Phil Britt

Oak Hill Capital has made yet another investment in telecommunications, announcing its acquisition of Florida-based fiber-to-the-home provider Wire 3 from Guggenheim Investments. The price was not disclosed. Oak Hill Capital has committed to invest up to $250 million out of its sixth flagship fund to accelerate the expansion of Wire 3’s fiber network in underserved communities across Florida. Wire 3’s existing management team members will continue leading the business, now as shareholders. Wire 3 provides symmetrical internet speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps).

T-Mobile said that it achieved the world’s first six-carrier aggregation call using sub-6 GHz spectrum on its live production 5G network. Working with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies, T-Mobile exceeded 3.6 Gigabits per second (Gbps) in the test. The carrier described this speed as fast enough to download a two-hour HD movie in less than 7 seconds. Higher speed and increased performance are the result of the 5G carrier aggregation in which T-Mobile combined multiple 5G channels.

Buffalo (IN)-based LightStream has agreed to purchase Monon Telephone Company for an undisclosed price. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, which are expected to be final in the first half of 2024. The Monon acquisition would add to LightStream’s existing fiber network in White and Pulaski Counties. Customers added through the potential acquisition can add managed Wi-Fi service to their home or business, in addition to internet and phone services, Lightstream noted in an announcement of the deal.

Houston (TX)-based Ezee Fiber is investing $200 million in the continued expansion of its high-speed, 100% fiber optic network in Fort Bend County, a fast-growing area in southeast Texas. The investment pushes forward the company’s plans to reach an additional 125,000 Fort Bend County homes in 2024. The high-speed fiber internet is expected to be available to residents of Mission Bend, Sugar Land, Missouri City, Pearland and surrounding communities by the end of the third quarter of 2024.

Altafiber, formerly Cincinnati Bell, has agreed to acquire the broadband infrastructure assets of Bridgewired, a Ohio-based company that operates a fiber optic network delivering gigabit Internet speeds to locations in portions of Warren County, Greene County, and Clinton County.

Cogent Communications has completed the previously announced acquisition of T-Mobile’s Wireline Business.

The US fiber optic test equipment market will comprise over a fifth (21.3%) of the worldwide market over the next ten years, according to a new report from Future Market Insights. Fiber optic testing is becoming more critical as the telecommunications industry increasingly deploys fiber broadband and as fiber becomes an increasingly important underpinning of wireless networks. The researchers expect the worldwide fiber test equipment market to grow from $923 million in 2023 to $1.7 billion by 2033. The 10-year growth rate represents a CAGR of 6.8%.

A group of Tennessee broadband providers has launched projects that received $53.5 million in state broadband funding. The group, known as Project UNITE, is spearheaded by local provider United Communications. The projects will make high-speed broadband — fiber or wireless — available to more than 14,000 underserved locations in Middle Tennessee.

Chicago-based Crosstown Fiber aims to build, maintain, and operate a robust fiber network with a specific focus. The company will offer fiber infrastructure built below ground to provide unique routes and strategic alternative paths between data centers and other entities. Crosstown custom designs, builds, leases, and maintains high-capacity, high-bandwidth, dark fiber optic networks providing customers the ability to use a redundant ring structure with a network route spanning approximately 400 route miles across all corners of Chicago. Crosstown’s underground network is designed for custo

The North Carolina Broadband Infrastructure Office awarded $23.4 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants to expand broadband infrastructure in 12 counties, which will boost service for nearly 7,000 households and 374 businesses. With the awards, North Carolina joins Arizona, Maryland, Wisconsin, and several other states that are releasing funds for broadband expansion. Half of the 12 awards went to Charter Spectrum. The cable company has taken an aggressive approach to obtaining government funding for rural broadband expansion.