Telecom Ramblings

Happy New Year to all!  At least as happy as a third pandemic year can be anyway, but hey.  It’s time for our annual tradition of taking the temperature of the network M&A marketplace for the year ahead.  Today we ask the question of 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 →]

There has been more and more attention paid to network infrastructure in smaller markets and rural areas in recent years.  One fiber operator that has long focused on such opportunities is Fatbeam, which builds and operates metro and regional fiber networks across the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains.  They started out mostly with e-Rate projects, but have steadily expanded their footprint both organically and inorganically. With us today to talk about Fatbeam’s experiences and current approach to the markets of this region is COO and CTO Jason Koenders, who joined the company in June of this year.  We last talked with Fatbeam in 2014 with founder and then CEO Greg Green. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Todd Foje, CEO of Great Plains Communications

2021 has been an unpredictable year in many ways, yet the rising demand for broadband that occurred was certainly to be expected. As we enter 2022 and contemplate the key trends we’ll see, based upon how essential it has become in our lives, the need for broadband will continue to expand. In fact, offering broadband-for-all in our country —along with everything this effort will encompass —is the direction telecom is moving towards. [Read more →]

The new year is upon us again, which can only mean one thing. Yes, it is time to dig the crystal ball out of the closet again and make a few predictions. Almost 2 years into a pandemic and with a new surge from Omicron raging through the holidays, what can we possibly say about next year? Well, I’ll give it a try anyway. [Read more →]

One of the terms with the biggest, most enduring level of buzz across all areas of tech and infrastructure is Artificial Intelligence, or AI. It’s always on the list of things on the horizon that will drive future demand and solve all sorts of problems. It’s obvious that it’s real and will have a huge impact, yet if you ask for specifics people start mumbling. [Read more →]

Okay, about those predictions I made last year…  Every year we like to make a few guesses about where we are going, but before we do it we have to check back to see how we did the last time.  Well, maybe we don’t have to in today’s culture, but we ought to.  So how did I do last year? [Read more →]

There was a bit of pre-Xmas M&A activity yesterday. The investment firm Carlyle has announced a deal to purchase Involta from M/C Partners. The purchase will will serve Carlyle as a platform for expansion deeper into digital infrastructure. [Read more →]

Cinia’s ongoing plans to build a cable through the Arctic region got some reinforcements this week. The Finnish provider has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Far North Digital to help build the cable. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Lakshminarayanan Raju, Prodapt Solutions

Reduce SD-WAN Order to Provisioning cycle time by 53%

As organizations plan for the future of their enterprise network in a post-COVID-19 world, they increasingly realize the importance of connectivity, especially the Wide Area Network. [Read more →]

Two bits of subsea news, and one subterranean: [Read more →]

As the holiday week approaches, we have an interesting inorganic move in the data center space. EdgeConneX announced this morning that it has made a strategic investment in Chayora. [Read more →]

The intersection between data, infrastructure, and energy is a complicated one that all data center and fiber operators pay a lot of attention to. One company with a unique approach to meeting the demand for hyperscale capacities alongside sustainable energy consumption is Norwegian-based Bulk Infrastructure. Bulk’s profile has risen dramatically over the last few years with its work on the HAVFRUE and HAVSIL cable systems and the development of major new sustainable data center capacity in southern Norway and western Denmark. With us today to talk about Bulk’s approach is Rob Elder, VP Data Centers. [Read more →]

DE-CIX has tapped Nokia to upgrade its IX in Frankfurt, Germany. The IX provider is moving to equip its infrastructure with the ability to support 800GE with Nokia’s latest routing technology. [Read more →]

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Christian Nascimento, VP, Product Management & Strategy, Comcast Business

The digital transformation of business has been ongoing for many years, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, it became unavoidable for nearly every company, no matter the size or industry. As such, organizations are paying closer attention to their connectivity than ever — and it’s important that they do so [Read more →]

Infinera has won a high profile internet backbone over to its ICE6 800G technology as of this morning. Telia Carrier has selected Infinera’s gear to help power its ongoing global network expansion, expanding upon the two companies’ existing relationship. [Read more →]

Yesterday there was another bit of consolidation in the IaaS space, as 11:11 continues to deliver on its promise of inorganic expansion. The managed infrastructure solutions provider has now signed a definitive agreement to acquire iland. [Read more →]

Five more expansion projects worth noting from this week so far: [Read more →]

Australia’s newest longhaul fiber network project is officially getting underway. HyperOne announced today that it has begun construction of its 20,000km hyperscale digital backbone. [Read more →]

In some network expansion news over in Europe, euNetworks is pushing deeper into Poland and Slovakia. The Western European fiber operator revealed a recent expansion of its longhaul infrastructure to Warsaw and Bratislava. [Read more →]

Iron Mountain has made an interesting M&A. In a deal announced Friday, Iron Mountain revealed it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ITRenew from the private equity firm ZMC. [Read more →]

Two FTTH moves, an IX expansion, and an M&A: [Read more →]

Three contract wins and a new metro fiber expansion: [Read more →]

A few interesting items from around the world: a refinancing, three contracts, and a technology upgrade: [Read more →]