High-speed fiber broadband service will be expanded to unserved and underserved Arizona communities as part of a strategic investment announced today by Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. a global private investment firm, in Wecom LLC, an Arizona-based internet service provider.
The investment in the Phoenix-based company, with support from a minority investment by Simple Broadband LLC, is expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of households and businesses and create hundreds of new jobs throughout the state.
Established in Arizona over six decades ago, Wecom is a broadband provider that delivers fiber, telecommunications and internet services to residential and business customers. The company developed a fiber-to-the-home network to empower communities and connect businesses across the region.
“Hundreds of thousands of rural households and businesses in Arizona lack equal access to high-speed internet service,” said Darren Glatt, partner and head of digital infrastructure at Searchlight. “Wecom’s long track record of providing reliable, best-in-class services to Arizona communities for more than 60 years makes it the perfect partner to help bridge the digital divide in the state. We are extremely proud to be able to work with such an established operator to bring the connectivity that rural communities need and the benefits it brings to students, small businesses, and communities overall.”
Last July, Wecom was awarded a $10 million Arizona Broadband Development Grant to bring high-speed, reliable, and affordable broadband services to rural Mohave County.
Wecom also received a U.S. Department of Agriculture ReConnect grant to bolster its efforts to provide fiber services to hundreds of households on the Hualapai Nation.
Aided by Searchlight, Wecom will extend its collaborative approach to public-private partnerships at the state, county, and local levels, helping it to bring best-in-class fiber internet access to Arizona communities that are on the wrong side of the digital divide.
For more information, visit www.searchlightcap.com or go to www.wecominc.com.
