More Expansions and Upgrades Underway as Consolidated Pushes Toward its Five-Year Goal to Add 1.6 Million Fiber Passings by 2026

Welcome to 2021, where our homes are now serving double or even triple duty as our new work, play, and learning hubs. What makes all those online assignments, video meetings and streaming TV shows possible is Internet access—a crucial need now more than ever.

Consolidated Communications is meeting the demand by bringing fiber upgrades to more than 300,000 residents this year across seven states and the work is well under way. The most recently completed work includes buildouts in Vermont and California that will upgrade existing speeds or bring symmetrical 1 Gig Internet to new locations entirely.

These upgrades and new fiber builds are part of a five-year fiber to the premises (FTTP) plan announced last December, which will upgrade 1.6 million locations across Consolidated’s 23-state footprint to symmetrical, multi-gig speeds over a five-year period. Additional builds are also underway in New Hampshire, Maine, Minnesota, Illinois and Texas. Although the plans for the FTTP expansion started well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they come at an apt time as many Americans are searching for more reliable Internet access at home.

“Consolidated’s accelerated fiber network expansion will provide significant benefits to customers, especially rural consumers and small businesses, who will be equipped to work from home, and fully participate in online learning and entertainment with significantly enhanced broadband services,” said Bob Udell, president and chief executive officer at Consolidated Communications.

5,000 Vermont Residents Are Now Accessing Symmetrical Gig Speeds

One of the first states to benefit from Consolidated’s fiber plan is Vermont. In April, the company announced the completion of 5,000 network passings in Brattleboro and Montpelier. This phase is part of a larger plan to upgrade 50,000 passings in Vermont to symmetrical, Gigabit fiber by year’s end. The company will expand FTTP service to more than 200,000 Vermont passings by 2026.

Work-from-homers, learn-from-homers and businesses will benefit from improved remote work and learning experiences that allow them to create and upload high-bandwidth content and connect multiple smart-home devices without latency. And in the evenings when the work is done, kids and adults get one final perk: by signing up for video content through one of Consolidated’s streaming partners, household members can watch their favorite programs on any device.

“These builds demonstrate Consolidated’s commitment to bringing the best Internet experience to our Vermont customers,” said Rob Koester, senior vice president of consumer product management. “This fiber expansion is just the start of our aggressive five-year build plan. We are continuing to make significant investments in our network throughout the Green Mountain State.”

Internet Speeds Boosted to 1 Gig in Key California Markets

The company also recently announced the availability of 1 Gig broadband services to more than 22,000 residential and small business locations in Sacramento and Roseville. The significant speed boost is a major upgrade for customers across the area who will benefit from speedy Internet, efficient cloud access for businesses and general support for other high-bandwidth activities, like streaming.

Roseville Area Chamber’s Chief Executive Officer Wendy Gerig says the 1 Gig availability has also led to some work-from-home cred for the city as a whole.

“Roseville was recently recognized by Money.com as the fifth best place to live in the U.S. if you work from home, a ranking that wouldn’t be possible if our residents lacked access to high-speed, reliable Internet like Consolidated Communications has long offered,” said Gerig. “These new upgrades reinforce what Roseville residents already know: whether you return to your office or continue working remotely, you’re in good hands with Consolidated.”

More than 1,500 locations in Elk Grove and Citrus Heights are also eligible for 1 Gig broadband services.

To learn more about Consolidated’s five-year fiber plans, or to find out if Gigabit broadband services are available at your address, visit www.consolidated.com/FiberLife.