Telecom Ramblings

Regional fiber operators have always been out there, but in the last 5-10 years, they have started to get attention, and not just when it comes to consolidation.  With us today is DQE Communications CEO and President Jim Morozzi.  DQE has its roots in the energy utility world of metro Pittsburgh but has moved far beyond the original vision of a dark infrastructure company into a regional lit and dark fiber access provider. Jim joined DQE in 2013 and has overseen the company’s expansion across Pennsylvania and neighboring states. [Read more →]

We started the week with the question of consolidation targets in the US, and now it’s time for the other side of the coin.  What network operators are most likely to be consolidators in 2022?  We’ll take it as a given that ‘infrastructure funds’ would top the more general list of likely buyers, of course, but let’s focus on the existing network operators looking to expand inorganically.  Last year [Read more →]

Three bits of M&A in three different geographies, two in the FTTH space and one data center: [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Charlie Ashton, senior director of business development, Napatech

In the past year, we’ve seen significant growth in the number of private networks being deployed for enterprise applications. Commercial private deployments have advanced greatly in 2022, and all signs point to that trend continuing. In fact, Gartner estimates that by 2025, 75% of data will be processed at the edge – outside of traditional centralized data centers in the cloud. This will result in improved security, faster response time and reduced latency. This trend, however, implies [Read more →]

Three regional communications companies have teamed up to put some new fiber in the ground up in Michigan. 123NET, DayStarr Communications, and Peninsula Fiber Network have plans to build a regional intercity link between the the markets of Southfield and Lansing. [Read more →]

It took 15 months, but GTT has finally emerged from the Chapter 11 doghouse. Yesterday the global managed network provider celebrated the start of 2023 by unveiling its newly revitalized fiscal and operational structure. [Read more →]

The new year kicked off with a bit of M&A out in Missouri. Ozark Fiber has announced the acquisition of the residential and SMB businesses of Missouri Telecom. [Read more →]

Happy New Year to all!  Last year’s fiber/network M&A activity wasn’t that hot, and you could see that last year’s poll didn’t see any obvious targets.  The top 5 were Windstream, Uniti, FiberLight, FirstLight, and GTT.  Of those, FiberLight did find a buyer (I had almost forgotten about that deal!).   The second on the list to be acquired was #7, ZenFi.   Now, of course, it is time to poll the sector for 2023.  Who you think are the likeliest candidates to be sold (in part or in whole) in 2022.  (Not including already pending transactions). If I’ve missed anyone, do let me know. [Read more →]

The new year is upon us again, which means that it is time to dig the crystal ball out of the closet again and make a few predictions. The pandemic isn’t exactly gone, but it’s definitely in the rear view mirror for most everyone.  So what do our headlights show in the distance now?  If history is considered, I shouldn’t really try to guess.  But who asked history? [Read more →]

The wireless side of things tends to dominate AT&T’s world these days, so it is always interesting to see them make a move in the world of last mile fiber. They have partnered up with BlackRock Alternatives to launch a new joint venture targeting fiber reach outside their traditional 21-state incumbent territory. [Read more →]

Okay, about those predictions I made last year…  Each December I like to make a few predictions about the year ahead.  But what is a prediction without a healthy dose of reality to cut it down to size?  We don’t check such things often enough, we just tend to make more.   I’ll get to that part soon enough, but first: how did I do last year? [Read more →]

Happy Holidays to all, time to escape early if you haven’t already folks!  Here’s some quick catchup first of a few items beforehand: [Read more →]

A couple of data center projects and a shoot-down of a deal by regulators down under: [Read more →]

A new data center, a new PoP, some state fiber funding, and a new CEO: [Read more →]

There was a bit of M&A in the competitive telecommunications market in the MidAtlantic. The managed service provider Xtel Communications has announced the acquisition of Global Telecom, a.k.a. GTB, extending its geographical reach and adding to its talent pool. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Boominathan Shanmugam of Prodapt Systems

Most service providers in the connectedness industry are challenged with the planning and allocation of field technicians based on demand. Gartner states, “Balancing available resources against the demand is essential to successful initiative completion.” Based on the engagements with various service providers, the common challenges in traditional field service capacity planning are [Read more →]

From around the world this morning and late last week: a couple of interesting executive moves over in Europe, a rebranding, a new data center campus, and a network upgrade project. [Read more →]

As 2022 comes to a close, Zayo released some details on where it has been investing in its network. The list gives us a sense of not just 2022, but where the company is headed as we move into 2023. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Kailem Anderson – Vice President of Portfolio and Engineering for Blue Planet, a division of Ciena

Network engineers and architects commonly used diagrams to visualize their network architecture. However, with the advent of disaggregated networks, 5G, and edge computing, which are designed to deliver dynamic services comprised of virtualized resources that can be placed anywhere in the network, generating an accurate picture of the ever-changing network has become more challenging than ever. [Read more →]

Three items from southern Europe and one from southern Asia: [Read more →]

Aligned Data Centers is taking on some major new geographical reach with the planned acquisition of ODATA. The purchase will give Aligned a significant hyperscale presence in Latin America right off the bat, with more already under construction. [Read more →]

Bluebird Network has made a small inorganic move out in the midwest. The Missouri-based communications infrastructure provider says it has agreed to acquire the middle mile network assets of Missouri Telecom Inc., or MTI, which operates FTTH infrastructure in the region. [Read more →]

Two independent infrastructure players are teaming up to create a future key piece of the Pacific Northwest’s infrastructure. MOX Networks announced yesterday that it is building the necessary backhaul network for Toptana Technologies new cable landing station. [Read more →]