WideOpenWest increased fiber passings by more than 50% in its expansion markets over the past year, figures that earned the Englewood, Colorado-based operator Cablefax's 2026 "Top Ops Market Mover" award, announced October 1, 2026.

The recognition from the cable and broadband trade publication lands amid a broader transformation at WOW!, which operates a fiber-rich network passing nearly two million residential, business and wholesale customers across 20 markets, including Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

What did the network expansion deliver?

The company's fiber build pushed well beyond its newer territories. In legacy markets — the footprint WOW! has served for years — fiber passings grew by more than 20% over the same twelve-month period.

The physical reach extended too. WOW! connected nearly 50,000 additional homes and businesses in Central Florida, South Carolina and Michigan, the company said, sharpenening its competitive position in markets where it competes against larger national carriers and regional fiber overbuilders.

Cablefax's annual Top Ops awards honor people and companies across the cable and broadband industry. The "Market Mover" category specifically recognizes an operator whose strategic moves — greenfield expansion, network modernization, or new market entry — meaningfully shifted its competitive standing over the past year.

What is happening in the legacy cable plant?

The award coincides with the largest capacity upgrade for WOW! internet customers in more than a decade. In September 2026, the operator announced a major overhaul of its network in Newnan, Georgia, delivering a tenfold increase in upload speeds for customers there.

The Newnan upgrade matters beyond one market. WOW! plans additional work there over the next year to further boost capacity and to prepare for the launch of DOCSIS 4.0, the CableLabs specification that enables multi-gigabit symmetrical speeds over hybrid fiber-coaxial plant. For a mid-sized operator with substantial legacy HFC infrastructure, the path to DOCSIS 4.0 determines how long that existing network can hold its own against fiber-to-the-home rivals without full reconstruction.

CEO Frank van der Post framed the strategy as a twin track: build new fiber where it makes economic sense, and upgrade the installed base everywhere else. "We're pleased to be recognized for the hard work our team does day in and day out to modernize our networks and to deliver a great connected experience for our customers," van der Post said in the announcement.

"Our focus is not just about expansion into new fiber markets," he added. "It includes making targeted improvements to the existing network, including adding capacity to deliver the greatest impact for our customers."

How much of this is marketing?

The announcement comes through PR Newswire, and award programs like Cablefax's Top Ops partly serve the industry's own promotion needs — operators routinely publicize wins during competitive fiber buildouts. The deployment numbers, however, are concrete and verifiable against WOW!'s operational disclosures: a 50%-plus increase in fiber passings in expansion markets, more than 20% growth in legacy markets, and roughly 50,000 new homes and businesses passed across three states.

The competitive backdrop gives the figures context. Regional and national operators are racing to pass homes with fiber while cable incumbents defend share with mid-splits, high-splits and, eventually, DOCSIS 4.0. WOW!'s tenfold upload increase in Newnan is the kind of move aimed squarely at fiber competitors that market symmetric speeds.

For an operator of WOW!'s scale — serving 20 markets rather than coast-to-coast — capital discipline matters. The company's stated approach of "targeted improvements" suggests it is spending on capacity where subscriber density justifies it, rather than committing to a full-fiber replacement of its HFC footprint in the near term.

What comes next?

WOW! says additional upgrades in the Newnan market will follow over the next year as it builds capacity headroom ahead of its planned DOCSIS 4.0 launch. The pace of fiber expansion beyond the current three-state push, and any timeline for wider DOCSIS 4.0 deployment, remain questions the operator has yet to detail publicly.