Telecom Ramblings » Internet Backbones

Telkom Indonesia International Picks Level 3

Rob Powell — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:52:30 +0000

Level 3 Communications (LVLT: chart, news) announced today that it will be providing connectivity for PT Telkom Indonesia International (TII). Specifically, they will be providing high speed IP services in their Los Angeles gateway, plus wavelengths to backhaul it all from there to the landing station of the Asia America Gateway cable (AAG). TII is not exactly a household name in the US, but it is the incumbent provider in a country with 230 … [visit site to read more]

Level 3 Quintuples Ethernet Switches

Rob Powell — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:49:27 +0000

Ethernet seems to be the twinkle in every carrier’s eye at the moment. Today Level 3 announced a significant expansion to its switched Ethernet footprint. They will be increasing the number of switches in their network by 400%, i.e. where there used to be one there will soon be 5. The increased Ethernet footprint will eliminate the need for backhaul of switched metro Ethernet applications and set the stage for … [visit site to read more]

Monday Roundup: GTT, GTS, Pangaea, XO

Rob Powell — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:50:40 +0000

Lots of announcements today as CompTel opens for business, here’s a quick survey:

TelX has linked up with Global Telecom and Technology (GTT)’s GigE backbone. The new connectivity will be available to customers across TelX’s 8 city colocation footprint. These two have worked … [visit site to read more]

Monday Roundup: Orange, XO, and Level 3 CDN

Rob Powell — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:45:16 +0000

It’s been a busy PR morning for network operators – busy enough to bring on a ’roundup’ post that I more commonly do on weekends.

Orange Business Services, the international services arm of France Telecom (FTE: chart, news) announced today it is enabling the unified communications (UC) strategy of NXP Semiconductors BV worldwide. Some 15,000 employees have been migrated to the Managed Microsoft Office Communications Server (Release 2) service hosted by Orange. According to NXP, the key features are … [visit site to read more]

NTT’s Arcstar Looks for Efficiency, Adds Russian Access

Rob Powell — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:48:52 +0000

Japanese telecommunications giant NTT Communications (NTT: chart, news) has been giving its global network services division, Arcstar some focus lately. The company has made another move into Russia with the interconnection of its own IPVPN with those of operator TTK, whose fiber runs along the railroad tracks across those vast distances. It’s not the first time the two have worked together, having collaborated on the Hokkaido-Sakhalin Cable System a few years ago. This new move expands the reach of Arcstar’s Global IPVPN services throughout … [visit site to read more]

Level 3 Expands in Northern California

Rob Powell — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:21:45 +0000

Level 3 Communications (LVLT: chart, news) brought its local markets initiative to northern California. They will be grouping together the markets of San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento with a general manager, and will be adding both capacity and staff in the region. This is the second such initiative on the west coast, the first being up in Seattle last summer. No doubt we will see a southern California initiative at some point as well, however … [visit site to read more]

Analyst Recommends LVLT Shopping Spree

Rob Powell — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:49:29 +0000

On Friday, there were reports that Oppenheimer’s Timothy Horan issued a research note suggesting that Level 3 Communications (LVLT: chart, news) return to its acquisitive ways. Hmmm, given that I have beaten this drum more than once over the past year or two – I can’t really let that pass without commenting, right? Horan picks Global Crossing (GLBC: chart, news) as the top target, followed by XO Communications (news), and then on to Sprint wireline and Qwest longhaul. Very familiar targets obviously, they’re always on the list and from a relative likelihood perspective I don’t disagree. Each is likely available at the right price, though nobody’s quite sure what Icahn’s … [visit site to read more]

Interoute Hoists a Pint in Dublin

Rob Powell — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:50:01 +0000

On Tuesday, pan-European service provider Interoute announced its expansion into Ireland with a new loop through Dublin. The driver for the new PoP is demand from multinational corporations. Ireland was once something of a technological backwater, but nowadays connectivity to the island is increasingly important and network operators have been pouring in. … [visit site to read more]

Global Crossing Reports Q4/09, Holds Steady

Rob Powell — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:14:25 +0000

International fiber and data operator Global Crossing (GLBC: chart, news) reported earnings this afternoon after the bell, posting solid numbers to end the year. While slightly below my own optimistic guesses, revenue of $651M and OIBDA of $83M easily delivered on guidance, and the company generated positive free cash flow for both the quarter and the full year 2009. Here is a quick tabular summary: … [visit site to read more]

Earnings Preview for Global Crossing Q4/09

Rob Powell — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:52:05 +0000

Tomorrow morning Global Crossing (GLBC: chart, news) will hold their earnings CC, which if their recent patterns hold means that they will be releasing the PR today after the market closes. That of course means it’s time for a quick earnings preview. 2009 wasn’t a fun year for telecom as a whole, but when you discount currency fluctuations and consider the rest of the tough decade people at Global Crossing had already endured – I suspect they probably enjoyed it more than most. Here’s a quick table previewing my expectations for how Q4 went relative to the rest of 2009: … [visit site to read more]

Level 3 Gets Growth Footing Back

Rob Powell — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:33:37 +0000

Next generation internet backbone Level 3 Communications (LVLT: chart, news) checked in with fourth quarter and full year earnings this morning, carrying through on its guidance of an improvement in core revenues and EBITDA – but only just barely. Free cash flow turned out positive for the year after a $97M number in the fourth quarter, beating my expectations. Here is a quick summary of the relevant numbers, followed by my own thoughts: … [visit site to read more]