Brightspeed, which has pledged to bring broadband to more than five million homes and businesses across its 20-state footprint, has priced the sale of $575 million in capital. That funding will be added to the $3.7 billion it raised last year. It also has received $295 million in public broadband grants and subsidies.
The multiple system operator (MSO) says it has passed more than two million addresses with fiber and anticipates a million more will be added this year.
“This new capital allows us to continue our aggressive fiber build strategy, bringing high-speed connectivity to communities that have historically lacked quality broadband options,” Brightspeed Chairman and CEO Michel Combes said in a press release.
“We’ve made tremendous progress, and this new funding underscores the credit market’s belief in our strategy and reaffirms the strength of our execution.”
Brightspeed uses XGS-PON platforms to support symmetrical multi-gig speeds. It currently serves more than 530 communities.
In addition to the new capital announcement, it’s been a busy spring for Brightspeed. The company initially said it would reach four million addresses. That number was increased by 25% to 5 million in April.
The firm also made news in three states:
- Brightspeed was the big winner in the North Carolina Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program’s latest grants announcement. It was selected to provide broadband to 3,669 locations in Bladen, Chowan, Columbus, Granville, Guilford, Halifax, Hoke, Martin, Northampton, Person, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin counties.
- In June, the company said it had brought broadband to more than 58,800 homes and businesses in Bell and Coryell counties, Texas. They are in the central part of the state.
- In May, Brightspeed said it is connecting more than 7,000 homes and businesses in and around the city of Lima, Ohio, about 100 miles northwest of the state’s capital.
