Midwest telecom operator, Altafiber, formerly known as Cincinnati Bell, has announced that it is investing $100 million in delivering fiber services to approximately 52,000 addresses in Warren County, Ohio as part of a public-private partnership deal with the county government. The construction for this project has already started and the fiber service is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. However, the fiber service will be available this year. The public-private partnership with Warren County will enable Altafiberto to provide service for 50,000 single-family units as well as 2,000 multi-dwelling units.
The $100 million investment will go towards extending the fiber backbone, and Altafiberplans to deliver 2-gig symmetrical speeds to both businesses and consumers. In the future, Altafiberwill be able to offer 10 Gbps speeds on its XGS-PON fiber deployment. The Altafiberrepresentative stated that they will be closely coordinating with officials at the county and municipal levels to ensure a smooth rollout. The county’s Board of Commissioners has approved an additional $4.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support the project.
Furthermore, Altafiberis improving broadband coverage in Warren County by providing up to $200,000 in funding to construct public Wi-Fi improvements. The operator is distributing the funds through its Smart City organization, UniCity.
According to the Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband map, which shows Altafiberunder its old name, the operator currently serves around 63% of locations in Warren County. Other notable fixed broadband providers, according to the map’s data, include Charter and T-Mobile, each with over 90% of units served, along with three satellite broadband providers – Viasat, SpaceX, and HughesNet. It’s important to note that the data is only available as of June 30, 2022.
Warren County is only one of several public-private ventures for Altafiber. Earlier this month, the operator announced a partnership with Ohio’s Butler County to extend its fiber network to an additional 58,000 locations. Other fiber build locations include Greene County, Ohio; Kentucky’s Boone and Kenton counties; and Greendale, Indiana. Altogether, Altafiber has invested more than $1.5 billion to expand its network across these three states.
It’s been a year since the company rebranded to Altafiber. Before that, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners had acquired Cincinnati Bell for $2.9 billion, and the transaction was completed in September 2021. The Altafiber investment in fiber services is part of a larger trend in the industry to expand access to high-speed internet in rural areas.