Google Fiber will be sold to private equity firm and merge with cable company

"Put together, the two companies pass ~7.1 [million] locations in 26 states. The two companies overlap in only three counties in Texas (109k locations). Texas and Illinois will have the largest footprint for the combined entity. Cable and Fiber will cover an almost equal share of locations for the combined company."

"The combined GFiber/Astound company will face competition in most of its territory from at least one cable or fiber/copper provider. That includes AT&T at 53 percent of locations, Comcast at 46 percent of locations, Charter at 43 percent of locations, Verizon at 22 percent of locations, and Lumen (CenturyLink) at 11 percent."

"Astound is already the product of industry consolidation via a series of private equity deals that combined Wave Broadband, RCN, and Grande Communications. Most of Astound's network is cable broadband, but it has 892,014 fiber locations and 44,548 copper locations."

GFiber and Astound are merging to create a major broadband provider serving approximately 7.1 million locations across 26 states with minimal geographic overlap. GFiber currently operates in 15 states with 2.8 million locations, while Astound serves 4.45 million locations across 12 states and Washington D.C. The combined company will have 892,014 fiber locations and 44,548 copper locations, with cable and fiber covering nearly equal shares. Texas and Illinois will represent the largest footprints. The merged entity will face significant competition from major providers including AT&T, Comcast, Charter, Verizon, and Lumen across most territories. Key strategic questions remain regarding expansion plans and fiber upgrade investments.

Read at Ars Technica