Metro Bytes: 123NET, PFN, IQ Fiber, LiveOak, Brightspeed

With MetroConnect underway down in Florida, there should be plenty of regional and last mile news to take a look at this week.  Here’s a start:

The two regional Michigan providers 123NET and Peninsula Fiber Network have finished off a new middle mile buildout. Construction is now complete on 130 route miles of fiber between Southfield and Bay City along the I-75 corridor. The new infrastructure improves connectivity to Southfield, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield, Pontiac, Waterford, Clarkston, Davisburg, Holly, Fenton, Grand Blanc, Flint, Clio, Birch Run, Bridgeport, Saginaw and Bay City.

IQ Fiber is taking its FTTx infrastructure into the Charleston metro area on the coast of South Carolina. The first phase will include West Ashley and Mount Pleasant. IQ Fiber is based in Jacksonville, and recently bought Maryland’s ThinkBig Networks. They also have an expansion project in Savannah, Georgia underway.

Georgia-based LiveOak Fiber has itself a new CEO. Shane Schilling has taken on the CEO role, moving up to the top leadership spot after stints as CTO and COO. LiveOak serves residential and business customers in Chatham and Glynn counties along the Georgia coast, and also Bay, Okalossa, and Walton counties on the Florida Panhandle.

And Brightspeed is taking aim at Wake Forest. They are expanding and upgrading their last mile connectivity across North Carolina’s Wake and Franklin counties. The buildout passes some 2,000 families and businesses so far, with 24,000 planned.

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Categories: Fiber Networks · FTTH · Jobs · Metro fiber