The latest telecom news includes announcements on REV Fiber, Fiber Network in Mali and Senegal, Rural Fiber Projects in Oklahoma, and others.
Mali and Senegal Commission Cross-Border Fiber Network to Expand International Connectivity
Mali and Senegal have commissioned a direct fiber-optic interconnection between their state-owned national backbone networks at the Kidira–Diboli border crossing. The link was inaugurated on October 5 by Mali’s Société Malienne de Transmission et de Diffusion and Sénégal Numérique. It gives landlocked Mali another international transmission route through Senegal’s network and onward submarine cables, reducing dependence on existing cross-border paths. Mali’s public backbone exceeds 3,500 kilometers, while Senegal operates a national fiber network spanning several thousand kilometers. The connection implements an agreement reached in April 2026 under a West African backbone initiative. Telecommunications operators, internet service providers and government networks can use the interconnection for additional capacity and redundancy.
REV Fiber Begins Louisiana BEAD Network Construction Covering 2,840 Locations
REV Fiber has started construction of a federally supported fiber broadband network in Central, Louisiana, marking a new deployment milestone under the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The operator expects its East Baton Rouge Parish project to connect approximately 2,840 locations. REV participates in the Louisiana Local Fiber Consortium alongside T-Mobile and Swyft Fiber; the consortium collectively secured roughly $378 million in BEAD funding, rather than that entire amount being assigned to this single build. Louisiana is targeting service availability at 15,000 BEAD-funded locations by the end of the first quarter of 2027. Construction has begun, but the company has not announced a completion date for every address.
Oklahoma Completes Eight Rural Fiber Projects with $17.7 Million Broadband Funding Oklahoma’s Broadband Office has confirmed completion of eight grant-funded fiber projects delivered by Indian Electric Cooperative across seven rural communities. Four last-mile projects extend service to approximately 1,187 locations in and around Drumright, Cleveland, Lotsee and Burbank. Another four middle-mile projects strengthen regional transport infrastructure around Pawnee, Cleveland and Pawhuska. The cooperative received approximately $17.7 million through the state’s American Rescue Plan Act broadband funding program for the combined last-mile and middle-mile work. The additional middle-mile routes are intended to improve the backbone capacity and resilience available to local broadband networks and future rural extensions.
