Tilson’s top 30 unsecured creditors are owed almost $40 million. The company’s Chapter 11 filing says they owe between $100 million and $500 million.
Tilson Technology Management, Inc. and its affiliates — Tilson Middle Street Holdings, LLC and Boundless Broadband, LLC — have voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The move comes on the heels of a sudden contract cancellation by the company’s largest client, Gigapower, which has left Tilson scrambling to restructure its balance sheet and preserve operations.
A sudden revenue shock
LIVID LAS VEGAS – Residents of Las Vegas, upset with Tilson’s progress in the city and the ‘shoddy’ workmanship and ‘unsafe’ construction practices, set up a website, STOP TILSON NOW. The city finally agreed that Tilson’s failed project had caused “significant and unreasonable disruption”. It posed “a public safety risk,” and earlier this year issued a Notice of Default to Gigapower, halting all new construction until restoration commitments were met. (Photo from Stop Tilson Now website)
Tilson, a Portland, Maine–based developer of fiber and wireless networks, traces its financial distress to early 2025, when Gigapower-the AT&T/BlackRock joint venture responsible for major fiber builds in Las Vegas and Gilbert, Arizona—abruptly terminated nearly all of its construction contracts. According to court filings, Tilson had invoiced roughly $20 million in change orders that went unpaid, prompting Gigapower to “terminate for convenience” on April 29, 2025.
Yesterday, a class action lawsuit was filed against Tilson by two former employees from the Nevada and Arizona offices that were closed in early May due to the Gigapower implosion, alleging Tilson of willfully violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, and not providing 60 days’ notice that there would be major layoffs.
It is not known how many employees were terminated. At that time, Tilson had over 1,400 employees.
CEO Darrell Ingram put a positive spin on the Chapter 11 filing and the company’s future, explaining, “Our core business is strong, but we need to reset after one client fails to manage its relationships with its host communities and pay us for the work we performed materially changed our revenue expectations.”
Debtor-in-possession financing and first-day motions
Tilson secured $37.5 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from its existing lending syndicate to fund continued operations through the bankruptcy process. In “first‐day” motions filed yesterday, the company asked the court to authorize:
- Payment of wages and benefits without interruption,
- Full payment to vendors and suppliers for post-petition goods and services,
- Maintenance of existing customers and contracts under ordinary course of operations.
Tilson aims to emerge from Chapter 11 by Q3 or Q4 2025 as a leaner, financially sound enterprise.
The Phoenix Business Journal reports that Tilson’s bankruptcy has placed key East Valley fiber and wireless network projects in limbo, disrupting work sites in the greater Phoenix metro area and raising uncertainty among local subcontractors. Similarly, MaineBiz notes that Tilson’s Portland headquarters and nationwide project teams remain “operating as usual.” However, day-to-day progress on new builds is likely to slow pending resolution of vendor and financing arrangements.
Creditors, investors, and market reaction
On the financial markets side, Rand Capital, which holds a significant preferred-stock position in Tilson, is actively assessing the impact on its balance sheet, as the bankruptcy filing could substantially impair its holdings.
According to Tilson’s filing documents reviewed by Wireless Estimator, the company estimates that its assets and liabilities fall within the $100 million–$500 million range.
Strategic outlook and industry context
Tilson’s restructuring follows similar moves by mid-tier telecom contractors, who are grappling with concentrated carrier power and project cancellations. For Tilson, the Chapter 11 process presents an opportunity to realign overhead with core service lines—particularly network design, project management, and system integration—while preserving customer relationships.
“We are fortunate that our lenders continue to believe in our business and support us financially,” added Ingram. “The steps we’re taking today represent a new beginning, not an end.”
The majority of past major contractor bankruptcies were tied to a common thread – AT&T.
Next steps in bankruptcy court
Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon will oversee Tilson’s case, which is pending joint administration alongside related affiliate filings. The company’s official noticing and claims agent, Omni Agent Solutions, is fielding inquiries at BoundlessBroadbandInquiries@OmniAgnt.com or 888-504-9089 (U.S./Canada toll-free)
Over the coming weeks, the court will rule on first-day motions and establish a timeline for creditor claims, creditor committees, and the Chapter 11 plan process.
Tilson’s Chapter 11 filing highlights the precarious financing model of infrastructure contractors, which are heavily dependent on a few large clients. While the bankruptcy process provides a legal shield to stabilize operations, the ultimate test will be Tilson’s ability to rebuild its backlog, manage carrier relationships, and emerge with a sustainable capital structure by year-end.
Gigapower revenue stoppage was the second incident involving fiber payments
On February 18, 2022, Tilson sued MasTec North America in Florida federal court after MasTec slashed more than half of Tilson’s contracted scope on Verizon’s One Fiber Initiative—cutting a promised 1,000 “core miles” of fiber engineering to just 416, then assigning 2,000 “ODN miles” of drop‐extension work only to reduce that to 1,000 miles and abruptly ordering a stop to all ODN work in March 2020.
Tilson completed hundreds of miles, staffed up to meet MasTec’s demand for 100 miles per month, and submitted nearly 300 invoices (totaling over $1 million) plus change‐order claims, but MasTec refused to pay.
Tilson’s complaint asserted breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and negligent misrepresentation—alleging MasTec knowingly misrepresented the work volume, failed to compensate Tilson for out‐of‐scope directives, and retained the benefit of Tilson’s services without payment.
Tilson sought payment of all unpaid invoices and costs, interest, attorneys’ fees, and other relief.
Both parties reached an agreement, which was not published, and the lawsuit was closed on October 10, 2023.
A record of growth flatlines
In the early 2010s, Tilson acquired the assets and wireless construction team of Pennsylvania-based W.D. Wright Contracting Inc., advancing its presence in the Mid-Atlantic market.
On August 21, 2015, Tilson announced the acquisition of Magnolia Tower & Tech Services, a regional tower and small-cell deployment and maintenance firm.
Tilson launched an internal infrastructure subsidiary to develop and operate utility poles, towers, and fiber assets in 2014, and in 2019, private-equity firm SDC Capital acquired Tilson Infrastructure, transforming it into an independent, stand-alone entity focused on owning and leasing telecom infrastructure
In late 2021, Tilson closed a transaction with SDC Capital Partners, providing up to $100 million to fuel nationwide network design‐build services and enable the capitalization of its asset-ownership affiliate, SQF, LLC
On June 27, 2024, European infrastructure investor Tikehau Star Infra took an equity stake in Tilson’s joint-venture Plenary Broadband Infrastructure (PBI), accelerating investments in broadband and digital infrastructure projects nationwide.
On May 28, 2025, Tilson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
