Brightspeed, which continues to make announcements detailing its near and long-term future, says that it will bring fiber broadband to more than 130,000 addresses in Tennessee. The first 60,000 passings will be completed by the end of next year and the balance in subsequent years.
Brightspeed said that the first phase of its Tennessee initiative will bring service to Carter, Greene and Washington counties. In addition, the company will locate what it calls a major operational work center in Johnson City.
According to Telecompetitor calculations, Brightspeed so far has committed to broadband builds in 10 states. It has announced plans to pass 1.04 million addresses by the end of next year and 1.554 million addresses in subsequent years. The states are North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Tennessee.
Brightspeed said in several instances that it intends to work with various state entities to bring service to unserved or underserved areas, which suggests an expansion beyond the announced goals.
The plans all are based on XGS-PON architecture that supports symmetrical speeds of more than 1 Gbps. The networks also will offer Wi-Fi6,
All of this activity is dependent upon the transfer of ownership of Lumen Technologies’ networks and associated assets in 20 states to Apollo managed funds. The companies have state approvals for all the transactions. FCC signoffs are expected this quarter and the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, according to Brightspeed.
The Brightspeed Tennessee news marks the halfway point in the company’s announcements. Overall, the company says that it will spend $2 billion to reach as many as 3 million addresses during the next five years.
Brightspeed said last month that it would pass 190,000 addresses in Pennsylvania, with the first phase reaching 40,000 addresses by the end of 2023.
