The need for fast and reliable internet continues to grow as everything — from education, to business, to entertainment — expands virtually.
Broadband resources such as fiber-optic internet have become an important infrastructure to meet the rising demand, especially in more rural communities. In the past few years, various fiber internet companies have entered the Upstate to bring high-speed services to the local market.
Many of these companies — including WOW! a Colorado-based broadband provider — say the move is due to the area’s increasing population, economic growth and competitive environment.
WOW! announced in 2022 that it will commit more than $30 million to bring fiber-to-home services into Greenville County. More than 28,000 homes in Five Forks, Fountain Inn, Mauldin, Piedmont and Simpsonville are planned to receive fiber internet.
“With the state’s recent heavy investment in broadband, cities like Fountain Inn benefit from greater speeds, more market competition and most importantly for our residents, greater access to internet-based tools and resources that improve their quality of life,” said Fountain Inn Mayor GP McLeer.
WOW! set up a field operations and warehouse facility in Greenville County and hired local workers to complete the construction projects. Dominick Silvio, regional director of operations for Greenville County, said it is 90% complete with building infrastructure in Mauldin and will continue to expand into the additional communities over the next few years.
Another company bringing fiber to the Upstate is Lumos, a North Carolina-based internet provider. Derek Kelly, vice president of market development for Lumos, said it was a natural transition for the company to move into South Carolina.
“We truly believe that fiber is the only infrastructure that’s really set up for what we’re going to need over the next 50 and 100 years,” he said.
Lumos plans to invest over $150 million to install approximately 2,200 miles of fiber in Spartanburg and Greenville counties. Construction is underway in Spartanburg County and the company is working on franchise agreements and permitting with local governments in Greer, Greenville and Travelers Rest.
The fiber internet provider also received a $1.2 million grant from the South Carolina Broadband Office to fund projects bringing fiber connections to unserved communities in Spartanburg County. Lumos will contribute $881,000 to the project.
Jim Stritzinger, director of the South Carolina Broadband Office, said the public-private partnership will connect 732 homes and 42 businesses with fiber internet broadband. The project is expected to be completed in December 2025.
“With fiber costing $80,000 a mile to go underground and about $60,000 a mile to go on aerial delivery on telephone poles, it gets very expensive in sparsely populated areas,” Stritzinger said. “That’s where the broadband office comes in. We make grant investments to change the calculus on a business case so that all of a sudden, they make sense.”
Fiber internet coming to Anderson, Pickens counties
The South Carolina Broadband Office also awarded two grants totaling more than $44 million to Upcountry Fiber, which was established in 2020 as a partnership between Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative and West Carolina Tel, to provide fiber internet services in Anderson, Pickens, Greenville, Spartanburg and Oconee counties.
The state funding will specifically be used to help communities in Anderson and Pickens counties. Upcountry Fiber will invest an additional $10 million in the Anderson County project and $5.57 million in Pickens County.
Jim Lovinggood, Upcountry Fiber’s co-CEO and president of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, said these grants help speed up the timeline for installing fiber internet in an area.
“When you look at the project as a whole, primarily the five counties that we’re talking about serving, we estimate that it takes five maybe six years to construct the entire project,” Lovinggood said.
Through the private and public investment, nearly 9,160 addresses in Pickens County have been selected to receive access to broadband internet service. Pickens County Council Chair Chris Bowers said broadband access is critical to Pickens County’s growth.
In Anderson County, around 13,000 addresses — both residential and commercial — will have access to broadband internet service. Anderson County Council Chair Tommy Dunn said fiber internet will impact both existing residents while also draw in new people and companies to the area.
“As far as infrastructure goes, (fiber internet) is getting up there with solar and water,” Dunn said. “You got to have it.”
Other companies deploying fiber internet in the Upstate include AT&T, Charter, Comporium, Vyve and Zitel.
Fiber internet facts
Fiber broadband uses fiber-optic cables that transmit data by sending light along thin glass fibers. Traditional cable internet transmits information via electricity over copper wires. The difference in transmission allows data to travel faster and across greater distances in a fiber-optic network.
Provider breakdown
WOW! is a broadband services provider based in Colorado. It provides services in 16 markets, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast.
Lumos is a fiber-optic internet provider based in High Point, North Carolina. The company provides services across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Upcountry Fiber was established in 2020 as a partnership between Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative and West Carolina Tel. The local service provider’s mission is to “bridge the digital divide” and bring fiber internet to Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties.
