- Cable One is making fiber M&A plays as it deals with legacy broadband declines
- Specifically, it’s expanding its Clearwave JV and ownership of Vyve Broadband
- The operator also just hired a new CEO
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.
The company will combine its Clearwave Fiber joint venture with Point Broadband, aiming to establish “one of the largest independent fiber operators in the U.S.” with more than 500,000 passings across 12 states.
Launched in 2022 by Cable One and a trio of private equity partners, Clearwave provides residential and commercial fiber in the Midwest and Southeast U.S. Point Broadband, which is also PE-backed, was founded in 2017 and serves 10 states.
Cable One is a current investor in both Clearwave and Point Broadband and intends to remain a “significant shareholder” in the combined company once the deal closes. But that’s not the only investment Cable One has teed up.
Separately, the operator on Monday announced it will acquire full ownership of Mega Broadband Investment Holdings (MBI), which provides broadband, fiber, video and voice services under the Vyve Broadband brand. Vyve primarily serves rural markets across 16 states and had about 675,000 passings as of September 30, noted the press release.
Cable One’s latest fiber plays come after the operator shed 21,600 residential broadband subscribers in Q3 2025, with then-CEO Julie Laulis noting “overall customer losses were disappointing.” The company also carries a debt of about $3.3 billion.
“Cable One is in a difficult position and fiber certainly helps providing a better user experience,” Recon Analytics Principal Roger Entner told Fierce. “What is even more important for a cable company is not to treat their fiber customers like cable customers.”
Aside from growing fiber and wireless competition, another problem smaller cable companies like Cable One have faced is a fixed footprint, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson noted in an October blog.
“Comcast and Charter are expanding to some degree through greenfields and grant opportunities, but even they aren’t seeing a big overall growth in passings,” he wrote.
Dawson speculated that perhaps Cable One could become an acquisition target for a larger ISP. WOW!, another regional cable operator, was recently taken private by DigitalBridge and Crestview. That deal closed on December 31.
Cable One's new CEO
In the meantime, plenty of changes are afoot at Cable One. The company at the end of December announced James Holanda as its new CEO. Holanda, who was previously CEO at Astound Broadband and also worked at both Charter and Comcast, is expected to take the reins by March 31, 2026.
Cable One had searched for a new chief executive since June 2025, when Laulis announced plans to retire by year-end. CFO Todd Koetje is acting as interim CEO until Holanda takes over.
“I look forward to working alongside the Board, leadership team and all of the Cable One associates to unlock future growth opportunities, continue to innovate and fiercely compete in the current dynamic market environment,” said Holanda in a statement.