Clearwave Fiber – the joint venture formed by US cableco Cable ONE in association with GTCR, Stephens Capital Partners and The Pritzker Organisation (TPO) in January this year – has disclosed plans to reach 500,000 rural homes with fibre by 2027. In an interview with Fierce Telecom, Clearwave’s Midwest President Byron Cantrall explained: ‘The specific focus is just that underserved rural community where there’s either no fibre provider that’s building fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) services for these communities or perhaps there was an original fibre operator that has stopped building into that community for various reasons where we can go bridge that digital and economic divide.’
70% of the deployment activity will involve densification in existing markets, such as Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and South Carolina, while the other 30% will cover greenfield areas outside its current footprint, such as parts of Arkansas, Tennessee and Indiana. In addition, Clearwave is open to strategic acquisitions, and has already struck a deal to acquire Kansas-based RG Fiber.
TeleGeography notes that Clearwave Fiber comprises Cable ONE’s Clearwave Communications unit alongside certain fibre assets belonging to Cable ONE’s Hargray Communications subsidiary.