NorthState has been offering High Point and other area residents and businesses phone service for over a century and fiber optic internet connections for years as well.
Now that High Point-based company is part of a major change in the landscape of the communications infrastructure that provides connectivity to customers in North Carolina and Virginia.
Two years ago, NorthState merged with Segra – another large internet and communications service provider in the eastern US. The merged company was owned by EQT Infrastructure – a Swedish global investment organization with a portfolio of over $42 billion. EQT sold most of Segra to Cox Communications, however, it hung onto the NorthState and Lumos Networks brands.
Now NorthState and Lumos Networks are separate from Segra and they have announced jointly that the two will operate as a new, single company that provides internet connectivity for the area.
A Tuesday, Oct. 5 press release states that NorthState and Lumos Networks, together, will “now embark on a bold growth plan as a stand-alone company with the continued financial support of EQT Infrastructure.”
The newly formed company, the release adds, will be expanding into “new communities, cementing its premiere fiber-to-the-premise growth platform.”
Lumos and NorthState Chief Executive Officer Diego Anderson stated in the release that the company is in a position for success and expansion.
“I am excited to be leading a dedicated team of employees as we meet the growing demand for universal broadband with EQT’s support,” Anderson stated. “We are well-positioned for robust growth because we have the resources and unique capabilities to expand our scalable fiber broadband offerings to many more communities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.”
Anderson added, “We understand the growing demand for high-quality symmetrical internet broadband connectivity that only a fiber optic network can deliver. Our fiber network accommodates a growing ecosystem of bandwidth-intensive applications, including work from home, remote learning, video streaming, gaming, and telemedicine.”
Lumos and NorthState currently provide high-speed fiber broadband to roughly 200,000 residences and businesses in North Carolina and Virginia. According to Lumos and NorthState officials, the new company plans to bring high-speed fiber internet to underserved communities with help from partnerships with private organizations and governments.
Securing high-speed internet for traditionally underserved areas has been a point of emphasis for Guilford County government and the State of North Carolina for years.
Nirav Shah, the managing director and investment advisor for EQT Infrastructure, said EQT is excited to support Lumos and North State with “significant capital on their accelerated growth journey.”
When are we in Greensboro going to be able to connect to North State internet service?
Perhaps we can be free of the yoke of Spectrum/AT&T for a while. I have seen few more predatory businesses (Airlines for one) that these two.
NorthState fiber internet in NW GSO has been 10x better than Spectrum, for less money. I just hope they don’t become money grubbers like all the rest.
We had Spectrum and were just outside of the Northstate service area. So we requested to be contacted if Northstate started serving our area. Sure enough, within a month we got an email saying they would run the line. We switched and love it.