Jonesboro’s Ritter Communications Merges With Great Plains, Rebrands as Rightfiber

By Wesley Brown, Arkansas Delta Informer Editor

June 16, 2026 – A private equity firm led by one of the nation’s wealthiest Black businessmen is combining Jonesboro-based Ritter Communications and Blair, Nebraska-based Great Plains Communications under a new organization and brand, “Rightfiber.”

Grain Management, a Washington, D.C.-based private investment firm focused on digital infrastructure and communications, today (Tuesday, June 16) announced plans to combine Ritter and Great Plains – two portfolio telecoms that Grain purchased in November 2019 and  October 2018, respectively,

According to Grain, the strategic combination brings together two highly respected telecommunications providers, each with more than 100 years of history, and a shared commitment to expanding high-quality fiber connectivity, investing in local communities, and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Under the new company structure, Heath Simpson, the CEO of Ritter, who joined the Jonesboro tech firm in 2020 as CFO and assumed the top job in early 2024, will serve as chief executive of RightFiber. Todd Foje, currently CEO of Great Plains, will serve as Executive Chairman of the combined company.

“Ritter and Great Plains share a deep commitment to customers, communities, and our amazing employees,” said Simpson. “By coming together as Rightfiber, we are building on the strengths of both organizations to create new opportunities for growth while continuing to deliver the fast, reliable services and local relationships our customers value.”

Added Foje: “Ritter Communications and Great Plains Communications share remarkably similar values, cultures, and commitments to the communities they serve. Together, Rightfiber will combine deep local relationships with expanded capabilities and investment to accelerate growth and continue bringing advanced fiber connectivity to underserved communities.”

Founded in 1906 by Marked Tree founder and businessman Ernest Ritter as a local exchange carrier (LEC), the Jonesboro telecom firm has grown over several decades through expansion and acquisitions as a rural phone service provider. Then, in 2018, it began seeking an equity partner to fund future expansion plans.

In 2019, the Ritter family launched a search for a private equity partner and chose Grain Management as its majority owner. Now in its fifth generation of ownership, E. Ritter and Company still holds a minority stake in Ritter Communications. In the decade before the Grain buyout, Ritter invested over $100 million to expand its high-capacity fiber-optic network to more than 45,000 customers across Arkansas, southeast Missouri and west Tennessee.

Growing With the Grain

Under Grain’s banner, Ritter has grown rapidly over the years, recently investing hundreds of millions of dollars in technology infrastructure and offering gigabit high-speed internet service under the Rightfiber brand. It now serves 197 communities and more than 65,000 customers across Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.

Among several key deals, Ritter closed on a $590 million debt refinancing package in November 2024 to support fiber-optic network expansions in Fort Smith and Texarkana, Arkansas, and Texas, and in Paducah, Ky.

In late 2025, Ritter announced plans to expand its high-capacity long-haul fiber network from Little Rock to Tulsa, Okla. The fiber build was part of a 20-year contract with a strategic hyperscale partner and included more than 280 miles of underground multi-conduit systems and high-strand-count fiber cables.

The new network, completed in December 2025, also provided next-generation services to new and existing markets along its route, expanding Ritter’s network into its seventh state. In April, Ritter announced a $50 million investment in North Texas to deliver RightFiber speeds of up to 5 Gigs to homes and up to 100 Gigs to local businesses.

Ritter has also played a key role in the state’s plan to bring high-speed broadband services to rural areas across Arkansas. In February, the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) approved the initial tranche of Arkansas’s more than $1.2 billion in federal funds from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program awards, allocating $126.1 million to expand high-speed broadband access in most rural areas of the state.

Similarly, Great Plains was also a family-owned LEC before it was acquired by Grain in late 2018. Grain acquired Great Plains from the Jensen and Garrigan families, descendants of E.C. Hunt who founded the organization in 1910.

Before the deal, the family and the company’s management team had continued to evolve the business to stay current with ever-changing technology trends and bandwidth needs, transforming it from a small rural firm into a leading regional provider of fiber-based services and the largest privately owned telecommunications provider in Nebraska.

“These traits make Great Plains … a company Grain is excited to have in its portfolio of investments. We see great things ahead,” David Grain, Founder & CEO of Grain Management, said following the announcement.

In a statement, Grain said it has supported the significant growth of both companies through long-term investment in fiber infrastructure, operational expansion, and broadband accessibility.

Going forward, the Washington, D.C. investment firm said the combined organization will continue to operate with a strong local focus while leveraging expanded scale, resources, and infrastructure investments to support future growth.

“In addition, customers will continue receiving the same reliable service, local relationships, and personalized support they trust today. Both companies remain committed to maintaining strong community partnerships and continuing long-term infrastructure investment across the new service area.”

Black Billionaire Backing

Founded in 2007, Grain’s investments focus exclusively on broadband technology and telecommunications infrastructure across 26 countries. Before founding the D.C. investment firm, Grain led wireless infrastructure company Global Signal from bankruptcy to IPO.

After stepping away from Global Signal, Grain and his team of Washington, D.C.-based private equity bankers have raised over $12 billion to back infrastructure investments in the telecom sector, according to the company’s PitchBook profile. Forbes lists David Grain’s net worth at $2.3 billion, ranking him among the richest 2,000 persons in the U.S.

The current Grain merger of Ritter and Great Plains remains subject to customary approvals and regulatory review