In the latest in a series of announcements, Brightspeed says that it aims to bring fiber service to 310,000 residential and business addresses in Missouri during the next few years. The first 130,000 of those passings will be completed by the end of next year, with the remaining 180,000 in the years following.
The first phase of the fiber network project will bring service to Boone, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Dent, Gasconade, Howell, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Marion, Moniteau, Nodaway, Oregon, Phelps, St. Charles, Texas and Wright counties.
The passings estimates released today may be only a baseline. “Beyond our own substantial network build in Missouri, we look forward to working with stakeholders at state and local levels to further expand fiber-based internet in our serving territory through the Missouri Department of Economic Development Broadband Infrastructure grant program, and other opportunities as they arise,” Brightspeed COO Tom Maguire said in a press release.
Brightspeed says that it plans to spend $2 billion to reach 3 million homes and businesses during the next five years. Those builds will feature Wi-Fi 6 and XGS-PON technology, which Brightspeed says will offer symmetrical speeds of more than 1 Gbps.
Execution of Brightspeed’s ambitious plans is contingent on the closing of a deal under which Apollo-managed funds would acquire Lumen Technologies’ ILEC assets and associated operations. Brightspeed says that final FCC approval is expected this quarter and that the deal is on track to close during the fourth quarter. The company also says that regulatory approvals have been secured in the 20 states in which Brightspeed will operate.
Brightspeed is making announcements that suggest it anticipates no problems with the deal:
- Earlier this month, Brightspeed said that it will pass 28,000 addresses in Louisiana during the next several years, with half of them completed by the end of next year.
- In May, Brightspeed said it would pass 130,000 addresses in Virginia during the next few years, with 60,000 of those completed by the end of 2023.
- Two days earlier, Brightspeed said it would pass 800,000 homes and businesses in its home state of North Carolina, with 300,000 of those passings completed by the end of next year.
Brightspeed said it plans to pass 1 million addresses by the end of 2023.
