BrightSpeed

What BrightSpeed does

Brightspeed is a privately held fiber broadband and telecommunications provider headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, created in 2022 when Apollo Global Management funds completed a $7.5 billion acquisition of Lumen Technologies' ILEC assets across 20 US states. The company operates as the nation's third-largest fiber broadband builder, deploying XGS-PON multi-gig passive optical network infrastructure (with active Calix 50G-PON trials) toward a footprint of more than 3 million fiber-enabled locations as of April 2026, with a stated target of 5 million+ locations. Brightspeed serves residential consumers (Fiber Internet up to 8 Gig with WiFi 7 gateways, Whole Home WiFi, EasyMove), small and medium businesses (Business Fiber 200 Mbps–5 Gig, Premium Fiber with 99.95% SLA, Biz WiFi, Voice+ with RingCentral), medium and enterprise customers (Dedicated Internet Access up to 10 Gbps, Ethernet, Private Line, Optical Wavelength), public sector and E-Rate-eligible entities (K-12, higher education, rural healthcare), and wholesale carrier customers via UOC/EASE platforms (Switched Access, Resale, UNE, SONET, Wavelength, E911, 8XX, LIDB, Colocation).

The company's core technology stack is built on XGS-PON fiber-to-the-premises, WiFi 7 customer premises equipment, and a 100 Gig fiber backbone, supported by more than 103,000 cumulative fiber miles and 17,600+ miles added in 2024 alone. Business operations are increasingly digitized via the Brightspeed Business Hub customer portal, with AI/ML referenced in the privacy notice for service improvement and permitting automation use cases under exploration.

Brightspeed's revenue model is multi-stream and largely recurring: residential fiber subscriptions at $24.99–$89.99+ per month tiers, SMB and enterprise subscription contracts (Business Fiber, Premium Fiber, DIA on multi-year terms with early termination fees), managed services (Biz WiFi, Voice+ via RingCentral partnership), wholesale recurring and usage-based carrier services (Switched Access, UNE, E911, 8XX, LIDB), legacy voice and POTS revenue carried over from Lumen ILEC assets, and colocation/licensing fees. Go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer online ordering and door-to-door community outreach with a formal Channel Partner Program, dedicated enterprise and wholesale sales teams (including named Channel Managers and a President of Enterprise and Wholesale), and event-driven engagement (Brightspeed Business Connections, INCOMPAS, NASCIO, EDUCAUSE, regional tradeshows).

Name

BrightSpeed

Legal name

Brightspeed Purchasing, LLC

Website

https://www.brightspeed.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Brightspeed is a privately held fiber broadband and telecommunications provider operating across 20 US states, serving residential, small and medium business, enterprise, public sector, and wholesale carrier customers with multi-gig XGS-PON fiber internet and a full suite of voice, networking, and managed services built on a 3M+ location fiber footprint inherited from Lumen's ILEC assets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Services

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813), Computer Communications Equipment (3576)

akta.pro primary industry

Fiber ISPs (FTTH/FTTP Retail Providers) (HDAIADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business/Enterprise Fixed Connectivity Providers (SME/Enterprise Broadband) (HDAIABAI), Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI)

Keywords

• Fiber broadband services
• Telecommunications infrastructure
• Business internet solutions
• Wholesale carrier services
• Fiber to the premises

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Residential Fiber Internet Subscription: Recurring monthly subscription revenue from Brightspeed Fiber Internet service to residential households across 20 states, with tiered multi-gig speed plans (including the 8 Gig flagship at $89.99/month fixed pricing).
2. Small and Medium Business Fiber & Premium Fiber: Recurring monthly subscriptions for Brightspeed Business Fiber (200 Mbps through 5 Gig symmetrical) and Premium Fiber (with static IP, priority tech dispatch, 99.95% SLA-backed uptime) sold to SMB customers with two-year minimum terms available.
3. Enterprise Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) and Networking: Recurring enterprise revenue from Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), Business Fiber, Premium Fiber, Ethernet, Private Line, and Wavelength services sold under multi-year contracts to medium/large enterprises and public sector customers.
4. Wholesale Carrier Services: Wholesale recurring and usage-based revenue from Switched Access, Wholesale Local Voice, Resale, Local Interconnection Service (LIS), Unbundled Network Elements, SONET, Optical Wavelength, Ethernet, E911, 8XX Database Query, LIDB, and Dedicated Internet sold to Competitive Local Exchange Carriers.
5. Legacy Voice and POTS Services: Recurring local voice, long-distance, international, toll free, ISDN PRI/BRI, and Centrex POTS revenue carried over from Lumen's ILEC assets, sold via both retail and wholesale (resale) channels.
6. Brightspeed Business Voice+ with RingCentral: Recurring unified communications/voice revenue from Brightspeed Voice+ delivered in partnership with RingCentral to enterprise and small business customers.
7. Managed WiFi (Brightspeed Biz WiFi): Recurring managed services revenue from Brightspeed Biz WiFi — all-in-one managed Wi-Fi for small businesses featuring four distinct networks, internet backup, and a customer portal/mobile app.
8. Wholesale Colocation and 8XX/LIDB Data Services: Recurring and usage-based revenue from wholesale colocation at Brightspeed central offices, plus 8XX Database Query Service and LIDB (Line Information Database) data storage, validation, and query services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Brightspeed provides multi-gig fiber-to-the-premises broadband, voice, and managed networking services to residential, small business, enterprise, public sector, and wholesale carrier customers across a 20-state U.S. ILEC footprint. Its portfolio includes residential fiber internet (up to 8 Gig with WiFi 7), business fiber, Dedicated Internet Access, Ethernet, Optical Wavelength, SONET, wholesale carrier services, unified communications via RingCentral, and managed Wi-Fi. The company sells these through direct-to-consumer online channels, a dedicated enterprise/wholesale sales force, and a formal channel partner program.

Product overview

Brightspeed's offering is a multi-tier fiber broadband platform rather than a single unified product. The core is Brightspeed Fiber Internet, deployed across a 20-state footprint using XGS-PON (with Calix 50G-PON trials underway) to deliver residential multi-gig services (up to 8 Gig with WiFi 7) and an expanding portfolio of business and wholesale products. Around that core, Brightspeed bundles residential enhancements (Whole Home WiFi, EasyMove), small-business products (Business Fiber, Premium Fiber, Biz WiFi, Voice+ with RingCentral), enterprise-grade networking (Dedicated Internet Access, Ethernet, Private Line, Optical Wavelength, SONET, Traditional Transport, Traditional Voice), a full wholesale carrier-services suite (Switched Access, Local Interconnection, Resale, E911, LIDB, 8XX, Colocation, UNEs, Wavelengths), and government-relations/community programs (BEAD/ARPA-funded builds, Bright Future Tech Labs). The Brightspeed Business Hub serves as the unified customer portal across SMB and enterprise tiers, while wholesale customers operate through UOC, EASE, and CCDB systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brightspeed Whole Home WiFi: Whole-home WiFi service launched in March 2026 for new fiber internet customers, including up to two WiFi extenders, professional installation, and WiFi 7 technology integration.
• Brightspeed EasyMove™
• Brightspeed Biz WiFi
• Brightspeed Business Fiber
• Brightspeed Premium Fiber

Products and services

• Brightspeed Fiber Internet (Residential)
• Brightspeed Business Fiber
• Brightspeed Dedicated Internet Access (DIA)
• Brightspeed Ethernet
• Brightspeed Private Line
• Brightspeed Optical Wavelength Service
• Brightspeed SONET Service
• Brightspeed Traditional Transport (DS1/DS3)
• Brightspeed Traditional Voice
• Brightspeed Wholesale Services
• Brightspeed Line Information Database (LIDB)
• Brightspeed 8XX Database Query Service
• Brightspeed Wholesale Colocation
• Brightspeed Unbundled Network Elements (UNE)
• Brightspeed Business Voice+ (with RingCentral)
• Brightspeed Biz WiFi
• Brightspeed Whole Home WiFi

Quantifiable outcome

• 3M+ fiber-enabled locations across 20 states (April 2026)
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Frontier Communications: Direct fiber broadband peer operating across many of the same rural and suburban US markets (e.g., Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas) with overlapping residential fiber, enterprise DIA, and wholesale carrier service offerings — and recently agreed to be acquired by Verizon. Highly comparable product mix, ILEC heritage, and BEAD-grant-funded rural fiber strategy.
• Lumen Technologies: Former parent of the ILEC assets Brightspeed acquired for $7.5B in 2021-22. Continues to operate enterprise fiber, wavelength, Ethernet, and wholesale services nationally with overlapping product categories (DIA, Ethernet, SONET, Wavelength, UCaaS). Direct comparable for enterprise/wholesale revenue mix and wholesale carrier services.
• Windstream: Privately-held ILEC/CLEC with overlapping rural fiber footprint in the Midwest, Mid-South, and Texas markets, offering residential fiber, Kinetic SMB, enterprise, and wholesale services. Compares to Brightspeed in scale, ILEC heritage, and rural fiber build strategy.
• Consolidated Communications: Rural/suburban fiber broadband operator serving residential, SMB, enterprise, and wholesale customers across 20+ states with a comparable ILEC/rural fiber profile. Similar scale of fiber build, BEAD grant participation, and product portfolio overlap.
• Ziply Fiber: Fiber-to-the-home builder in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana) with similar multi-gig (5 Gig) residential product, fiber build strategy from a regional ILEC base, and PE-sponsor backing (BC Partners). Comparable business model and product positioning despite regional non-overlap.
• TDS Telecom: Mid-sized ILEC/rural fiber operator with residential fiber, SMB, and enterprise services across more than 30 states — including multiple states that overlap with Brightspeed's 20-state footprint. Comparable fiber build cadence, BEAD participation, and rural/suburban customer base.

Broad incumbents

• AT&T: Largest US fiber broadband builder with multi-state fiber expansion, AT&T Fiber, enterprise DIA, and wholesale services that overlap with Brightspeed's residential, SMB, and enterprise offerings. Has materially deeper capex, brand recognition, and customer base, making it both a competitive threat and a comparable scale benchmark.
• Verizon: Major national fiber incumbent with Fios, enterprise networking, and the recently-announced Frontier acquisition that will expand its rural fiber footprint. Overlaps with Brightspeed in enterprise DIA, Ethernet, and wholesale services, and competes for the same BEAD-funded rural opportunities.
• Comcast (Xfinity): Largest US cable broadband operator and a key residential/SMB competitor across Brightspeed's 20-state footprint. Overlap in residential broadband, SMB, and managed WiFi services; Brightspeed's former EVP Rui Costa previously led consumer products at Xfinity, reflecting the competitive overlap.
• Charter Communications: Second-largest US cable broadband operator with Spectrum-branded residential internet, SMB, and enterprise services overlapping substantially with Brightspeed's footprint. A cable incumbent competitor with deep brand recognition and ongoing DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BrightSpeedData
• Facebookfacebook.com/BrightSpeed
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brightspeed

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds11 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BrightSpeed