Grain Management to Combine Ritter, Great Plains Into 20-State Fiber Platform
The pending deal would create Rightfiber and expand Grain’s regional fiber reach
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2026 – Grain Management is betting that regional fiber providers need to get bigger to stay competitive.
The new company, Rightfiber, would bring together Jonesboro, Arkansas-based Ritter Communications and Blair, Nebraska-based Great Plains Communications. The combined operator would serve more than 400 communities, connect 300,000 homes and businesses, and operate a 28,000-mile regional fiber network, the companies said Tuesday.
Heath Simpson, currently CEO of Ritter, will lead Rightfiber. Todd Foje, CEO of Great Plains, will serve as executive chairman.
The combination follows Great Plains’ pending acquisition of Fastwyre Broadband’s Nebraska operations, another Grain-backed expansion move.
The move gives Grain a larger platform for fiber expansion and acquisitions at a time when regional providers are trying to scale for broadband grants, enterprise connectivity, and growing demand from hyperscalers and other high-capacity users.
The company said Rightfiber would pursue growth through both network expansion and M&A, a signal that the new brand could be more than a holding-company reshuffle.
