Network Bytes: Cogent, UPN, Zayo, FiberLight, Pacnet

I was on the road today, so here’s a quick look at network news I managed to scan while using various airport wifi.  Four from the US metro market and one from rather further afield.

Cogent is making a move on the channel. They’ve focused mainly on direct sales in the past, but with today’s launch of a new channel partner program they’ll be looking to tap further into master agents nationwide. Tapping into indirect sales channels could help Cogent boost its revenue growth rate. They expect to have 4-5 master agents on the rolls in 2014.

In the Midwest, I-Light has tapped Zayo for a 20 year dark fiber IRU. I-Light is an Indiana-focused research and education network that had already been working with Zayo on a 10 year contract that had another two years left. That has now been replaced with this new IRU through 2033. I-Light gets a discount for renewing early, and Zayo gets to put a bunch more revenue under contract.

Unite Private Networks is taking on Little Rock. They’ve announced an expansion into the Arkansas capital via their usual method, i.e. a long term fiber contract with the Little Rock School District. They started a 65 mile fiber build in November 2013, aiming to connect all 56 of the district’s facilities with big bandwidth. Completion is aimed for July 2014.

FiberLight has a new CEO.  They’ve promoted Paul Pierron from the COO role to the top slot.  FiberLight has been very busy down in Texas building out a massive regional and metro network there.

And in the far east, Pacnet is expanding its IP VPN services further beyond the usual hubs and deeper into southeast Asia than most dare to tread. They’re now offering them in the Greater Mekong Subregion, which means Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.  Pacnet has been quite actively remaking itself since Carl Grivner took over, I wonder if their next chapter is organic or if we’ll hear the inorganic chatter re-emerge this year.

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Categories: Channel · Internet Backbones · Metro fiber