Bluebird Network has announced it has secured a $285 million credit facility.

The communications infrastructure provider confirmed the five-year facility will be used to refinance Bluebird's existing debt and will fund ongoing capital expenditures including network upgrades, expansion into new markets, and an awarded Middle Mile grant build.

Founded in 1999, Missouri-based Bluebird operates a network of more than 11,000 miles of fiber and two data centers.

The company said it has built more than 360 new route miles of fiber and expanded into several additional markets throughout Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa in the last year.

According to the company, the financing will support its ambitions to have a fiber presence in 80 percent of cities with a population of 10,000 people or more across its 11-state footprint in the Midwest.

“The upsized credit facilities will enable us to execute goals we've laid out for 2024 and beyond,” said Michael Morey, president and CEO of Bluebird Network. “This includes growing our fiber network and continuing to take advantage of strategic opportunities as they may arise.”

Bluebird is planning additional long-haul fiber routes and recently completed an underground river crossing in St. Louis, traversing the Mississippi River and adding a new, diverse route to its network offerings next year.

To help with its network expansion, Bluebird was awarded a grant as part of the US Department of Commerce's Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program.

The grant will be used to build a highly desirable route connecting St. Louis and Tulsa, and is expected to be completed in the next four years.

Bluebird acquired its second data center, from fellow operator Geneseo Communications, back in January 2021.

Located in Bettendorf, Iowa, the 57,000 square foot 6MW ColoHub facility was reportedly a former grocery store that was previously used for Bitcoin mining, according to a report in Vice.