Xplore’s $181M Fibre Network Starts Connecting Customers in Newfoundland

Xplore has connected its first fibre internet customers in Newfoundland and Labrador, the rural broadband provider said Tuesday, as technicians begin installing households on a new fibre network meant to reach about 27,000 homes and businesses across the province.

Markham-based Xplore, founded in Woodstock, New Brunswick, sells fibre and 5G fixed wireless aimed at rural and small-town communities the big national carriers often leave behind. Newfoundland and Labrador remains one of the harder places in the country to get gigabit-class wired service outside the larger centres, which is why successive federal and provincial programs have poured money into fibre builds on the island and in Labrador.

Tuesday’s first installs are the next phase of a multi-year project Xplore pegs at more than $181 million, including a combined $92 million from Ottawa and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

That funding picture will sound familiar here: last September we covered the same public-private package when the feds and province agreed to cover nearly half of a roughly $200 million fibre push then framed around about 24,000 rural homes and an early-2027 target. Today’s announcement is when customer activations actually start.

“These first fibre customer connections mark an important milestone for Xplore and for Newfoundland and Labrador,” CEO Brent Johnston said. “These fibre installations represent the beginning of a network build that will connect more than 27,000 underserved households across the province.”

Xplore says the build is also creating construction jobs plus longer-term technician and support roles. It sits alongside earlier 5G Ultra fixed wireless work in rural Newfoundland and older funding rounds, including when Bell and Xplore shared $96 million for provincial internet expansion. Nationally, the NL fibre push follows similar rural fibre and 5G builds Xplore has chased in provinces such as Alberta, plus Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.

While Xplore is headquartered in Markham, it is majority-owned by Stonepeak, an investment firm based in New York that focuses on infrastructure and real assets.