Bluepeak announced Monday it’s struck a franchise agreement with the city of Norman, Oklahoma, to bring fiber service to nearly 55,000 residents and businesses. The operator is pouring $55 million in capital into the buildout, marking Bluepeak’s largest investment in a single market outside of South Dakota.
Asked what made Bluepeak select Norman as its next expansion target, an operator representative said proximity was a key draw. The city is close to Bluepeak’s other expansion markets in Shawnee and Midwest City, Oklahoma, which made going into Norman a “smart investment.”
“As with all our expansion markets, we’ve heard from our partners with the city that the community is in need of better options for internet,” said the representative, adding “we’ve had a very productive and supportive partnership with City of Norman officials in reaching the local franchise agreement.”
Speaking with Fierce in December, Bluepeak Chief Commercial and Customer Experience Officer Jeff Seidenfaden said the company had a handful of new franchise agreements in the works, though at the time he didn’t give away who those partners might be. Bluepeak’s agreement with Norman comes a couple of weeks after the operator announced a $30 million expansion effort in Midwest City, which is about 20 miles away from the city of Norman.
“Our fiber-to-the-home network is built to enhance growth, spur economic development and meet the needs of consumers in Norman well into the future,” said Bluepeak CEO Rich Fish in a statement. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the partnership we’ve struck with the city of Norman to provide better options for internet connectivity here.”
As for the project’s timeline, Bluepeak told Fierce it’s too early to give an estimate on when construction can begin or service availability, and that the operator will know more later this year once it’s planned out its budget.
“But service is typically made available in the first parts of the city within the first six months or so following ground breaking,” said the Bluepeak representative. “Once it gets started, it would begin our five-year construction project.”
Aside from Oklahoma, Bluepeak currently offers service in southwest Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. This year, it’s aiming to add more than 50,000 new fiber passings.
Bolstering its expansion efforts, Bluepeak last week hired Cox Communications veteran Kevin Schenck as its new VP of Market Expansion. The operator also appointed former Windstream exec Shawn Murray as VP of the Residential Sales division.