The Buildout: Choice Broadband, Tarana boost speeds for Navajo Nation

Choice Broadband, the wireless broadband arm of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, has completed the deployment of a fixed wireless network in Tohatchi, New Mexico. Choice Broadband partnered with Tarana to deploy the supplier's next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA) technology to reach "nearly 400 previously unreachable locations," marking "the first of many upgraded networks that will equip residents and businesses of Navajo Nation," the companies said in a press release. With the new network launch, those locations will go from receiving download speeds of roughly 9 Mbit/s to receiving speeds up to 100 Mbit/s, they added.

Nebraska awarded nearly $21 million to four providers through a reverse auction to bring broadband to more than 1,100 unserved rural households. In a press release, the state said the awards went toward "rural areas where telecommunication carriers Frontier and Windstream have traditionally provided only voice service," with $5.7 million going toward Windstream areas and $15.2 million for Frontier areas. Awards were made by "redistributing Nebraska Universal Service Fund (NUSF) support that was either unused or withheld from the two companies." Winning bidders included Great Plains Communications, the Hamilton Consortium, Midstates Communications and Pinpoint Communications.

Intrepid Fiber Networks, a service provider formed by global investment firm Brookfield Asset Management, has started construction to bring its open access fiber network to Littleton, Colorado. Once complete, the Littleton network is expected to serve over 15,000 homes and businesses. With the Littleton build, Intrepid will bump its total reach in Colorado to "well over 100,000 households and businesses," the company said. The Littleton, Colorado, news follows news last week that Intrepid is also expanding to Minnetonka, Minnesota. T-Mobile is working in partnership with Intrepid in multiple regions to deliver its fiber service over Intrepid's open access network.

Relatedly, Tillman FiberCo – which is part of Tillman Global Holdings and backed by $500 million from Northleaf Capital Partners – announced it will expand its fiber network to reach the Tampa Bay, Panhandle, South and South West regional areas of Florida. The company will partner with T-Mobile on the open access network.

GoNetspeed has completed its $8.5 million network build in Portland, Maine, after commencing construction last fall. According to a press release, more than 13,000 homes and businesses throughout Portland now have access to GoNetspeed's network, which offers symmetrical speeds between 500 Mbit/s to 2 Gbit/s. In addition to Portland, GoNetspeed also completed its network build in Thomaston, Maine, after starting construction last fall. At the time, GoNetspeed said it would launch for the "majority" of the town's homes and businesses (current census data puts Thomaston's households at 984). GoNetspeed is funded by private equity firm Oak Hill Capital.

Metronet is preparing to embark on a two-year construction project to bring its fiber network to Killeen, Texas. According to a press release, the company expects to connect its first Killeen customers this coming fall. Metronet described the Killeen project as a "multimillion-dollar investment" and said it also started construction this month on a network deployment in the neighboring town of Copperas Cove. Metronet is funded by Oak Hill Capital and KKR.

Comcast announced the completion of a $4.5 million network build in parts of Houston County, Alabama. In a press release, the company said "thousands" of homes and businesses throughout the regions of Ashford, Cottonwood, Cowarts, Kinsey and Webb can now access its services.

Fixed wireless provider unWired Broadband has started construction to bring its NextGen Fiber network to Coalinga, California. The $11 million project will reach over 4,874 addresses across the city with speeds up to 1 Gbit/s, according to the company. Initial services are expected to launch in April and construction is slated to wrap up in late October. Founded in 2003, unWired Broadband was acquired by private equity firm O2 Investment Partners in 2021.

Officials from Kinetic by Windstream joined government officials at the Beaver County Courthouse in Pennsylvania last Friday to announce that its network is available for an additional 250 customer locations, totaling 1,220 in the county. The network expansion was funded in part through the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and public-private partnerships, said Kinetic.

AT&T was selected by Lawrence County, Indiana, to expand its fiber network to 530 rural locations. According to local reporting, AT&T will invest $1.6 million and the county will contribute $950,000 for the project, which is expected to take two years to complete. This latest public-private partnership is the third between AT&T and Lawrence County announced in the last year, and it is in addition to 700 locations in the county for which AT&T received state grant funding. Through those grants and partnerships, AT&T is expected to reach roughly 4,730 locations in Lawrence County.