New US ISP Brightspeed has announced that it plans to achieve one million new fiber passings across its multi-state territory by the end of 2023. The company says that the rollout will seek to cover rural and suburban regions of the US, including many locations where fibre has not historically been deployed. Brightspeed previously announced plans to invest more than USD2 billion in its fibre rollout, which is expected to reach up to three million homes and businesses over the next five years.
The company will initially be comprised of the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) assets and associated operations of Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink), which are the subject of a pending acquisition by Apollo-managed funds. Bob Mudge, CEO of Brightspeed, commented: ‘We are working to secure final regulatory approvals in the third quarter of this year. We have already begun design and construction preparations necessary to hit the ground running on day one.’
As previously reported by CommsUpdate, in August 2021 Lumen entered into a definitive agreement to sell its ILEC business in 20 states to funds managed by affiliates of Apollo for USD7.5 billion, including the assumption of approximately USD1.4 billion of debt.
