Telecom Ramblings

EQT has another big purchase in mind, if they can convince the right people. A Bloomberg report came out over the weekend detailing the Swedish private equity firm's plans to make a bid for the Dutch incumbent. The company's current market value of about $11B is at low ebb, making the idea increasingly alluring. [Read more →]

Also new in the news this week: more interconnection, another edge data center, some backhaul, and a new hire: [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was contributed by Darach Beirne, Vice President of Customer Success at Flowroute, now part of Intrado

The adoption of SaaS-based cloud communication services has been steadily on the rise – propelled forward by the sudden shift to remote work in early 2020. Teams across industries and countries turned to [Read more →]

Two contract wins, a new CEO, and a new data center, not necessarily in that order: [Read more →]

There has been a bit of interesting M&A in the managed services world. Amsterdam-based Expereo has announced the acquisition of Globalinternet. [Read more →]

A couple infrastructure expansion projects and a couple of partnerships at midweek: [Read more →]

Along with today's Telia deal, there was some interesting M&A in the data center world. 365 Data Centers announced this morning that Stonecourt Capital LP has acquired the company. [Read more →]

In a major announcement for the European telecommunications business, Telia Company today announced an agreement to sell its international carrier division. Polhem Infra will be buying Telia Carrier for SEK9.4B, or $1.06B, on a cash and debt free basis. [Read more →]

Two global network expansions, some regional fiber expansion plans, and a sale/leaseback deal worth noting: [Read more →]

As more and more fiber gets rolled out to towers and homes around the country to accommodate the race to 5G, satisfy heightened consumer demand from COVID-19, and connect under-served communities, the logistics of large-scale projects can get complex. With us today to talk about the company’s technology and its approach to addressing these challenges is Render Networks CEO, Sam Pratt. [Read more →]

Equinix announced yesterday the closing of a major expansion north of the border. In a deal I managed to miss entirely when it was announced back in June, Equinix has acquired 13 data centers from BCE Inc., the parent company of Bell Canada. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by GeoLinks' Melissa Slawson

We’ve all heard the term “future proof” – the concept of building something unlikely to become obsolete. In the broadband world, a future-proof network is one that can accommodate the ever-changing needs of an ever-growing, ever-more-bandwidth-hungry society. While no one knows what network technologies await us, “future proof” has become synonymous with “fiber only.” However, promoting projects that exclude any technology except fiber makes the promise of a “future-proof” network more costly, more time consuming and much more difficult to deliver. [Read more →]

Some metro and regional deployments, product enhancements, and an IX: [Read more →]

A few upgrades, product rollouts, and interconnections worth noting at midweek: [Read more →]

In a major M&A move in the data center space today, DataBank has announced a definitive agreement to acquire zColo from Zayo. I wondered if Zayo might step back into the M&A game now after EQT and Digital Colony took them private, but I didn't actually expect them to do so from the other side of the table. But of course Digital Colony is kind of on both sides of this particular table. [Read more →]

Some DC power, a bit of vendor M&A, and a couple of 5G deployments: [Read more →]

The data center sector has evolved substantially over the last few years with both hyperscale demand and the influence of infrastructure funds changing historical patterns, and this year’s COVID-19 pandemic has added yet more to the mix. Newer, dynamic players have been moving quickly in response.  One such player is Aligned, which is rapidly expanding in markets like Ashburn, Dallas, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City.  Aligned recently raised $1B for the next phase of its growth in a move the company bills as the data center sector’s first-ever sustainability-linked financing as well as one of the largest private debt raises in data center history.  With us today to talk about Aligned’s business model, its plans, its relationship with Macquarie, and the effects so far from the pandemic is Tim Shaheen, EVP, Strategy & Development. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by David W Wang

As we approach Q4 of 2020, what does the landscape of major growth drivers for the CSPs (communication service provider) look like? The following are 5 top ones worth some review. [Read more →]

A few partnerships, expansions, and contracts to keep up with: [Read more →]

A few items from data centers, managed services, regional fiber, and SD-WAN to note at midweek: [Read more →]

Windstream's journey through the dark tunnel of chapter 11 is now over. Yesterday they company officially completed its financial restructuring, reducing its debt by $4B and starting a new life with access to $2B in new capital. And of course shedding the burden of those pesky public shareholders and getting a new set of private ones. [Read more →]

Lighting all that fiber that connects all the world is the gear produced by the optical sector.  The latest 400G, 600G, and 800G technologies are in various stages of growing up and will soon carry the bulk of that traffic.  I remember when Infinera first broke onto the scene with its PICs two decades ago, and they continue to push the pace in a neighborhood dominated by much larger competition.  With us today to talk about what’s going on at Infinera and in the optical industry as a whole, whether it’s about technology or the pandemic, is Rob Shore, SVP of Global Marketing. [Read more →]

The Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie seems to be everywhere these days, and always with a big checkbook in hand. Today the Italian energy utility Enel says it has received a bid from Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets for its stake in Open Fiber. [Read more →]