KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 12, 2026 - Rural fiber broadband leader Conexon today announced its Internet Service Provider (ISP) entity, Conexon Connect, has received the first federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding disbursement from the state of Louisiana, with an initial portion of its $9 million award distributed to begin BEAD construction in six northern Louisiana parishes.
In addition to the finalized Louisiana award, Conexon Connect has been preliminarily awarded more than $215 million in BEAD funding. Overall, the funding supports the expansion of high-speed fiber internet within rural communities across eight states.
The Louisiana BEAD funding will enable Connect to expand construction of world-class fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks across unserved and underserved communities within Claiborne, Union, West Carroll, Richland, Franklin and Catahoula parishes.
Combined with previous funding provided through Louisiana GUMBO 1.0 and federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) awards, the BEAD funding will support Connect’s FTTH construction to approximately 60,000 homes and businesses across 20 Louisiana parishes. The company intends to launch service in Concordia Parish and expand service availability in Webster Parish in the second quarter of 2026. Expansion in Union Parish and remaining areas is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026.
“When cooperatives, communities, local stakeholders, and Conexon work together, we don’t just build networks—we build futures,” Conexon Founding Partner Randy Klindt said. “We remain committed to ensuring our BEAD funding in Louisiana translates to a brighter future for our community partners and the rural residents who need reliable connectivity most.”
Connect’s impact in Louisiana began in 2023, when it partnered with community group Delta Interfaith leadership to launch Connect, powered by East Carroll Parish – Connect’s first community-owned fiber broadband network project. Today, more than 1,500 homes and businesses in East Carroll Parish have access to multigigabit-speed fiber internet.
Since Conexon Connect debuted in 2021 as an ISP focused on connecting rural America, it has grown rapidly and completed 13 fiber networks in partnership with electric cooperatives and community organizations. Seven more networks are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
About Conexon Connect
Conexon Connect, the fiber-to-the-home internet services provider (ISP) formed and operated by Conexon, is an emerging local broadband leader in rural communities across the country. Connect works predominantly with electric cooperatives and communities, building networks using Conexon’s proven methodology and architecture that leverage existing infrastructure to power reliable and affordable 100 percent fiber broadband service for rural homes and businesses. Connect currently operates in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri.
About Conexon
Conexon is an industry-leading broadband network design, construction and operations firm working with electric cooperatives, communities and other entities to deploy fiber to the home across rural America. Since its inception a decade ago, Conexon has collaborated with electric cooperatives across 80 markets to launch and deploy fiber-to-the-home networks in their territories, with more than 40 projects now reaching 100 percent of members. The company’s internet service provider, Connect, today delivers multi-gigabit speed internet across many of those markets. Through Conexon’s work with its partners, more than 4 million rural Americans now have access to fiber to the home, with more than 1.8 million connected. The company has designed more than 200,000 miles of fiber. With more than $2 billion in federal, state, and local grants and subsidies funding for FTTH projects, Conexon and its partners have collectively secured more federal broadband funding for fiber construction than any other group in the country.