Rise Broadband gets scooped up by private equity firm GI Partners

Fixed wireless and fiber provider Rise Broadband has been acquired by private equity firm GI Partners – a move that will propel Rise’s fiber-to-the-home deployments in the rural US, the companies said. GI Partners and Rise aim to “execute a multi-year, fiber-based network expansion effort,” according to Brendan Collins, managing director and co-head of GI Data Infrastructure. The firm said it will also invest “meaningful new capital” for the rollout and to improve Rise’s customer experience. Rise provides fixed wireless service to 16 states across the Midwest, Rocky Mountains, and Southwest US, including Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, and Wisconsin. Residential fixed wireless plans range from 25 Mbps to 50 Mbps, with some locations having access to speeds up to 100 Mbps. As for fiber, Rise offers gigabit service in 11 markets, mostly in Texas but also in Maroa, Illinois. Rise is also one of only 11 fixed ISPs that cover more than 5% of the US population, per the Federal Communication Commission's 2022 Communications Marketplace Report.