Combined Windstream/Uniti Could Win BEAD for 500K Fiber Builds

If the proposed recombination of Windstream and Uniti is completed, the combined company could win Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding for fiber builds to 500,000 locations. Windstream has a strong focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, where locations are most likely to be eligible for BEAD funding. The company also may have a cost advantage in comparison with other companies that might want to bid for BEAD funding to serve the same locations. The company has been touting its comparatively low average fiber deployment cost of $650 per passing. Windstream CFO Drew Smith told MoffetNathanson that the company achieves this, in part, because it already has pulled fiber to the node. Another cost advantage is that 95% of Windstream’s fiber markets are served by fiber backhaul, which the company already spent $500 million deploying.