Brightspeed's long-term plan is focused on fiber network upgrades, but the operator is also turning to fixed wireless access (FWA) technologies to deliver voice and Internet services to a portion of its legacy copper base.
Brightspeed said it has partnered with Verizon to launch fixed wireless voice and data services to Brightspeed DSL customers that have a near-term need for higher-performing connectivity options.
Brightspeed noted that a portion of its DSL customers currently get lackluster speeds for work, schooling and bandwidth-intensive apps such as video streaming. The new FWA upgrade option from Verizon will provide better performance and reliability than Brightspeed's aging copper network and will bring the company "closer to helping close the digital divide across its 20-state footprint," Brightspeed said in a press release.
"Ultimately, our goal is to give every home and business within our 20-state service area a more reliable, resilient option over copper voice and data services," Brightspeed CEO Tom Maguire said in a statement. "Everyone deserves the latest and best communications technology available. Archaic copper networks are costly to maintain, susceptible to weather-related issues and can neither support modern technology nor telecommunications innovation and the needs of the future. This fixed wireless solution will help those who have struggled with unreliable copper service living in areas where our fiber network isn't available."
Related:How (and when) AT&T will kiss copper goodbye
Upgrading fiber
Brightspeed, which acquired Lumen Technologies' operations in 20 states in 2022, is in the midst of a fiber network upgrade initiative that will eventually cover about 4 million locations. Brightspeed serves parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The operator's network passes nearly 7 million locations. Brightspeed had built its multi-gig fiber network to roughly 1.82 million locations across its footprint at the end of 2024, surpassing an original goal to reach 1.75 million locations.
To help fuel its upsized fiber upgrade plan and its pursuit of buildout opportunities coming way of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Brightspeed last year locked in $3.7 billion in new financing and eliminated $1.1 billion of its debt.
Brightspeed noted that its fiber buildout to more than 4 million locations will take time and can't fully cover the nearly 7 million locations across its footprint. The Verizon option provides copper customers with "a more immediate, reliable, high-speed connectivity option and can be deployed to homes and businesses that Brightspeed's planned fiber broadband network build may not reach," according to the company.
Related:AT&T's copper retirement goals are 'realistic' – analyst
Notably, there are some locations within Brightspeed's footprint that are not part of the operator's planned fiber build. "The more reliable fixed wireless solution could be a more long-term option for those homes and businesses," a Brightspeed official explained in an emailed response to Light Reading's questions.
Brightspeed currently offers a fixed wireless voice-only service to eligible copper voice customers and is now piloting the new fixed wireless voice and Internet combo, the official added. The new voice/data offering is slated for broader/general availability later this year, the representative said.
Brightspeed has yet to release any pricing and packaging details on the new fixed wireless voice and Internet offering for eligible copper subscribers. But the official noted that Brightspeed does not use annual contracts, charge extra for equipment or make any bundle requirements.
Another channel for Verizon
Related:Wireless is apparently the new copper
The Brightspeed partnership will provide another sales channel for Verizon's FWA business. Verizon confirmed that the Brightspeed agreement is not a first, noting that Verizon Business supports customers who are coming off of aging copper networks across the country, including through other partnerships.
Brightspeed's approach again shines the light on operators that are looking to pivot away from their legacy copper infrastructure.
Among the prime examples, AT&T recently announced a plan to shut down copper-based services across most of its US footprint by the end of 2029. Tied into that plan, AT&T has developed a new POTS (plain old telephone service) replacement that can run on fiber and wireless networks. Verizon also has initiated a program focused on migrating customers off its legacy copper networks.
The FCC's most recent figures show that there were 10.6 million residential copper connections at the end of 2023. Blair Levin, a policy analyst with New Street Research, expects the US government to prioritize copper network retirement and transition projects during Donald Trump's second term as president.