CHARLOTTE – More than 30 North Carolina counties are part of the buildout strategy for Charlotte-based fiber communications provider Brightspeed, the company says.

The company plans to invest “at least $2 billion” in its network buildout across 20 states.

And North Carolina is a big part of that strategy. Brightspeed says it wants “over 300,000 new fiber passings” through the end of 2023.

Greenville-New Bern, Raleigh-Durham, and Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem areas are on the growth list.

Counties targeted for service include: Alamance, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Granville, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, Onslow, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, Sampson, Vance, and Wilson.

Overall Brightspeed has set a target of providing access to as many as 3 million homes and businesses in the next five years.

Brightspeed is built around Lumen Technologies which is being acquired by Apollo-managed funds (NYSE: APO).

“These new locations will augment the over 60,000 existing fiber passings that Brightspeed will assume upon the close of the transaction between the Apollo funds and Lumen,” the company notes.

“Brightspeed is based in North Carolina, so it is especially meaningful to share the initial fiber build specifics for our home state,” said Tom Maguire, Chief Operating Officer of Brightspeed. “High-quality broadband has never been more important, whether for work, education, telemedicine, entertainment, or simply staying connected. We are thrilled for the opportunity to bring the capabilities of our fiber network to customers in so many North Carolina communities.”

www.brightspeed.com