Bluepeak wants to turn flyover states into fiber country with 250,000 new passings

The central US appears to have caught the eye of equity investors, with Bluepeak becoming the latest privately-funded fiber company to plot a major expansion there. Right now, Bluepeak offers service to around 60,000 subscribers in South Dakota and parts of western Minnesota under the name Vast Broadband. Planned investments include a $140 million build in Oklahoma to bring fiber to more than 140,000 homes and businesses across the state. Thus far, Bluepeak has announced projects in Bartlesville, Clinton, Enid, Perry, Tonkawa and Stillwater, with approvals in the works for Lawton, Elk City and Weatherford. In Wyoming, Bluepeak plans to spend $70 million to run fiber to 70,000 homes and businesses. Target markets include Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper and Sheridan. Construction in Cheyenne is already underway and the company expects to break ground in the remaining markets in the first half of 2022. The company is aiming to cover 240,000 to 250,000 new locations, with the majority of these expected to start coming online in 2022, and is very deliberately targeting smaller towns in the central part of the country.