Private equity

The proposed combination of Ritter Communications and Great Plains Communications isn't being pitched as a cost-cutting exercise. Rightfiber, the name of the proposed combo, aims to grow through fiber network expansions and opportunistic, fiber-focused acquisitions. That's according to Heath Simpson, the current CEO of Ritter and the exec who will lead Rightfiber as CEO. Todd Foje, Great Plains' CEO, will become executive chairman of Rightfiber.

The private equity firm Grain Management is combining two of its fiber operators—Ritter Communications and Great Plains Communications—into one entity called Rightfiber. Heath Simpson, currently CEO of Ritter Communications, will serve as CEO of Rightfiber, and Todd Foje, currently CEO of Great Plains Communications, will serve as executive chairman. Foje said that the reasoning behind the combination is that there are advantages to scale.

Grain Management completed the sale of Hunter Communications, Oregon’s largest privately owned fiber-optic internet provider, to Oak Hill Capital. The transaction, which was originally announced in December 2025, closed in March 2026, reflecting Grain’s disciplined approach to value creation and realization across its digital infrastructure investments.

To say that Consumer Cellular has a lot going on is an understatement. But what’s really remarkable is how it’s adding more retail stores and using real live people to answer customer service calls in an industry increasingly awash in AI. For the uninitiated, Consumer Cellular is an MVNO that was founded about 30 years ago by two Portland, Oregon-based guys, John Marick and Greg Pryor. Early in their tenure, they decided to focus on the 50+ age group and align the company with AARP.

Cable One, like its peers, has been struggling with steady broadband subscriber losses. So it’s not too surprising that it’s doubling down on fiber growth.

Oak Hill Capital has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Hunter Communications, Oregon’s largest privately owned fiber-optic internet provider. Oak Hill’s investment and long-standing digital infrastructure expertise will assist Hunter in accelerating its fiber-to-the-premises network expansion plan around its existing fiber footprint in Oregon and Northern California. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Gigapower, the open-access fiber network joint venture launched by AT&T and BlackRock in May 2023, is experiencing significant challenges in its phase I deployment. Gigapower’s prime contractor in several states, Tilson Technology Management, blamed Gigapower for driving it into bankruptcy, a development that is just the most extreme of numerous problems stemming from Gigapower’s business model. The Communications Workers of America, which represents tens of thousands of frontline technicians at AT&T, has closely tracked the Gigapower build-out in various markets.

The dominos just keep on falling with telecommunications consolidation, with operator WideOpenWest! officially going private. Private equity firms DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners announced plans to acquire the cable company for $1.5 billion. The deal, expected to close sometime in the first quarter of 2026, aims to help WOW! continue its ongoing cable upgrades and fiber expansion. The company's board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, with Crestview being WOW!'s largest shareholder.

Prime Fiber has begun construction of an open-access network in Sun City (AZ) that will be used by AT&T. It’s the latest reminder of AT&T’s broad strategy to expand fiber broadband availability. AT&T is building open-access networks of its own through its Gigapower joint venture with investment firm BlackRock.

Wire 3, a Florida-based, 100 percent fiber internet provider, announced that the company has closed on a new private credit financing totaling $235 million, arranged by Guggenheim Investments on behalf of certain clients. Together with commitments from Oak Hill Capital, the company has raised more than $550 million to date, further accelerating Wire 3’s commitment to expanding Florida’s fiber internet infrastructure. This opportunity positions Wire 3 to build upon its growing footprint that deploys symmetrical upload and download speeds throughout seven Central-Florida counties.