Regional ISP Says Fiber Buildout Will Deliver Noticeable Gains by 2027

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2025 — Brightspeed, a Charlotte-based regional internet service provider, spent its first five months under new leadership addressing what CEO Michel Combes described as an underinvested and aging network inherited from previous ownership.

Combes spoke at the Fiber Broadband Association’s Fiber for Breakfast series, a weekly industry forum hosted by the national fiber trade group. He said Brightspeed took over a footprint previously operated by Lumen Technologies, including large segments of copper and DSL infrastructure that had experienced years of deferred upgrades. 

Combes said early work centered on installation quality, troubleshooting practices and improving the customer support systems tied to those processes.

He said Brightspeed adopted an internal mantra to make broadband service “ridiculously easy,” applying it to activation steps, repair processes and communication across field teams and network operations. Combes said customers often judge their service by the strength of their home Wi-Fi connection, making indoor coverage and consistent installation practices central to overall reliability.

Brightspeed was working with fiber in many areas of its footprint for the first time and was focused on improving installations and ease-of-use systems across the legacy network the company inherited, he said. 

Brightspeed had begun deploying artificial-intelligence tools to identify service issues before customers experienced disruptions, he said, noting the need for faster responses to service problems. Proactive detection Could play a larger role as home broadband becomes essential for daily activity.

Combes referenced the company’s first six months of operational work and said Brightspeed expected visible progress within the next two years. The company’s goal is to deliver more predictable performance across its service areas, he said.