The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Bell Canada's (BCE) C$7 billion (US$5bn) acquisition of Ziply Fiber.

In a statement yesterday, the FCC said that the acquisition won't negatively impact competition.

Canadian telco Bell agreed to acquire US fiber company Ziply Fiber in November.

The acquisition is part of Bell's plans to expand its fiber footprint across North America and over the border into the US.

Ziply Fiber is a local Internet service provider (ISP) that offers fiber Internet in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana to more than 1.3 million fiber locations, which will be snapped up by Bell under the deal.

The company has plans to reach more than 3 million locations in the next four years.

Once the transaction closes, Bell is set to expand its fiber footprint to more than 12 million locations across North America by the end of 2028, meaning it will be the third-largest fiber Internet provider in the region.

"The applicants contend that because Bell Canada and Ziply Fiber have no geographic overlap in their operating territories and otherwise do not compete, the proposed transaction will not result in any reduction in competition or choice for consumers," said the FCC in its order.

The FCC also noted that it has waived its 25 percent foreign ownership threshold to allow for Ziply to be completely owned by the Canadian firm.

In May, BCE, along with Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), announced a fiber JV that aims to ramp up the development of fiber infrastructure through Ziply Fiber to underserved markets in the US.

BCE will own a 49 percent equity stake in Network FiberCo through Ziply Fiber, while PSP Investments will own 51 percent through its High Inflation Correlated Infrastructure Portfolio (HICI).

The JV aims to develop approximately one million fiber passings in Ziply Fiber's existing states and will target the development of up to five million additional passings.

BCE expects the acquisition to be completed during the second half of this year.