Lumos appoints Scott Mispagel as new CEO to drive fiber expansion

He comes to the role from Frontier Communications, where he served as Senior Vice President of National Engineering and Operations, helping lead one of the largest fiber expansion initiatives in the United States. In that role, he oversaw the delivery of more than 10 million fiber passings, directed multi-billion-dollar capital and operational investments, and managed a nationwide engineering and operations organization.

Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions at Windstream, GTE (now Verizon), and other telecom-related companies.

“Lumos has built something truly special. A strong company with a talented team, a clear vision for growth, and a deep commitment to the customers, partners, and communities it serves,” said Mispagel.

A transitional time

Lumos' move to enhance its top management team reflects the broader transition the fiber broadband industry is undergoing today.

Over the past four years, Lumos itself has been undergoing its own transition, which gained steam in 2022 when it merged with fellow North Carolina independent telco NorthState.

NorthState had served North Carolina and Lumos Networks in Virginia. Both are owned by EQT, which had operated the two brands as a single company.

Stading, who became CEO of the combined company in 2022, had a significant influence on Lumos. Since joining Lumos in 2022, Stading has led the expansion of fiber broadband access across numerous communities, overseeing nearly 700,000 new home passings and expanding the company’s footprint from two states to ten across the Midwest and Eastern U.S.

During his tenure, Stading guided the company through a period of significant expansion, substantially growing its fiber footprint, strengthening operations, and positioning Lumos for continued long-term growth.

His leadership helped pave the way for Lumos’ partnership with T-Mobile.

T-Mobile partnered with venture capital company EQT Infrastructure to acquire Lumos in 2024. Through this joint venture, T-Mobile integrated Lumos into its network and embarked on a major expansion plan to reach 3.5 million households across the United States. 

Mispagel himself also weathered the challenges of consolidation. Besides being part of the team that led Frontier’s sale to Verizon, which was completed earlier this year, he has roots in the former GTE.

In 2000, Bell Atlantic purchased GTE. Following this deal, the combined entity was rebranded as Verizon Communications. Later, in 2009, Verizon sold its rural properties, which included a large swath of GTE properties, to Frontier. Ultimately, Verizon purchased Frontier in 2026 to enhance its fiber broadband reach.

But the consolidation theme in the fiber broadband arena is not just relegated to Lumos alone.

Fellow telco AT&T also further bolstered its fiber network position by purchasing Lumen’s fiber assets.

While Lumos has yet to announce any new acquisition targets to enhance its fiber position, its parent, T-Mobile, isn’t being shy about rolling up regional fiber broadband providers.

In April, T-Mobile partnered with Oak Hill Capital to acquire GoNetspeed and Greenlight Networks to expand fiber access across key Northeastern markets. And through a joint venture with Wren House, T‑Mobile also acquired i3 Broadband to enhance its fiber portfolio in the Midwest.

Focus on fiber expansion and convergence

As Mispagel takes on the CEO role at Lumos, it comes at a time when the service provider continues to focus on expanding its fiber network reach and driving a convergence strategy.

Lumos operates a 7,500-mile fiber network, providing high-speed connectivity to 475,000 homes across the Mid-Atlantic.

By the end of 2028, Lumos aims to reach 3.5 million homes with its fiber broadband service.

Organic expansion appears to be Lumos's strategy today.

At the tail end of 2025, Lumos announced key fiber expansions in Chicago and Charleston County, South Carolina.

In September, Lumos embarked on a 3,000-mile fiber installation in DuPage and Cook Counties, which will serve more than 20 Chicagoland communities, including Naperville, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Wheaton and Bolingbrook.

Likewise, in Charleston County, South Carolina, Lumos will build more than 500 miles of fiber infrastructure, bringing high-speed internet to over 50,000 homes, small businesses, and multifamily communities in Mount Pleasant and the surrounding area.

Lumos’ parent, T-Mobile, can also drive a wireline/wireless convergence strategy as it expands its fiber network into more markets.

However, FTI Consulting notes that any convergence strategy T-Mobile pursues faces the challenge of not having the same wireline network scale as AT&T, Verizon, and cable operators.  

“For T-Mobile, a convergence play is limited to its fixed wireless access (FWA) customers, among whom convergence adoption is already high, and its fiber footprint is significantly smaller in terms of homes passed than the large CableCos, AT&T and Verizon,” wrote FTI in a recent report. “T-Mobile’s convergence opportunity is therefore limited to its existing and future fiber footprint plus its growing FWA customer base, making its convergence opportunity smaller today than that of its mobile network operator (MNO) competitors (AT&T and Verizon) and CableCos.”

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