Arizona officials on Monday announced that Wecom Fiber has won the state’s largest BEAD award — a $195 million grant aimed at delivering fiber-to-the-premise internet to rural and underserved areas.
The grant is part of the federal BEAD program distributed by the NTIA, designed to expand high-speed access and paired with private matching funds to accelerate deployment.
Wecom said the funding will connect more than 66,000 homes and businesses across 17 project areas in eight counties. County breakdown: Yavapai about $49.5 million for roughly 13,000 locations; Coconino $42.3 million for about 10,500 locations; Mohave $24.5 million for 6,500; Navajo $21 million for 6,600; Pinal $20 million for 19,000; Maricopa $16.5 million for 6,100; Gila $16.7 million for 3,200; La Paz $4.8 million for 700.
The eight-county initiative marks the largest single BEAD award to a recipient in Arizona, with the state’s overall BEAD allocation totaling $967 million, described by officials as the largest broadband investment in state history.
Wecom’s chief executive Paul Fleming called the award “historic,” and credited state leaders and residents who participated in the planning process. The Kingman-based company has grown into a regional fiber broadband provider and is backed by private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners.
In a related note, the Navajo Nation has the second-largest BEAD allocation at $148.6 million, according to the BEAD dashboard maintained by Connected Nation, underscoring the program’s emphasis on tribal and rural communities.
