Telecom Ramblings

There has been more and more talk lately about the potential for consolidation among European networks, and not just from me.  But it is my feeling that the sense of the assets out there is narrowly focused on the incumbents and on the wireless/spectrum side of things, and that for fiber we don’t really have a feel for who the players would be beyond a few names that get mentioned over and over.  So I went out and hunted [Read more →]

Late last week, ground was apparently broken on a new intercity fiber project between New York City metro area and Ashburn, VA. They’ve got all the planning and rights of way in place, and were set to break ground on Friday. The company behind the project, United Fiber & Data, has some rather unusual backers. [Read more →]

Here’s a quick look at four contract wins and a modular expansion from the colo sector this week, on each for Telehouse, Verne Global, Telecity, Data Foundry, and Interxion: [Read more →]

Must be balance sheet spring cleaning week, as Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX, news, filings) has also now chimed in with a big refinancing plan too. They started off looking to raise a cool billion in senior notes, and wound up pricing a whopping $1.5B of them made up of $500M of 4.875% notes due 2020, and $1B of 5.375% notes due 2023. [Read more →]

Apparently there’s quite a window in the credit markets right now – at least for fiber operators.  Earlier this week we heard about Integra’s refinancing package, and today Zayo made a similar move. [Read more →]

Infinera (NASDAQ:INFN, news, filings) continued its assault on the 100G market with a win in the Mediterranean Sea. TI Sparkle is deploying the vendors flagship DTN-X gear on its MedNautilus network, leveraging those 500Gbps super-channels to meet rising traffic needs. [Read more →]

Still under siege but with its new CEO at the helm, Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU, news, filings) seems to be picking up some momentum in the managed services segment. Last month it was a $1B deal for about half of Reliance Communications network management needs in India. And this week we have two more, although perhaps not quite of that magnitude. [Read more →]

Emerald Networks, which is building a new transatlantic cable with a branch to Iceland called the “Emerald Express”, has added a high profile customer.  None other than Vodafone Group (NYSE:VOD, news, filings) is planning to sign a contract with the cable system for capacity.  [Read more →]

It’s been a busy week for the folks at Integra Telecom, or I should say simply “Integra”, since that’s the way they’ll be introducing themselves from here on out. Following up the successful refinancing of its debt announced yesterday, the western regional network operator has unveiled an updated brand, complete with a new logo, tagline, and the name it goes to market with. [Read more →]

euNetworks (news) reported its earnings for the fourth quarter and full year 2012, demonstrating a continued solid growth trend and strongly improving margins.  The independent metro fiber operator added another 59 buildings to its network and another 33 customers to its rolls.  Improved scale and product mix helped adjusted EBITDA margins surge above 20% for the first time, with gross margins breaching the 70% barrier as well.  Here are their numbers in some context: [Read more →]

In a transaction update today, clwr revealed that it has decided to dip into the funds that Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S, news, filings) offered to lend it as part of its proposed merger of the company. They’re going to take the $80M in financing Sprint provided for the month of March, which comes in the form of notes exchangeable for common stock at $1.50 per share. [Read more →]

California-based TelePacific says it’s ready for a big Texas push. The western regional CLEC expanded to Texas for the first time in October of 2011 when they closed the acquisition of Tel West. [Read more →]

According to the telecom research firm Telegeography, 10G waves on major international routes saw substantial price cutting last year.  Between Q4/2011 and Q4/2012, their data say that median monthly prices for 10G waves between major global markets fell some 37%, while pricing for smaller pipes was somewhat more stable.   [Read more →]

There have been several interesting bandwidth and telecom items from the specialized financial vertical this week. Here’s a quick look at news from Perseus Telecom, Orange Business Service – Trading Solutions , and IPC Systems: [Read more →]

Yesterday Integra Telecom said that it has taken advantage of its improving operational prospects to refinance their balance sheet, which dovetails nicely with Searchlight’s entry as a major investor at the end of 2012. They’ve been working on the refi for the past few months, good to see they’ve finally finished it off and knocked some $19M off their annual interest expenses in the process. [Read more →]

Reuters reports that at the Mobile World Congress Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao expressed confidence that the company could easily spend on European expansion without needing to sell it’s 45% Verizon Wireless Stake. Various analysts have been talking about pressure on Vodafone to increase its wireline presence to compete, which is something it already did some of with the C&W Worldwide deal last year. [Read more →]

The effects of month’s surprise dividend cut by CenturyLink and the market’s response are still reverberating throughout the wireline side of telecom and fiber.  In fact, it feels to me as if the M&A playing field may have shifted materially.  [Read more →]

This week we have four new job listings, all from Unite Private Networks out in the Midwest. [Read more →]

Some quick takes from around the world featuring news from AT&T, euNetworks, Ciena, and Tata: [Read more →]

This article was authored by Joseph Waring, and was originally posted on telecomasia.net.

Telcos are blinded trying to resolve their many short-term issues and don’t see the big picture, says ZTE VP of wireless Sean Cai. [Read more →]

One oops and much of northern Alabama found itself even further away from the rest of the world than normal yesterday morning. A utility contractor snagged one of AT&T’s main cables in the region while digging (what else) and took down the region west of Huntsville, including Florence, Decatur, Hartselle, Madison, and Athens for both voice and data.  [Read more →]

With most of the fiber guys at Metro Connect (wish I were there!), let’s look again at news from the colo space lately: [Read more →]

The alternative bandwidth provider Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI, news, filings) posted its fourth quarter numbers this morning.  Revenue was basically inline, EBITDA and margins were above expectations, and earnings per share was a bit light.  But the steady improvement in the company’s performance since last Spring gave them enough to boost their dividend by another 10% up to $0.12 per share.  Here are Cogent’s numbers in some context: [Read more →]