Broadband Bytes February 2026 Issue 2

BROADBAND NEWS:

1. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Awards. Updated, Comprehensive List: BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Provisional Awards. Last updated: Thursday February 25, 2026, 3:15 pm Pacific time. Read more.
2. FCC clears Amazon Leo to launch 4,500 more satellites. The approval will allow the company to launch 4,504 additional satellites, bringing the full complement to 7,727 devices.  Under the approval, Amazon Leo must launch half of the approved satellites by February 10, 2032, and the remaining half by February 10, 2035. Amazon Leo has been in development since 2019, aiming to challenge meteoric rise of SpaceX’s Starlink. Starlink already has around 9,000 satellites in orbit, and recently secured approval to increase this number to 15,000. Read more.
3. SpaceX acquires xAI as Musk eyes space-based data centers. In a deal between companies he already owns, Elon Musk says that low Earth orbit provider SpaceX has acquired xAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) company that he founded in 2023. The update suggests that the integration of SpaceX and xAI will take on a vexing challenge for the AI industry: the amount of electricity necessary for the nascent technology to thrive is overwhelming and beyond the scope of terrestrial data centers. The goal is to use solar power to run the data centers. Musk envisions millions of tons of satellites being launched annually, with each ton generating 100 kW of compute power. DL Comment: As someone that has visited many data centers, I find this fascinating for future sales travel approval! Read more.
4. Community Network Map Shows Tribal Networks Across U.S. There are 82 active Tribal Internet Service Providers in the United States, returning control of this core service to the people it services. View the map. Read more.
5. Report: Texas will usurp Virginia as top hub for data centers. Texas is poised to become the world’s largest market for data centers by 2030, a report from global investment management firm JLL reveals.A summary of the report says vacancy in the North American data center market remains “locked at a record low 1%.” The report also said over half of the new data center construction volume is in frontier markets, which excludes areas like Dallas-Fort Worth, Northern Virginia, and Silicon Valley.  Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Ohio were also listed as states capitalizing on land availability and “business-friendly operating environments,” where data center construction is booming. In total, the report also says 64% of the market’s new construction pipeline now extends beyond traditional mature markets. Read more.
6. Hawkeye Land Company, Inc. and Anderson Pacific Capital Announce Formation of Midwest FiberPath, to Develop State-of-the-Art Fiber Infrastructure. Hawkeye Land Company, Inc. (HLC) and Anderson Pacific Capital have joined forces to form Midwest FiberPath, a new venture created to design and build a 420-mile, state-of-the-art, multi-conduit fiber-optic infrastructure system from Joliet, Illinois to Council Bluffs, Iowa on exclusive railroad Right of Way owned by HLC. Read more.
7. Non-BEAD Broadband Grant Deadlines. The industry has been focused on BEAD grants for the last few years. But there are a lot of federal broadband grants that have been issued under other grant programs, many of which are facing completion deadlines. This includes grants from programs like CAF II, RDOF, ReConnect, the Capital Projects Fund, ARPA grants funded through SLFRF, NTIA middle-mile grants, and the NTIA Tribal Grants.   A lot of projects under these grants have a deadline to be completed this year or in 2027.  State Broadband managers believe the Federal government has no appetite for any extensions of this funding. With no extensions, any work done after the deadline may not be reimbursed.  Providers working with a State Broadband Office need to understand their specific requirements. Read more.
8. Is cable approaching a tipping point on PON? Cable ops are going with FTTP in most greenfield buildouts, but a new report from cable industry vet Jay Rolls suggests that some operators are pivoting to fiber in legacy HFC areas, too.  There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to the future of the HFC network, but the trend is pointing toward PON among some operators as they analyze the capital and operational benefits. Notably, Rolls’ analysis suggests that the capital spent to complete a DOCSIS 4.0 overhaul can be comparable to an FTTP rebuild, and can cost even more in some instances. Read more.

FUNDING AWARDS, FIBER EXPANSIONS

1. IBT begins construction on fiber network in DeSoto County, Florida. IBT announced that construction is officially underway on a new fiber-to-the-premises broadband network in DeSoto County, Florida.  Once complete, the network will provide fiber broadband service to more than 4,700 homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions across the county. Read more.
2. Lightcurve opens fiber network in Centralia and Chehalis, Washington. Lightcurve, a broadband provider serving communities across Washington state announced that it is making its new fiber optic networks in Centralia and Chehalis available to customers, bringing internet service to thousands of homes and businesses in Lewis County. In Chehalis, nearly 2,000 locations are now eligible for Lightcurve’s fiber service. In Centralia, Lightcurve’s new fiber network now reaches hundreds of locations, and more than 1,000 additional locations are planned to come online in 2026. Read more.
3. Blue Stream Fiber positions for more growth in Texas, Florida. Blue Stream Fiber announced a wave of executive promotions as the fiber-optic provider positions itself for faster expansion across Florida and Texas. The company said the moves are meant to sharpen its focus on operations and customer experience and growth. Read more.
4. Astound to start work soon in Washington state’s Nisqually region. In partnership with Washington state’s Pierce County, Astound will soon begin construction to expand the availability of high-speed internet to the Nisqually region. When construction is complete, more than 3,500 homes will gain access to broadband internet.  Astound will build 113 miles of infrastructure, including a mix of aerial and underground fiber construction.  This project is a $13.3 million public-private partnership, with Pierce County contributing $7.97 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and Astound covering the remaining $5.33 million. Read more.
5. Indiana Connectivity Program awards $620K in 16th round of broadband funding. The Indiana Broadband Office today awarded 172 addresses — 165 homes and seven businesses — a total of $620,503 for broadband projects in the 16th round of the Indiana Connectivity Program. Broadband service providers in this round are matching the grants in the amount of $213,763, bringing the total investment to $834,266. Projects must be completed within nine months of the contract date.  So far, more than $14 million has been provided through the Indiana Connectivity Program. Read more.
6. Midwest FiberPath plans 1,200-mile multi-conduit network to meet needs of AI traffic. Midwest FiberPath says it will build a 1,200-mile multi-conduit long-haul backbone intended to support the increased traffic created by artificial intelligence (AI) in east-west and north-south directions in the Midwest. The long-haul topography will have three primary corridors. Read more.
7. altafiber connects 70,000 Dayton, Ohio locations with fiber as part of $200M investment. altafiber (previously Cincinnati Bell) has reached the midway point of its fiber build in Dayton and the surrounding region, as their fiber network is now available to 70,000 residential and business addresses. altafiber’s infrastructure investment into Dayton and the surrounding region will total approximately $200 million and 2,300 fiber route miles when completed. Read more.
8. RightFiber announces North Texas expansion. RightFiber, a brand of Ritter Communications headquartered in Arkansas, said construction is already underway in Seagoville. They will invest more than $50 million to expand its 100% fiber-optic network across North Texas.  In recent years the provider has expanded its footprint to include areas in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. Read more.

Broadband Bytes is a weekly collection of broadband news highlights from leading industry resources compiled by David Levine, RCDD. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions.