Tuesday Bytes: Cisco, Surf Telecoms, Birch

A quick look at some interesting items in the past 24 hours from Cisco, Surf, and Birch:

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) said yesterday that it intends to cut 2% of its workforce, or 1,300 jobs. The company is continuing to restructure, although with less urgency than last year, and is faced with a macroeconomic environment that is slowing down sales growth. For Cisco, 1,300 is a relative drop in the bucket, as they eliminated 6,500 jobs last year. But if the equipment sector continues to see pressure we’ll probably see more later.

In the UK, Surf Telecoms won a £4.1M contract in the research and education segment with the UK’s Janet. Surf will be providing a 10G core infrastructure across 400km of fiber connecting ten higher educational institutions, three research organizations, and another 41 colleges across southwest England. In May, Surf announced plans to expand its footprint to more of the UK, lighting fiber across the Midlands as well.

Back in the US, Birch Communications has raised a bundle of money to refinance its balance sheet and provide capital for further expansion via M&A. They raised $110M in the form of a $40Mm senior term loan, $15M in subordinated debt, and a $35M revolving credit facility with another optional $20M via an accordion feature. The company said last week that Q2 was its best organic sales quarter in 16 years, with sales increasing 18% over last year not counting inorganic contributions – of which there have been quite a few.

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Categories: CLEC · Fiber Networks · Financials · Jobs