Category Archives: FTTH

Fiber supply threatens US broadband targets

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Light Reading reports…

Warnings about a US fiber crunch that could slow down broadband deployment have intensified since the summer. In August, Incab America, a Texan maker of fiber-optic cable, notified customers that “a significant fiber shortage is emerging” in a statement signed by Mike Riddle, its president, who blamed data centers for “sucking up all the fiber production capacity.” The situation reminded him of 2000, when lead times lengthened to a year. They have now risen to the same level, said a separate industry source who requested anonymity.

That compares with normal lead times of between eight and 12 weeks, according to the same source. Even when there is some tightness in the supply chain, they never usually exceed 15 to 20 weeks, he said. But a wave of investment in data centers, built to train AI’s large language models (LLMs), has quickly gobbled supplies of glass and other materials used in fiber-optic cables. “The three leading glass manufacturers in the United States are experiencing challenges in meeting this heightened demand,” observed Riddle in August. “Notably, one manufacturer has already sold all of its fiber inventory through the year 2026.”

Policies may also have an impact…

Yet surging demand from AI data centers is not the only problem. Sourcing components from overseas has also become harder because of the tariff restrictions Trump has slapped on imports of foreign goods. There is some industry frustration, too, about the need to comply with the rules of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act signed into law by Joe Biden, Trump’s White House predecessor, in November 2021.

Under BABA’s provisions, initiatives are ineligible for government financial aid “unless all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United States.” That has ramifications for companies participating in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which draws on government funds to extend network coverage into hard-to-reach and underserved communities.

What are the economic benefits of broadband to a household?

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I’m bringing back an old tradition – looking at how much money broadband can save a household right before the holidays set in. I’m bringing back the old tradition with a new spin, I’m using ChatGPT. Something old; something new.

I started with a search on [how much money does a household with broadband save or earn?].

It pulled up some good articles, but they were dated. I will let my age (or Master’s degree in Library and Information Science) show when I admit that I want links to article, not cite-less answers. But I moved forward asking for updated information. Below are the results:

Turns out that much of what I found interesting was from the same research: Economic Benefits of Fiber Deployment, a report prepared for Fiber Broadband Association and Frontier Communications from Nov 2024. The focus is on fiber over all other broadband modes – but was the best I could find in terms of specific saving and earning numbers.

Here’s the quick description of part of the research…

Our study is the first to show that fiber deployment has significant incremental economic benefits even in the presence of other high-speed broadband technologies.

The report looks at broadband savings/earning from the household and national perspective. I thought I’d pull out the details by household.

Related to real estate:

  • It could increase average household values between 14% – 17% depending on
    non-urban versus urban areas.
  • This translates to an average increase of $27,000 – $41,000 per house per year.
  • The effect on housing values in non-urban areas is fives times greater than in
    urban areas and is driven by the greater number of unserved households in non
    urban areas.

Earning:

  • The income effect comes from non-urban areas. U.S. households in non-urban
    areas with new access to fiber will likely experience an increase in their average
    income by $1,450 in one year.

Community Employment:

  • Access to fiber incrementally increases the employment rate by a small but measurable 0.74%. This is equivalent to a 0.5% increase in employment.
  • For a city such as Detroit, with a labor force of approximately 356,408 people,
    deploying fiber to all the unserved households would create 36 new jobs.
  • For a small rural town such as Iron Mountain, Michigan, with a labor force of approximately 4,363 people, deploying fiber to all the unserved households would
    create at least 14 new jobs.

Mediacom Communications today announces multi-gig broadband in Blue Earth, Brown, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Scott, Waseca, Watonwan Counties and Lower Sioux Reservation

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CBS 42 reports…

Mediacom Communications today announced the launch of multi-gig and symmetrical-speed broadband services to more than 28,000 households across 13 counties in rural Minnesota. The network upgrades extend to residents in the communities of Pemberton, Lake Crystal, Springfield, Sleepy Eye, Mountain Lake, Montgomery, Silver Lake, Lester Prairie, Dassel, Darwin, Litchfield, Lafayette, North Redwood, Redwood Falls, Lower Sioux, Hector, Franklin, Morton, Buffalo Lake, Bird Island, Danube, Veseli, Lonsdale, Belle Plaine, Waldorf, Janesville, Butterfield, and St. James.

Minnesota applies for $1 billion for health care support including telehealth

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The Minnesota Star Tribune reports…

A $1 billion grant to improve rural health care won’t offset the much bigger losses from looming cuts to the federal Medicaid health program, but Minnesota wasn’t going to miss out on its chance for the money.

The state completed its application on time last week for the rural health transformation funding, which President Donald Trump’s administration and congressional Republicans offered to soften the blow of Medicaid cuts. Wisconsin similarly announced its appeal for funding.

“This is a lot of money,” said Diane Rydrych, health policy director for the Minnesota Department of Health. “It’s really significant for Minnesota if we get this grant, but it’s also a really tough time. It’s not going to be sufficient funding to address all needs.”

Next up: an unsettling wait. Minnesota should find out in the next month if it will receive its share.

Each state applied for $200 million per year for five years, but the actual amount could vary. Some have worried Republican-led states could have an advantage, given Trump’s rhetoric against Democrats and actions in Democrat-led cities and states, such as military deployments and immigration crackdowns.

Sonds as if the funding could be used for telehealth…

Other goals in the next five years include an increase in telehealth medical appointments and a 10% reduction in rural Minnesotans who return to hospitals with avoidable problems. Essentia Health employs paramedics who visit with patients and help prevent their hospital readmissions, though it has made cuts to the program.

The federal government billed the funding as one-time support for five years, so Rydrych said the state focused its application on up-front investments that could pay off after the money runs dry. Technology upgrades to boost telemedicine visits were one example.

Paul Bunyan Communications expands FTTH to 480+ homes and businesses in Coleraine

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Paul Bunyan Communications reports…

Paul Bunyan Communications has completed expanding its all-fiber optic network, the GigaZone®, to over 480 homes and businesses in the city of Coleraine. Those who have signed up for service are being contacted to set up service installation.
““Reliable, high-speed Internet is a necessity in today’s world, and we’re thrilled to bring our broadband technologies and services to Coleraine. We have built an advanced, all-fiber optic network and will continue to extend that network to more areas of the Iron Range in the years to come,” said Chad Bullock, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.
“We’re proud to bring world class connectivity to the city of Coleraine,” said Leo Anderson, Chief Technology Officer at Paul Bunyan Communications. “Our GigaZone all-fiber optic network opens up new possibilities for residents and businesses alike, allowing them to connect and thrive.”
Anyone interested in getting connected to the all-fiber optic broadband network in these areas can still sign up for service. The cooperative will return to bring the network up to locations with no construction fee when feasible.
There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications, membership is included by subscribing to either local phone service or GigaZone® Internet service.
To check to see if a specific location is within an expansion area and learn more about the expansion construction process, visit www.gigazone.com

Paul Bunyan Communications completes broadband expansion in French and Bearville(S) Townships

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Paul Bunyan Communications reports…

Paul Bunyan Communications has completed expanding its all-fiber optic network, the GigaZone®, to areas of French and Bearville(S) Township that included over 200 homes and businesses. This expansion included areas east and north of Side Lake including Perch Lake, Luna Lake, and Beatrice Lake. Those who have signed up for service are being contacted to set up service installation.
“We remain fully committed to bringing all-fiber optic gigabit broadband to the underserved areas in our region. Reliable Internet is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity, and we’re proud to now serve more of the French and Bearville Townships.” said Chad Bullock, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.
“This is a major upgrade for both residents and businesses,” said Leo Anderson, Chief Technology Officer at Paul Bunyan Communications. “With our all-fiber optic network now offering Internet speeds up to 10 Gig, things like remote work, distance learning, telehealth, and streaming are not only possible, but they are seamless. It is a true game changer for these communities.”
Anyone interested in getting connected to the all-fiber optic broadband network in these areas can still sign up for service. The cooperative will return to bring the network up to locations with no construction fee when feasible.
There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications, membership is included by subscribing to either local phone service or GigaZone® Internet service.
To check to see if a specific location is within an expansion area and learn more about the expansion construction process, visit http://www.gigazone.com
This project was made possible through the USDA ReConnect 3 Grant Program. The grant area also included areas of Pike, Sandy, and Wuori Townships and is estimated to cost $13,588,555 with the USDA grant contributing $10,191,416. Paul Bunyan Communications investing $3,381,112, and Wuori Township contributing $16,026.

Minnesota creates portals to track federal spending by school districts and more

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The Pioneer Press reports…

The Minnesota Department of Education launched an online tool Friday that Minnesotans can use to learn more about federal funding for public school districts as the federal government shutdown enters its third week.

With the site, viewers can see estimated annual allocations from the federal government for each Minnesota school district, including money for food, broadband Internet and busing, as well as classroom support.

The MDE website doesn’t share the specific information I’d like to see on broadband, both in terms of how much federal funding support broadband in the schools but also helps subsidize or provide access (such a hotspot check-outs) to students at home. It segments the information by school district. I’ll paste a sample below; as you see the mention broadband but don’t quantify the amount invested but it’s a good remind that broadband finding comes from several places.

Also, the MN Star Tribune reports on a team from the Minnesota’s Office of Management and Budget that is…

tracking the effects on Minnesota from the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) and other actions this year in which President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have made big cuts in federal money to state and local governments.

Apparently, the team holds a conference call every 2 weeks to provide high-level summaries of recent funding changes. The call is open to the public and you can sign up for email updates.

More than 20 percent of BEAD locations will go to satellite and 67 percent will go to fiber

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Fierce Network reports…

After all the hand-wringing about the revisions to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program under the Trump administration, it looks like about 67.1% of eligible locations will get fiber, while 20.5% will receive low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connections. The remaining locations will receive fixed wireless access (10%) and coaxial cable (2.4%).

These figures come from the Connected Nation website, which is tracking all the BEAD proposals. Currently, it has data for 51 final proposals out of 56, and its data shows the allocations of 3.36 million locations out of a presumed 4.2 million.

The information comes from the Connected Nation interactive BEAD tracker, which I wrote about earlier this month. Looks like the national information has been updated since I last looked.

Gateway Fiber starting broadband construction with ribbon cutting in Moorhead, MN

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Business Wire reports…

Gateway Fiber employees and Fargo-Moorhead Chamber of Commerce members and guests celebrated the start of construction on the internet provider’s new 100% fiber internet service in Moorhead, MN, on October 16, 2025.

Gateway Fiber officially celebrated the start of network construction in Moorhead with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 16 at the Hjemkomst Center, commemorating the beginning of its all-fiber network designed to bring world-class internet service to the community. The event marked an exciting milestone for residents and businesses eager for faster, more reliable connectivity.

City officials, community leaders, and Gateway Fiber team members joined together to celebrate the project, which will deliver 100% fiber optic connections to homes and businesses throughout Moorhead. Attendees enjoyed the opportunity to meet Gateway Fiber representatives, learn more about construction timelines, and hear about the company’s commitment to transparent pricing, friendly service, and no-contract options.

Willmar Council approves next step in Willmar Connect in split 5-3 vote

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The West Central Tribune reports…

The Willmar City Council on Monday in a split 5-3 vote approved moving forward with the Willmar Connect project, a city-owned, open-access broadband network.

After more than three years of planning, the Willmar City Council on Monday in a split 5-3 vote approved moving forward with the city-owned, open-access broadband network now known as Willmar Connect.

Councilor Tom Gilbertson made a motion to approve the plans and specifications for the first phase of the project, as well as to solicit bids, which Councilor Vicki Davis seconded. Both voted in favor of the motion, along with councilors Carl Shuldes, Audrey Nelsen and Justin Ask.

Voting against the motion were councilors Stephen Gardner, Rick Fagerlie and Tom Butterfield, who all questioned the financial viability of the project to pay for itself without affecting property taxes.

Phase one of the project involves constructing the network operations center and installing fiber throughout all the neighborhoods west of First Street South, between U.S. Highway 12 and Willmar Avenue. Phase one may expand into areas within phase two of the project if there are clusters of residents and businesses who have completed the pre-sign-up for the service.

The infrastructure will be owned by the city and the network will be managed by Hometown Fiber. Multiple internet service providers can contract with the city to offer services on the network for a fee, which will be used to pay the principal and interest on the bonds that will fund the construction of the project. Eventually, those fees are expected to generate revenue for the city, as well.

Construction of phase one is estimated to cost approximately $7.8 million and phases two and three are estimated to cost just under $7 million each. The total estimated cost of the project is approximately $24.5 million, excluding interest on the bonds that will be used to fund it.

The city has already invested more than $1.1 million in planning the project, which has been funded by the city’s Industrial Park fund.

 

Golden Valley MN attracts fiber installation in City right-of-way and easements

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CCX Media reports on Golden Valley’s adventures with a local fiber build…

 Over the next few years, several companies will be working throughout Golden Valley to install fiber optic cables in City right-of-way and easements. Fiber internet, also known as broadband, is a private utility similar to gas and electric. High-speed fiber optic internet offers a new service option for residents and businesses throughout the community. …

The city has set up a website to offer information and, when construction begins, an interactive map so residents know where the construction will be taking place.

 

Paul Bunyan Communication expands to Itasca and St. Louis Counties

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From Paul Bunyan Communication…

The end of construction season is near and Paul Bunyan Communications is still on track to complete its planned broadband expansion projects across parts of Itasca and St. Louis Counties. The first project started this year was Sandy, Pike and Wuori townships and the network is now in service!
Status of Paul Bunyan Communications Broadband Expansion projects:
• Itasca County:
City of Coleraine- Construction is done, fiber splicing is almost done. Services expected to become available by the end of October
City of Bovey- Construction is in progress. Services expected to become available by mid-December
Bearville(s) Township- Construction is done. Fiber splicing will start this month. Services expected to become available by mid-November
• St. Louis County:
Sandy Pike, & Wuori Township- COMPLETED. Network is operational and services are now available.
Alango, Angora, & Owens Township- Construction is done, fiber splicing is in progress. Services should become available by end of October.
Balkan Township- Construction is in progress. Services expected to become available by end of December
French Township- Construction is done. Fiber splicing is in progress. Services expected to be available by early November
Great Scott Township & unorganized township north of Great Scott- Construction has started. Services projected to be available by end of January
Once the network is operational in a project area, customers who signed up for service will be contacted to schedule service installations.
Service Applications Still Accepted for Fiber Optic Connection
 Residents and businesses in these expansion areas who did not sign up for services already are welcome to do so at any time, The cooperative will still install the fiber optic connection up to the location with no construction fee. When the network can be installed depends upon when the service application is received. Service applications can be completed online at www.paulbunyan.net, by phone, or in person at our Grand Rapids Customer Service & Technology Center.
Services Available Upon Completion
Once the network is live, customers will have access to Paul Bunyan’s GigaZone® services, including high-speed fiber-optic Internet with speeds up to 10 Gig and dependable, low-cost unlimited local and long-distance GigaZone® voice services.

Spectrum expands fiber access in Wright County with help from MN Broadband Grant

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Charter Communications reports…

Spectrum, the #1 rural internet provider in the nation*, today announced the expansion of Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 1,000 additional homes and small businesses in previously unserved or underserved addresses in Wright County, Minnesota.

Our multi-year rural construction initiative is driven by more than $7 billion in private investment from Charter and will ultimately add an additional 100,000+ miles of fiber-optic network infrastructure and deliver symmetrical and multi-gigabit speed internet access to more than 1.7 million new locations across the country.

The project was supported by Minnesota’s Border to Border Broadband Program with Round 7 funding in 2022 to build fiber-to-the-premise technology to previously unserved locations. This latest effort, which completed earlier this summer, includes areas north and west of Delano in the Town of Franklin, north of Rockford along the county line, and south and west of Buffalo Lake.

How are BEAD changes impacting the fiber versus satellite breakdown in Wisconsin?

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Wisconsin’s The Badger Project looks at BEAD funding and the relatively new focus on satellite…

Experts worry that the federal government will force states to use public funds initially earmarked for fiber-optic instead for much slower but cheaper-and-faster-to-install satellite internet provided by companies like SpaceX’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’ Project Kuiper.

They spoke with Minnesota-based Christopher Mitchell…

The bill intended for most of the funding to go towards locally-owned fiber-optic networks, Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, a Minnesota-based think tank supporting communities’ telecommunications efforts, said in an email to The Badger Project.

“There was an expectation that only the very remote, intolerably high-cost locations would be left with satellite access,” he continued.

While fiber-optic delivers superfast and virtually uninterrupted internet access, there’s a significant, one-time cost of time and money to bury the cables in the ground, especially in rural areas with few homes. For-profit companies have often refused to make that investment without public funding, because the return is poor in sparsely populated areas.

On the other hand, satellite internet has lower setup costs in both time and money, as only a dish needs to be installed at each home or business. But as technology advances and consumers keep requiring faster internet, the speeds provided by satellite are much slower in general than fiber. Despite improvements, Starlink, the industry leader, does not regularly reach the federal definition of broadband speeds, according to an analysis by Ookla, an organization that provides measurements of telecommunications. Internet delivered via fiber-optic cables can already obliterate that minimum speed.

Starlink also says its internet service can be affected by severe weather. And questions remain if satellite internet companies can deliver on the scale needed across the country.

Recent changes in BEAD requirements has meant more satellite (in the applications) in Wisconsin…

Wisconsin’s original proposal for homes without high-speed internet access had 93% fiber-optic deployment. The revised plan submitted has 73% fiber, 13% fixed wireless, often from towers, and 13% satellite.

Paul Bunyan Communications completes broadband expansion in Sandy Pike, & Wuori Townships (St Louis County)

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From Paul Bunyan Communications…

Paul Bunyan Communications has completed expanding its all-fiber optic network, the GigaZone®, to areas of Sandy, Pike, and Wuori Townships that included over 680 homes and businesses. Those who have signed up for service are being contacted to set up service installation.
“We remain fully committed to bringing all-fiber optic gigabit broadband to the underserved areas in our region. Reliable Internet is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity, and we’re proud to now serve Sandy, Pike, and Wuori Townships.” said Chad Bullock, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.
“This is a major upgrade for both residents and businesses,” said Leo Anderson, Chief Technology Officer at Paul Bunyan Communications. “With our all-fiber optic network now offering Internet speeds up to 10 Gig, things like remote work, distance learning, telehealth, and streaming are not only possible, but they are seamless. It is a true game changer for these communities.”
Anyone interested in getting connected to the all-fiber optic broadband network in these areas can still sign up for service. The cooperative will return to bring the network up to locations with no construction fee when feasible.
There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications, membership is included by subscribing to either local phone service or GigaZone® Internet service.
To check to see if a specific location is within an expansion area and learn more about the expansion construction process, visit http://www.gigazone.com
This project was made possible through the USDA ReConnect 3 Grant Program. This project is estimated to cost $13,588,555 with the USDA grant contributing $10,191,416. Paul Bunyan Communications investing $3,381,112, and Wuori Township contributing $16,026.