore Haven, Ortona and Sarasota Colony.
Meanwhile, Comcast shares slid on Wednesday following remarks from the company’s CFO, Jason Armstrong, delivered at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, in which he projected further broadband losses for the company and cited “irrational” pricing from fiber competitors.
LiveOak enters Bluffton, South Carolina
LiveOak Fiber has started construction on a fiber network buildout in Bluffton, South Carolina, a town in Beaufort County. Initial customers are expected to receive service in early 2027, according to an emailed press release, with the full network slated to reach more than 10,000 homes and businesses once complete.
LiveOak Fiber was founded in 2022 with funding from InfraRed Capital. In April of this year, the company announced it secured a $425 million credit facility from Oak Hill Advisors and Palistar Capital to support continued network expansion across the Southeast US.
GoNetspeed heads to Amsterdam, New York
GoNetspeed will expand its network to Amsterdam, New York, a city in Montgomery County. The company announced plans to invest $10 million to connect 8,700 homes and businesses in the region. Construction is slated to begin this winter, with initial locations connected by the spring of 2027, according to a press release.
GoNetspeed, currently backed by Oak Hill Capital, is set to be acquired and combined with Greenlight Networks through a $2 billion joint venture between T-Mobile and Oak Hill Capital announced earlier this year. The deal is expected to close in 2027.
TDS brings fiber to Socorro, New Mexico
TDS Telecom has completed its fiber network build in the city of Socorro, New Mexico, located in Socorro County. Network construction in the region commenced in 2022, with TDS connecting its 500th Socorro customer in December 2023. The full build now reaches roughly 5,000 addresses in the Socorro community, making TDS the “only provider” delivering full fiber in the area, according to a press release. TDS, a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, has funding from Oaktree Capital Management.
