Zayo’s Metro Fiber Juggernaut to Invade Jacksonville

Zayo Group (news, filings) said yesterday that it is planning a metro fiber buildout in the Jacksonville metro area, with its full suite of bandwidth infrastructure services in tow. With the exception of the starter set in Miami they acquired from AboveNet, Florida has been the last densely populated area of the US that Zayo hasn’t significantly penetrated. 

Moving organically into Florida signals the company’s intention to leverage the regional fiber they acquired from US Carrier to expand on their southeastern flank. While Zayo’s M&A appetite gets most of the press, they have also been one of the few companies out there willing and able to build out fiber from scratch. In the last year or two, such projects include San Diego and Albuquerque.

For some time now it has looked as if Zayo might enter Florida in force by inorganic means by making a move on FiberLight. This expansion to Jacksonville actually fits quite well with that hypothesis, as it’s complementary to FiberLight’s footprint. US Carrier’s fiber also hooks up to Tallahassee, perhaps Zayo will make a similar organic move that way at some point.

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Categories: Metro fiber