Those on-net buildings

May 28th, 2008 by · 9 Comments

For a couple years now I have been keeping track of on-net buildings, but I have done so haphazardly.  With this forum in place, I think I will try to keep it more regulary and in a public format.  When I speak of an on-net building I mean that it has a fiber connection to someone other than the local ILEC.  Of course, different companies disclose this number differently, and some don’t give it at all, but we can get a general idea if we try:


Company # Buildings Markets Route Miles Source
TW Telecom 8,587 75 25,930 10-Q 5/12/2008
Level 3 7,600 125 26,000 link
XO Communications 3,000+ 38 9,000+ link
Cogent 1,240 ~35 10,400 10-Q 5/12/2008, link
Abovenet 1,300+ 15 4,500 10-K 5/13/2008
RCN Metro 1,200+ 12 5,626 link
Zayo 850 95 17,000 link
Integra 580 8 2,200 link
American Fiber Systems 540 9 1000+ link
US Signal 100+ 14 700 link

Two numbers I suspect may not be comparable are the markets served of Zayo and Cogent, in that ‘markets served’ does not necessarily include a metro ring in all cases.  In the case of Zayo, since they focus on smaller cities, the definition of a ‘market served’ may be somewhat different in that a few small markets may be just one metro ring etc, and also the distinction between metro and regional fiber route miles is not made in the sources I have found (perhaps I shall find better ones).  In the case of Cogent, 35 markets is from an older link, but since then Cogent just gives its total markets irrespective of whether it has a metro ring in each.

Companies for which I have little information:


Company # Buildings Markets Route Miles Source
Fibertech ? 21 ? link
FiberLight ? 15 ? link
Southern Telecom ? 4 1200 link

I know there are more smaller ones, but I don’t have them all at my fingertips all the time.  Rather, I intend to keep expanding and updating this list as I find the information.  So if you have some that I’m missing, let me know.  Likewise, if you have any updated information, or spot any obvious errors, please tell me.

In later posts, I will try to delve deeper into these numbers.

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Categories: CLEC · Metro fiber

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9 Comments So Far


  • tech101 says:

    Kudos and thanks for the good work.

  • Rob Powell says:

    I have updated the numbers for American Fiber Systems, as they were kind enough to fill in some data for me. It can be tough finding data on private companies, so thank you AFS!

  • I love your website. Keep up the great work!

    Mike McGonigal
    Wholesale, Carrier & Service Provider Sales
    email: mike.mcgonigal@twtelecom.com

    818 W. 7th Street, 8th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017
    Direct 213.929.2121 Mobile 213.700.1235 Fax 213.929.2160
    24/7 Customer Service: 800-829-0420

  • Tom says:

    Hi Rob, do you (or anyone else out there) have the rough number of on-net buildings for:
    AT&T
    Verizon
    Charter Communications

    For public companies, this info is TOUGH to find.

    Thanks!

    • Rob Powell says:

      Nope, I have been looking for that data for three years now – they aren’t sharing. Let me know if you find them!

      • Clevus says:

        Well for ATT and Verizon, you can pretty well figure that they have 100% percent of the buildings in their home area on-net. They also have the advantage of generally having existing duct to most buiildings so adding fiber service to a building is much less disruptive

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