Headquartered in Edinburg, Virginia, Shentel, formerly known as Shenandoah Telecommunications Corporation, is a publicly traded telecommunications company.
It operates a wireline and digital wireless network throughout rural Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland,
Shentel reaches 200,000 fiber passes and aims to double by 2026
Glo Fiber, a fiber optic service offered by Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel), increased its coverage by approximately 20,000 new passes in the third quarter, bringing the total number of passes recorded by the company to 200,000.
Glo Fiber recorded a 55% increase in traffic year-over-year.
Christopher French, CEO of Shentel, said that “our Glo Fiber runs are now almost the size of our runs in the cable market.”
The company intends to accelerate construction across all Glo Fiber areas in light of the recent announcement of the purchase of Horizon Telecom, scheduled for completion in 2024.
French said the company plans to “double broadband speeds again by the end of 2026.”
Along with its expansion, Glo Fiber’s subscriber base has continued to grow. Around 4,500 new users were added in the third quarter alone, an increase of 13.9% compared to the same period last year.
French said: “Our track record over the past four years gives us the confidence to grow our broadband data subscriber base at similar growth rates over the next three to four years as we expand our Glo Fiber network. »
Furthermore, he claimed that since the company first introduced Glo Fiber in 2019, the increase in the number of high-speed data subscribers has contributed to a steady expansion of the company’s EBITDA margin. from one year to the next.
In the third quarter, Shentel opened two new Glo Fiber markets in Hanover County, Virginia, and Greencastle, Pennsylvania, demonstrating their continued strong growth.
Glo Fiber currently provides multi-gigabit service in 21 markets, with work already underway to open four more.
The government grants Shentel has received further strengthen its determination to increase broadband accessibility.
To provide broadband to approximately 1,000 unserved homes in West Virginia, the company received $2.6 million in the third quarter. Shentel received a total of approximately $90 million to use fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology to bring broadband service to 28,000 unserved areas.
Shentel projects a 25% increase in fiber runs between 2022 and 2023, but Ed McKay, the company’s chief operating officer, recognizes the challenges that come with this rapid growth.
For broadband service providers, the location of underground facilities and the processing of pole connection permits continue to be major sources of delays.
However, McKay says he is confident he can overcome these obstacles and hopes to finish the year with about 235,000 total fiber runs.
Shentel also reported favorable financial results in the third quarter. Compared to the same period last year, revenue jumped 7.3% to $71.8 million.
While broadband revenues increased by 8.1% to $67.4 million, Glo Fiber market revenues saw a notable increase of 90.5% to $9.3 million. Shentel’s total consolidated EBITDA increased 20.5% to $22.9 million.
The Glo Fiber service offered by Shentel has increased both its customer base and coverage area with remarkable results.
Shentel is establishing itself as a major player in providing reliable, high-speed Internet connectivity to communities in its markets with accelerated development plans and a commitment to meeting the growing demand for broadband.
Subscribe to email updates: