Metro Bytes 3/4: UPN, Fatbeam, Southern, TelePacific, Earthlink

Several interesting items lately in the metro space are worth a look: a fiber contract each for Unite Private networks, Fatbeam, and Southern Telecom, some EoC news from TelePacific, and a refi update from Earthlink.

Unite Private Networks added another of its signature educational WAN contracts. Last week they announced a multi-year agreement with the Lovejoy Independent School District down in the Allen/Lucas/Fairview TX markets. The fiber will hook up all of the district facilities with at least 1Gbps each. UPN is planning to begin construction immediately and expects to be finished within six months.

Out west, Fatbeam won itself an E-Rate contract in some new territory: Butte, Montana. They’ve won a $2M, 10 year contract with the Butte School District to build a 16 mile fiber network hooking up their various locations. Fatbeam’s home turf is in Washington and Idaho, but they do seem to be ready to move into adjacent regions.

Southern Telecom, the fiber arm of the energy utility Southern Company, has expanded its relationship with Georgia State University in Atlanta. They have completed the installation of the university’s Northern Fiber Optic Ring through an expansion of their existing duct footprint. This obviously complements the Southern Fiber Optic Ring and brings fiber laterals into new and existing buildings, including two carrier hotels.

TelePacific has boosted its Ethernet-over-Copper speed limit to 200Mbps. That doubles their highest previous rate, at least within their California and Nevada footprints. Additionally, they’ve got plans to grow their LSO footprint to 284 during the first half of this year.

And finally, Earthlink (NASDAQ:ELNK, news, filings) says it has discontinued its refinancing efforts. While various infrastructure companies have found a window open right now in the credit markets, apparently it isn’t open wide enough for those in the middle of as big a transformation as Earthlink. They had hoped to refinance the senior secured notes due 2016 they inherited from Deltacom. But they didn’t need to do it yet and my guess is they will probably revisit the idea next year when things are hopefully a bit clearer.

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Categories: Ethernet · Financials · Metro fiber