Updated – August 1, 2017 – Lightower Fiber Networks has agreed to be acquired by Crown Castle International Corp. for approx. $7.1 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2017.
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Update – May 01, 2015 – Fibertech Networks was bought by Lightower Fiber Networks in a $1.9 billion all-cash deal that will create a fiber powerhouse in the eastern U.S.
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Rochester, New York-based Fibertech Networks plans to install more than 750 route miles of new fiber optic cable in Metro Detroit. This is the company’s 30th U.S. metro network. This will add more Detroit markets to their over 12,000 route miles of fiber-only network infrastructure. The area to be served include Trenton, Canton Township, Dearborn, Southfield, Warren, Troy, and Chesterfield Township.
“This is a major expansion for Fibertech and an important step in our development as one of the largest and fastest-growing metro fiber providers in the eastern U.S.,” said John K. Purcell, chair and CEO of Fibertech, told BusinessWire that the move was “an economic development initiative that we believe will help foster telecom competition, and business and employment growth.”
The company’s service offering encompasses both dark fiber and optical broadband. They offer their facilities to businesses that have predominately used traditional carriers and lines in the past. The company’s services include point-to-point and multi-point Ethernet services with speeds ranging from 5 Mbps to 100 Gbps. They also offer DWDM, dedicated Internet access, and collocation.
Other fiber markets
In addition to Detroit, Fibertech has networks working in Pittsburgh, Pa.; Indianapolis; Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo, Ohio. Markets on the east coast include Providence, R.I.; Hartford, Bridgeport, Stamford, Danbury, New London, and New Haven, Conn.; Springfield and Worcester, Mass. They also have fiber facilities in Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton, White Plains, and Albany, N.Y.; Wilmington, Del.; Montgomery County, Md.; Trenton, Newark and Atlantic City, N.J.; and Philadelphia.
“This new network expansion is a natural 2013 extension of our market footprint given our growing presence in the Midwest and, most recently, our extension into five new markets in Ohio including Toledo,” said Mr. Purcell.
Fibertech was founded in May 2000, has built metro-area fiber networks in 29 mid-size markets in the eastern United States, and is led by Court Square Capital Partners of New York City. The company owns and operates a fiber-optic network of more than 9,500 route miles, which has more than 8,100 on-net locations with nearly 2,100 cell sites with its fiber-only network infrastructure.
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For the old-timers out there, remember Link-Michigan?
Another failed broadband initiative from Lansing. Fiber networks are a key to economic development. If the State can’t do what is right for its citizens, then the private sector will.
OMG did I just turn into a republican?
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
