Brightspeed has secured $575 million in capital to ramp up its ongoing fiber network expansion.

The company said that the funding will support its strategy to build fiber Internet to more than 5 million homes and businesses across the company's 20-state footprint.

Brightspeed acquired its ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) business from Lumen for $7.5 billion back in 2022, covering 20 US states.

The investment raised this week expands on the $3.7bn raised last year by Brightspeed.

The company, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is aiming to provide fiber optics services to up to 3 million homes and businesses over the next five years, including in many places where fiber and advanced technology have not historically been deployed.

Brightspeed has passed more than 2 million premises with its fiber rollout so far. The company said it expects to pass approximately 1 million additional homes this year alone.

"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," said Michel Combes, executive chairman and CEO of Brightspeed.

"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."

The company's fiber network leverages XGS-PON technology to deliver symmetrical multi-gig speeds. Brightspeed notes that the service is available across more than 530 communities.

On top of the private funding, Brightspeed has also won more than $295m in public broadband grants and subsidies to date, as it pushes to rollout fiber to unserved areas.

In 2023, the company struck a deal for $500m worth of investment with Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company. As such, the wealth fund became a minority shareholder alongside investment funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc.

Brightspeed launched its first Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network in March 2023, and claims to be the third-largest broadband builder in the country. Brightspeed mainly serves rural and suburban communities across the US Midwest, Southeast, and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.