en.Wedoany.com Reported - TDS Telecom's fiber broadband-centric strategy continues to advance, adding 40,000 marketable fiber service addresses in the first quarter of 2026. These addresses account for 58% of its total coverage, with 79% supporting gigabit speeds.
TDS Telecom President and CEO Ken Dixon told investors during the first-quarter earnings call that the progress in fiber construction reflects the company's efforts to strengthen its installation workforce. This marks the highest first-quarter total in the company's history, nearly three times that of Q1 2025, demonstrating both effective execution and enhanced construction capabilities, including record-high internal and external construction team sizes.
Dixon added that while the first-quarter results are encouraging, the company is preparing for the next phase of fiber expansion. TDS continues to invest in its internal construction team, increasing headcount and upgrading tools and equipment to support higher construction capacity, which underpins a strategic advantage. These investments allow the company to better control execution and improve long-term efficiency.
Over the past three years, TDS Telecom has nearly doubled the number of fiber service addresses in its markets, a trend that continued into Q1 2026. Driven by ongoing coverage expansion and copper-to-fiber conversions, the company's residential fiber business added 11,000 fiber subscribers in the first quarter, a 32% year-over-year increase. Kristina Bothfeld, Vice President of Financial Analysis and Strategic Planning at TDS, stated that residential fiber connections have also nearly doubled over the past three years, and this growth is expected to continue as fiber coverage expands.
TDS further expanded its fiber coverage in the New Hampshire market through the April acquisition of Granite State Communications. The company expects to close the transaction in the third quarter of 2026, pending necessary regulatory approvals. The deal adds over 11,000 fiber addresses adjacent to existing TDS markets, supporting its cluster strategy, while approximately 30 employees will join the TDS team.
With a robust pipeline of fiber construction projects underway, TDS is well-prepared for the spring and summer construction seasons. This pipeline will leverage funding from the FCC's Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (E-ACAM) program. Dixon noted that TDS Telecom's fiber construction project pipeline includes addresses entering new regions through fiber expansion, as well as fiber upgrades in existing markets via fiber deepening plans and the federal E-ACAM program.
In June, TDS Telecom launched the second phase of its E-ACAM broadband expansion in Dane County, Wisconsin, with a groundbreaking ceremony held in the Town of Perry on June 2. For the Dane County construction project, TDS has extended construction work beyond federally supported areas to cover the county's entire existing footprint. New services will be offered to customers upon completion, covering towns such as Black Earth, Middleton, and Verona, as well as the Village of Waunakee, and rural addresses in Blanchardville, Cross Plains, Dane, Montrose, Springfield, Springdale, and Vienna. Given the rural nature of markets like Dane County, the E-ACAM program is a vital financing tool for delivering fiber broadband to hard-to-reach areas. The E-ACAM program provides federal support, enabling TDS to extend fiber coverage to approximately 300,000 service addresses, including those that would otherwise be uneconomical along the way, thereby helping to remove copper from the network.
TDS Telecom continues to benefit from its fiber expansion strategy, with total residential revenue growing in the first quarter. Revenue per residential connection increased 1% year-over-year, reflecting annual price increases offset by a continued industry-wide decline in video attachment rates. TDS Telecom fiber revenue grew 13% year-over-year, approximately $11 million. Bothfeld stated that these results help offset the current pressures on traditional revenue streams.
However, as TDS Telecom advances its fiber-centric strategy, the provider cannot escape the recent legacy business declines in its copper and cable TV segments. Cable TV revenue fell 10% year-over-year, but Bothfeld noted that the company is increasing investments in cable TV markets to curb the decline. TDS Telecom's total residential revenue decreased by $5 million year-over-year, with $3 million of the decline attributed to the divestiture of primarily copper-based markets. Bothfeld stated that the company remains highly focused on driving fiber revenue growth, which is expected to outpace the offset of legacy business declines. TDS reported total operating revenue from continuing operations of $309.5 million in the first quarter, up from $290.4 million in the same period last year.
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