I haven’t written as much lately about the metro fiber space lately, but that doesn’t mean nothing has been going on. Actually, what’s happening is steady expansion on seemingly all fronts while much of the rest of the sector is still hiding under its rock. Let’s take a look at some news that either slipped past my nets or somehow got bumped by other news.
TW Telecom (NASDAQ:TWTC, news, filings) quietly announced a substantial expansion in Phoenix, doubling its network reach and bringing colocation facilities totaling 1.2M square feet of additional space on-net. While they didn’t say so directly, that surely includes the huge new i/o Datacenters facility that opened this summer. But while those colo facilities are the cornerstone of the expansion, TW Telecom will likely be using the new fiber rings to increase their enterprise on-net footprint in the city as well.
In the Midwest, US Signal has announced expansions in both Michigan and Indiana and in Ohio. New longhaul PoPs in Midland and Three Rivers in Michigan and Lafayette in Indiana add to the company’s current regional presence. The new routes in Ohio are a substantial expansion, adding 1000 route miles to their network and bringing colocation facilities online in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton. In 2010 the company is planning to add metro loops as well, along with service to Akron, Canton, Lima and Springfield.
RCN Metro, the metro fiber division of RCN Business (NASDAQ:RCNI, news, filings), continued its efforts in the financial arena, announcing an exclusive, very low-latency financial services network between critical facilities in the New York, New Jersey area. These will include 165 Halsey Street in Newark and 111 8th Avenue in New York. The network will initially have 88 wavelengths at 40G each, and will be upgraded to 100G when the time comes. A key feature of this ring will be the ability to keep traffic within New Jersey or extend out into New York, leveraging RCN’s substantial footprint in the region.
Down in Texas, Fiberlight has announced further expansion in the Dallas/Ft.Worth market with its 69th on-net building at 301 Commerce Street. Fiberlight has been putting money into its Texas markets this year, including an expansion to Waco in the spring.
And last month, AGL Networks announced the construction of a 92 mile, high fiber count ring in Charlotte NC that will initially reach various carrier POPs and telco-neutral hotels and serve the Central Business District, University Research Park, Ballantyne, South Park, Charlotte/Douglas Airport, and the Coliseum areas. The new market is a substantial expansion by AGL beyond its two current markets in Atlanta and Phoenix, and is scheduled to go live in December.
If you haven't already, please take our Reader Survey! Just 3 questions to help us better understand who is reading Telecom Ramblings so we can serve you better!
Categories: Metro fiber
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Nice reporting, Rob. Thanks.
Rob,
Jefferies today initiated on ABVT. Would you wish to get a copy? if so, what email address should I send it?
AboveNet will transform comps for pure Metro providers over the next three quarters … showing the difference/value/risk versus other models.
Organic broadband demand is predictable and insatiable … we are focused on 2010 at the moment … profitable growth is evident …
Dave,
I agree. however, no-one yet has successfully anticipated when the demand/cost of capital lines will cross. They surely will but we have been waiting for what seems a long time against predictions from those who should know best that it is just around the corner. Perhaps next quarter?
In complex dynamic systems with rapid technology change– and surely light through pipes is one– making timely predictions has proven very hard.
The major problem with capital is a one-size, lemming mentality … Banks seem to ignore resumes of Executives when they are looking for debt — especially those that have bankrupted companies in the past …
Somehow a bank would rather lend $300mm without reference to the Leaderships proven track record for organic growth success … big sky stories, over a promise, gigantic forecasts and dancing PowerPoint charts.
It’s not the business what scales, it’s the capital behind the right business models and management that scales the business …
If I were a Banker I would not lend a nickel to anyone who does not have proven, year-over-year organic growth success in the business segment they are operating. As we saw in 2001-2003 — telecom service bankruptcies with CEO’s/CFO’s that organically grew long distance businesses but failed miserably in the complexity of the metro market services space. Two different worlds …
You can’t or should not invest, lend, acquire or eat-the-dog food by spreadsheets alone.