Ezee Fiber pours $200M in Texas fiber expansion

Houston-based ISP Ezee Fiber is taking its fiber build to the next level, as it plans to invest $200 million to continue its network expansion in Fort Bend County.

The operator, which is backed by private equity firm I Squared Capital, aims to pass an additional 125,000 locations in 2024, connecting residents in Mission Bend, Sugar Land, Missouri City, Pearland and surrounding communities.

An Ezee Fiber spokesperson told Fierce the company also currently operates in Texas’ Brazoria, Harris and Montgomery counties. The rep didn’t say how many homes Ezee Fiber passed so far in Fort Bend County but noted it’s on track to connect an additional 14,000 locations in the county by year-end.

“We will expand in Texas and anticipate launching in additional states in 2024,” added the spokesperson.

Ezee Fiber in its release stated the Fort Bend County expansion will create “a wide range of construction and engineering career opportunities.” The spokesperson said those jobs will include field engineers, field technicians “and a variety of construction-related positions.”

Ezee Fiber offers four service tiers, ranging from 1-gig for $69 per month followed by 2-gig ($89 per month), 5-gig ($99 per month) all the way up to 8-gig for $119 per month. It’s also a member provider of the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

CEO Matt Marino noted in a statement Ezee Fiber’s “significant” investment in fiber includes “a 2,000 mile core network backbone throughout Houston.”

"Our expansion in Fort Bend County will bring reliable, affordable multi-gig symmetrical internet to more neighborhoods in the area, enabling them to enjoy the fastest, most reliable fiber-based internet available,” he said.

Marino, a veteran of Altice USA and Charter Communications, took the reins as Ezee Fiber’s CEO in May. He told Fierce at the time his background in cable taught him how important it is to “hold your customers and employees in the highest regard.”

Texas fiber rollouts seem to be on the rise. Brightspeed earlier this month got the greenlight on an $8 million fiber project in Henderson County. The state is poised to get $3.3 billion from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program – the highest allocation out of all the 50 states.

Asked if Ezee Fiber plans to pursue BEAD money to complement its private funding, the spokesperson said, “Gaining BEAD funding is always a goal, but this expansion is not dependent on outside funding.”