Fiber Roundup 1/6: Sunesys, SwissCom, AboveNet, XO

Time to catch up on a bit of fiber news that has crossed the wires since ’10 flipped to ’11:

abvt has built out its network into the Philadelphia Technology Park, a key hub in the MidAtlantic region that is located in Philly’s Navy Yard.  Just one more example of AboveNet’s multi-front expansion, I guess.  AboveNet will be providing high bandwidth connectivity to the PTP’s customer base.  

Over in the Alps, Swisscom is taking a different take on building out last mile infrastructure.  They are considering a joint venture with the energy company Groupe E for a fiber network in Fribourg, something they have already done with two others – Energie Wasser Bern in the capitol, and IWB in Basel.  Swisscom would put up 60% of the investment, while other parties would handle the other 40%.  By other parties, they mean the energy utility and the town of Fribourg and maybe others.

Sunesys, a division of Quanta, will be building out the PennRen fiber network for KINBER. PennRen is one of those broadband stimulus projects awarded to non-network builders that is now getting down to business.  The grant was for $99.6M to build middle mile fiber throughout Pennsylvania, hitting a good fraction of the state’s underserved counties.  Sunesys will be contributing $24M in matching funds to the project, and will end up with ‘certain rights related to right-of-way access on the PennREN network.’  Sunesys is one of those metro builder/operators whose assets I still have no clear picture of.

And as for XO Holdings (news, filings), the news is that there was no news.  We had been expecting a stock split, which was to precede a rights offering that would raise cash for XO’s 2011 spending.  But nothing has happened, not even an extension.  That can’t last, I feel another offer from Icahn to buy out minority shareholders coming on.

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Categories: Metro fiber