Northeastern regional fiber operator Lightower announced a further expansion of its footprint yesterday. The company will be adding routes to the north and east of New York City. In Westchester county they will be entering the White Plains, Purchase, Elmsford, Hawthorne, Briarcliff Manor, and Yonkers markets, amongst others. And over the border in Connecticut, Greenwich and Stamford are on the menu as well.
Lightower continues to fill in the gaps in its regional coverage, which is strongest in Boston, the Hudson Valley, and NY/Long Island. Last fall they embarked on an expansion deeper into northeastern New Jersey and in January they moved into New Hampshire. I am curious at what level they are building these new network routes, whether they are leasing fiber IRUs, leasing conduit, or digging up the streets – or some combination thereof.
I can’t help but wonder if Lightower’s organic expansion will be complemented later this year with a bit of inorganic expansion. Yesterday I mentioned that Lightower might be interested in the Fibertech auction, but I didn’t elaborate. While I haven’t a clue regarding their financial resources for such a deal, I was thinking of the asset fit with Fibertech’s regional strength in Connecticut, upstate New York, and New Jersey. Geographically, the two footprints look very complete together. That being said, I have had no indication that Lightower is in the market (or on it for that matter).
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if lightower can land fibertech and make one more strategic deal up in mass, they pretty much control most of New England with very little competition. I think they are in a great position.