By Diana Goovaerts

MetroNet and Vexus Fiber investor Oak Hill Capital is throwing its weight behind yet another US fiber player, committing US$250 million to startup Omni Fiber. Led by an executive team comprised of former executives from Frontier Communications, Cincinnati Bell (now altafiber) and Hargray Communications, Omni Fiber is looking to tap into unmet demand for better broadband in small and medium cities across the Midwest.

Former MetroNet VP and GM Darrick Zucco is leading the charge as Omni Fiber’s CEO. He told Fierce the operator is initially looking to hit 250,000 passings using the money from Oak Hill and “other sources of capital.” Specifically, it is looking to build XGS-PON to towns with 1,000 to 20,000 households that generally have one relevant competitor.

“There are several other factors, but our model is to provide competition to monopolies that have high prices and poor service,” he said via email.

To start, work will focus on projects in three states: Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Asked why it has decided to focus on the Midwest, Zucco said the region “seems to have the best mix of competition, relaxed regulatory environment and cost to build. There are many small towns that are hungry for what we have to offer.”

It’s not the only one that sees opportunity there, though. Brightspeed, a new fiber player which will initially be comprised of Lumen Technologies’ former ILEC assets in 20 states, has already announced ambitious build plans for both Ohio and Pennsylvania. By the end of next year, it’s aiming to reach 170,000 locations in the former and 40,000 in the latter.

Meanwhile, MetroNet, which recently merged with Vexus, has been building out its own footprint in Ohio and already has an expanding presence in both Pennsylvania and Michigan. And Greenlight Networks, another fiber player backed by Oak Hill, is also eyeing moves in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Zucco acknowledged Omni Fiber does have some concern about overlapping builds, but said “there is enough room for multiple providers in some markets as long as execution is solid.” He added “We believe that staying out of the larger metro areas is a short-to-medium term advantage and has more growth opportunity.”

The CEO has an experienced team alongside him to help implement its plans. This includes former Frontier CTO Steve Gable as Omni’s COO; former Cincinnati Bell COO and CFO Brian Ross as CFO; and former Hargray VP of Marketing and Product Andres Tovar as CRO.