By Amara Osei, Senior Correspondent

REV Fiber kicks off Louisiana's BEAD work in East Baton Rouge Parish

REV Fiber broke ground this week in Central, Louisiana, on a BEAD-funded build that will pass 2,840 homes in East Baton Rouge Parish. That figure runs at roughly 19% of the state's 15,000-location target by the end of Q1 2027. REV sits inside the Louisiana Local Fiber Consortium (LLFC), which also includes T-Mobile and Swyft Fiber and pulled in about $378 million in BEAD funding overall.

What did IEC close out in Oklahoma?

The Indian Electric Cooperative, a member-owned utility, finished four last-mile builds reaching 1,187 locations across Drumright, Cleveland, Lotsee and Burbank. It also wrapped four middle-mile links touching Pawnee, Cleveland and Pawhuska. Oklahoma's Broadband Office confirms IEC received roughly $17.7 million from the state's ARPA SLFRF broadband pot for both batches.

How big is GoNetspeed's Haverhill spend?

GoNetspeed plans to break ground in 2027 on fiber covering 17,500 homes and businesses in the Essex County city. The $23 million price tag lands at roughly 9% of the operator's stated $250 million Massachusetts total across nearly 30 communities. GoNetspeed, currently backed by Oak Hill Capital, is heading into a $2 billion joint venture with T-Mobile and Greenlight Networks expected to close in 2027.

What's in Spectrum's Silverwood agreement?

Spectrum inked a long-term deal with developer DMB Development to wire the master-planned Silverwood community in Hesperia, San Bernardino County. Phase one covers 3,200 homes, with more than 200 already live — about 6% of that first tranche in service before buildout wraps. Future phases tack on five elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, 385 acres of parks and 160 miles of trails. Separately, Spectrum lit another 550 premises in Spencer County, Indiana, under its ongoing rural construction push.

How fast is Shentel's Buchanan upgrade?

Shenandoah Telecommunications — Shentel, for those keeping it short — finished fiber upgrades in Botetourt County, covering roughly 1,000 locations. Residential lines now sync at up to 8 Gbit/s symmetrical, business lines at up to 100 Gbit/s symmetrical. A press release notes customers "may continue their current plans or upgrade to higher multi-gig speeds by calling 1-800-SHENTEL."

What's Vero Fiber's El Centro plan?

Vero Fiber started construction in Imperial County with what a press release describes as "set zones with roughly 300 homes in each area." The first zone wraps De Anza Magnet School; Sunflower Elementary and the El Centro Community Center come next. Vero's parent, VFN Holdings, closed a $500 million growth-equity round earlier this year led by Hamilton Lane, Braemont Capital and Delta-v Capital.

What's the deal with WTC's Manhattan Wi-Fi?

WTC Fiber finished an $830,000 public Wi-Fi build in Riley County with 124 access points — roughly $6,700 per hot spot. Funding came from the state's ADOPT program, awarded in 2024. WTC says it "will provide internet service to participating locations at no cost for five years and will maintain the fiber, cabling and network equipment necessary to keep the service operating reliably."

What to watch next

The LLFC's $378 million BEAD obligation lands in the same window as GoNetspeed's $2 billion JV close and its Haverhill construction start, with both timelines parked on T-Mobile's fiber roadmap. Watch whether they crowd each other or run on parallel tracks.