North Carolina's NorthState and Virginia’s Lumos Networks are unifying under their partnered brand of Lumos to bring more than 20,000 miles of fiber optic network reaching 1 million businesses and residents by 2026.

Today, the network has over 5,000 miles of fiber currently reaching over 200,000 business and residential properties across North Carolina and Virginia.

The announcement comes with the appointment of Brian Stading as Lumos’ CEO (former COO of Ziply), who will report to their board of directors (EQT) as they expand fiber routes in the region.

“Our focus is on communities that are not currently serviced with a fiber network and that are efficient extensions of our existing network,” Stading told SDxCentral in an email.

With plans to take their 200,000 household base to 1 million, the “ambition is a 5x increase in 5 years,” Stading explained. “Our growth plans require a strong network of partners across the spectrum from fiber optic manufacturers  to engineering and construction firms.”

Stading noted the expansion plans will build upon their established bases in North Carolina and Virginia. “That said, we are also excited to move past those state lines into other areas within the mid-Atlantic region,” he said. “We have plans [to] significantly expand outside our legacy footprint.”

“The industry is at a critical juncture. Fiber optic internet built from the ground up is the future of our communities, our homes and our small businesses – it is the key to economic development and opportunity,” Nirav Shah, managing director at EQT, stated in a press release about news.

“Fiber is internet innovation,” Stading added. “Not only does fiber have unlimited data capacity and speed, but it's also reliable, accessible, and most importantly, ready for whatever the future holds.”

Preparing fiber for the future is a nation-wide effort. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 14.5 million U.S. citizens still lack broadband access. Part of the wider governmental response to the disparity came with the $65 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

This act holds $42.45 billion for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD), the “largest component of the IIJA’s investments in broadband deployment and the single largest federal investment in deployment in history,” stated Chamber Technology Engagement Center Policy Director, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Matt Furlow.

This initiative includes implementing internet to households with “minimum requirements of 100 Mb/s download speeds and 20 Mb/s upload speeds,” according to Furlow.