Shentel reaches 200k fiber passings, aims to double that by 2026

With its headquarters in Edinburg, Virginia, Shentel, formally known as Shenandoah Telecommunications Corporation, is a publicly traded telecommunications corporation.

It runs a wired and digital wireless network throughout rural Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland,

Shentel reaches 200k fiber passings, aims to double that by 2026

Glo Fiber, a fiber-optic service offered by Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel), increased its coverage by about 20,000 new passings in the third quarter, bringing the total number of passings the firm has recorded to 200,000.

Glo Fiber saw a 55% rise in passings year over year.

Christopher French, CEO of Shentel, stated that “our Glo Fiber passings are now almost the size of our cable market passings.”

The business intends to accelerate construction across all Glo Fiber areas in light of the recent announcement of the Horizon Telecom purchase, which is scheduled for completion in 2024.

French stated that the business plans “to double broadband passings again by the end of 2026,”

Along with its expansion, Glo Fiber’s subscriber base has been steadily growing. Approximately 4,500 new users were added in the third quarter alone, a 13.9% increase over the same period last year.

French stated, “Our track record over the past four years provides confidence for us to grow our broadband data subscriber base at similar growth rates in the next three to four years as we expand our Glo Fiber network,”

Additionally, he asserted that since the firm first introduced Glo Fiber in 2019, the increase in broadband data subscribers has contributed to a steady expansion of the company’s EBITDA margin year over year.

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, and work is already being done to open four more.

The government’s grants that Shentel has received further strengthen its determination to increase broadband accessibility.

For the purpose of providing broadband to about 1,000 unserved houses in West Virginia, the company was granted $2.6 million in the third quarter. Shentel has received a total of about $90 million to use fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology to bring broadband service to 28,000 unserved regions.

Shentel anticipates a 25% rise in fiber passings between 2022 and 2023, but Ed McKay, the company’s chief operating officer, recognizes the difficulties accompanying this rapid growth.

For broadband providers, the location of underground facilities and the processing of pole attachment permits continue to be major sources of delays.

However, McKay says he is certain that they can overcome these obstacles and hopes to end the year with about 235,000 fiber passings overall.

Shentel also saw favourable financial results in the third quarter. Compared to the same period last year, revenue surged by 7.3% to $71.8 million.

While broadband revenue climbed by 8.1% to $67.4 million, Glo Fiber market revenue experienced a notable jump of 90.5% to $9.3 million. Shentel’s total consolidated EBITDA increased by 20.5% to $22.9 million.

The Glo Fiber service offered by Shentel has increased both its customer base and its coverage area with remarkable results.

Shentel is establishing itself as a major participant in providing dependable and high-speed internet connectivity to communities across its markets with accelerated development plans and a commitment to addressing the growing demand for broadband.