Fiber broadband provider Brightspeed has secured an additional $1.65 billion from investors to support the build out of the company's fiber network.

The funding follows the $575 million in capital the company secured in June, and $3.7bn raised in August of last year, taking total investment in the past year to $5.9bn.

Brightspeed stated that the latest investment will support its fiber build program, which aims to cover more than five million homes and businesses with its fiber network across its 20-state footprint.

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

So far, Brightspeed has passed more than 2.3 million premises with fiber, scaling to a build rate of one million new fiber locations annually while maintaining industry-leading build costs.

"This infusion of new capital means we can continue to expand our fiber network to more homes, businesses, and communities who need it," said Michel Combes, executive chairman and CEO of Brightspeed.

"We've proven our ability to build at scale with solid economics, and the added funding underscores the market's continued confidence in our track record and sustained execution."

Brightspeed added that there are 7.3 million homes and businesses in the company's underpenetrated footprint for the company to potentially expand its fiber network.

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.