Michigan BEAD awards lead a US broadband construction push

By Rebecca Stone

Michigan will invest $916 million in BEAD funds, matched by $531 million from subgrantees, to connect 200,000 homes, businesses and community anchor institutions. The state announced that 23 subgrantees had signed their BEAD award agreements.

The construction round-up tracks new projects, awards and service launches reaching more than 253,000 US locations. Michigan remains at the award stage: the agreements enable permitting and construction preparation but do not establish completed network operation, and the announcement gives no construction completion date.

Which providers signed Michigan’s BEAD agreements?

Michigan’s published list names:

• 123NET; Baraga Telephone Company; Barry County Services
• Brightspeed Cherry Capital Connection; CMS Internet; DMCI Broadband; Duke Broadband
• Frontier North; Great Lakes Energy; ITC Broadband Operating; LakeNet
• Michigan Bell Telephone Company; Midwest Energy & Communications; Pigeon Telephone Company
• Point Broadband Fiber Holding; Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op; Southwest Michigan Communications
• Spectrum; Strategic Management; Thumb Electric Cooperative
• Upper Peninsula Telephone Company; Waldron Communication Company

The announcement gives 23 as the signed subgrantee count, while the accompanying “confirmed awardees” list names 22 providers. It does not explain the difference or identify the remaining recipient.

Michigan said the agreements enable subgrantees to “complete pre-construction requirements like permitting and begin preparing for construction for their BEAD projects.” The wording confirms that work can start, not that a network is operating.

The state funding and subgrantee match total $1.447 billion. If allocated evenly across 200,000 targets, that equates to about $7,235 per home, business or institution, although Michigan did not publish project-level allocations or location counts for each provider.

Where is broadband service already live?

Comcast has completed network construction in Willis, Texas, where Xfinity service is now available to more than 16,000 homes and businesses throughout the Montgomery County region. That is a live-service milestone, unlike Michigan’s pre-construction awards.

The Willis project forms part of Comcast’s wider southeast Texas expansion: 1,600 completed locations in Morgan Cemetery, 3,500 nearly completed locations in Navasota, and 6,000 homes and businesses in Wharton and Hungerford under construction through early 2027. The announcement reports locations rather than subscriber counts, throughput or access technology for the wider program.

Spectrum’s fiber broadband is now available to more than 13,600 locations across Butler and Warren counties in Ohio, including 6,300 homes and businesses in Butler County and 7,300 in Warren County.

In Indiana, Spectrum expanded service to 1,500 homes and businesses in Fayette County and 2,900 in Warrick County. These additions form part of Spectrum’s multi-year rural construction initiative, supported by private investment and government grants. The company disclosed no take-up rates or completion date for the wider program.

Which projects remain ahead of customer connections?

Wire 3 has started construction in Easley, South Carolina, with $19 million earmarked to reach more than 18,000 homes and businesses in the Pickens/Anderson County community. The operator expects to connect its first Easley customers “as early as this winter.” That timing remains a company forecast, not evidence of a completed connection.

South Carolina became Wire 3’s third state in May, when it announced a $147 million investment across four counties. Funding comes through combined investments from Guggenheim Investments and Oak Hill Capital, which joined Wire 3 as majority investor in 2024.

Ziply Fiber has expanded service in Idaho and Washington. In Harrison, Kootenai County, service is available to nearly 200 homes and businesses. In Cascade, Valley County, availability covers the first 250 addresses of nearly 850 locations under construction, and work on the remainder will continue over the next several weeks.

In Benton City, Benton County, Ziply service reaches the first 200 addresses of more than 500 locations under construction. The company expects the remaining 300 homes and businesses to be completed over the next several weeks, leaving those premises dependent on a short, company-set construction schedule. Bell Canada (BCE) acquired Ziply in August 2025.

What has Oklahoma gained?

Dobson Fiber has completed three broadband expansion projects supported by $623,869 awarded through the American Rescue Plan Act Capital Projects Fund (ARPA CPF). Together, the projects now connect 407 homes and businesses in and around three town groups:

• Canute and Foss in Washita County
• Headrick in Jackson County
• Keota in Haskell County

Dobson Fiber is majority-owned by private equity firm iCON Infrastructure.

When do plans become service?

Comcast’s 6,000-location Wharton and Hungerford build has the longest dated horizon, running through early 2027. Wire 3’s winter target and Ziply’s several-week windows arrive sooner. Michigan has signed paperwork and allocated funds but no service deadline, leaving its 200,000-location goal dependent on permits and construction actually beginning.