April 25 (Reuters) - Wireless carrier T-Mobile US ( TMUS )

expects to invest about $950 million for a 50% stake in

a joint venture with Swedish investment firm EQT's fund that

will buy fiber optic network provider Lumos, the companies said

on Thursday.

Washington-based T-Mobile will invest another $500 million

between 2027 to 2028 to help Lumos reach 3.5 million homes by

the end of the period.

T-Mobile will acquire all existing fiber customers of Lumos

as part of the deal with EQT's Infrastructure VI fund, which is

expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025.

Lumos, which provides its fiber internet to 320,000

households, will transition to a wholesale model after the deal

with T-Mobile as its main client, owning customer relationships.

"As the demand for reliable, low-latency connectivity

rapidly increases, this deal is .... a significant step forward

in expanding on our broadband success and continue shaking up

competition in this space to bring even more value and choice to

consumers," said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert.