News
Lumos has made two major back-to-back announcements: one marking the company’s expansion to the Kentucky market, and the other signaling participation from Lumos in the Science Based Targets initiative.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Lumos, an ISP that provides services to more than 375,000 locations in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, will soon be competing in the state of Kentucky.
With the news, Lumos has announced an investment totaling nearly $150 million to build a network in parts of Louisville and Jefferson County.
According to the release from Lumos, dated Aug. 20, the investment will fund the construction of over 1,300 miles of fiber network.
“We are rapidly growing, and this investment in Kentucky represents our commitment to expansion and service in underserved communities,” said Brian Stading, the CEO of Lumos. “At Lumos, our mission is to ensure communities have the opportunity to access fast and reliable internet, and we’re proud to serve as the first fiber provider in many of the areas we’re expanding into.”
Comments from Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg were also included in the company’s release.
Greenberg said high-speed internet is essential to a community where all can succeed.
“We welcome and appreciate Lumos’ important investment into our city and look forward to working with them as they create a more connected Louisville,” he said.
With the expansion, Lumos has named Grace Simrall as the company’s Kentucky Director of Market Development.
Engineering work on the network in the Louisville metro area will begin later this year, according to Lumos’ release.
Lumos joins the Science Based Targets initiative
A new commitment from Lumos aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The commitment was announced with the company’s participation in the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which is aimed at reducing corporate greenhouse gas emissions.
The initiative, described by Lumos as a corporate climate action organization, “enables companies and financial institutions worldwide to play their part in combating the climate crisis.”
With the commitment, Lumos has announced their intention to cut emissions from downstream leased assets by 51.6 percent per customer by 2030. Other 2030 targets for Lumos include cutting capital goods greenhouse gas emissions by 51.6 percent per foot of fiber installed and absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Standard.
Lumos CEO Brian Stading said his company is proud of the progress they’ve made regarding sustainability.
“We strongly believe fiber internet is the future. Fiber is significantly faster than traditional copper wires, more energy efficient, requires fewer manufacturing materials and lasts longer,” he said.
The recent announcement builds off of prior work Lumos has done in the realm of climate action.
Last year, Lumos signed a $1.1 billion of sustainability-linked infrastructure financing to fund the company’s expansion plans in the Mid-Atlantic region.
“The deal was the first project finance style fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure financing in the U.S. for an existing and integrated FTTH platform and the first U.S. FTTH sustainability-linked financing structure,” Lumos’ release stated.
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