Company’s grant funding awards in Ohio reach $13.8M, expand company’s investment to give 8K more locations access to blazing fast connectivity
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — March 20, 2025 — Brightspeed, the nation’s third-largest fiber broadband builder focused on empowering more homes with ultrafast, reliable internet, announced that it has been awarded $1,500,000 to expand its state-of-the-art Brightspeed Fiber Internet network to nearly 2,400 more locations in Trumbull County, Ohio. This award is in addition to the more than $12.3 million in local, state and federal funding already awarded to Brightspeed to connect nearly 5,900 homes and businesses in Allen, Ashtabula, Columbiana, Knox, Mahoning, Shelby and Trumbull counties.
“We already offer Brightspeed Fiber Internet to more than 190,000 families and businesses in Ohio and we continue to bring our state-of-the-art fiber network to more locations every day,” said Tom Simone, Brightspeed state and local government affairs director in Ohio. “We have an unwavering commitment to bridging the digital divide and thanks to this additional funding, we can further expand our planned network build to give more Ohioans the connectivity they need at home to learn and work and for their businesses to thrive.”
“Eastgate is excited to support this project and commends Trumbull County’s dedication to investing in broadband infrastructure for its residents,” said the Executive Director of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments Jim Kinnick.
“We are excited to see years of hard work pay off with this partnership and to have Trumbull County residents who have traditionally been unserved or underserved receive a broadband connection directly to their front door,” added the Director of Trumbull County Planning Commission Julie Green.
Brightspeed is already making a multi-billion-dollar investment in building its next-generation super-fast fiber-optic internet network to reach more than four million Americans who have historically lacked quality high-speed connectivity options, including reaching more than 380,000 Ohio families and businesses.
To date, Brightspeed has been awarded $13.8 million in funding from the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant (ORBEG) program funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, the Broadband Expansion Authority and BroadbandOhio to extend its planned fiber network build by more than 8,300 across the company’s footprint in the state.
“In today’s hyper-connected digital world, families and businesses need high-speed internet service to compete and thrive,” said Brightspeed Broadband Office Vice President Pamela Sherwood. “Expanding access to faster, affordable, more reliable and user-friendly internet has never been more important, whether for work, education, telemedicine, entertainment or simply staying connected, and these grant and subsidy programs are helping us give families and businesses what they need.”
Brightspeed continues to pursue additional state and federal funding including BEAD Program funds to further expand its fiber network to help close the state’s digital divide. Overall, the company has already been awarded local, state and federal broadband grants and funding totaling more than $240 million, including the company’s first Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program award from the state of Louisiana. These local, state and federal investments will expand Brightspeed’s planned network build by nearly 121,000 locations in 14 states, with more to come.
About Brightspeed
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. and with assets and associated operations in 20 states, Brightspeed provides broadband and telecommunications services through a network platform capable of serving more than 7.3 million homes and businesses. Our 4,000 employees are committed to building a future where more communities benefit from a more connected life, deploying a state-of-the-art fiber network and a customer experience that makes being connected as simple as it should be. For more information, please visit www.brightspeed.com.
