FirstLight Fiber is giving its business customers another route between the United States and Canada, announcing a new relationship with Fibrenoire to provide fiber-based Ethernet services in Quebec and Ontario.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two service providers will be able to extend their footprints into both regions. Traditionally, it has been challenging for businesses to get connectivity between the U.S. and Canada.
While this agreement is new, neither company is a stranger to one another. FirstLight gained entry into Canada when it purchased Vermont-based TelJet, which deepened its presence in New York, northern New England and parts of Canada.
"We have worked with FirstLight [through the former TelJet] for several years, and in our pursuit to increase our capabilities into the U.S., syncing up with an independent carrier operating in Northern New England, like FirstLight, was a natural fit," said Benjamin Desmarais, president and CEO of Fibrenoire, in a release.
Extending services between the U.S. and Canada border makes sense. A number of vertical industry segments, including finance, gaming and media, are ramping up their businesses on both sides of the border and would likely be shopping for good alternatives that involve working with a smaller competitive service provider.
However compelling this new relationship is, FirstLight and Fibrenoire will face key challengers like XO Communications, which built a 550-mile Toronto metro and Canadian long-haul network that provides connectivity to the U.S. XO is extending its network service reach throughout the Canadian market using a mix of its own facilities and its growing base of service provider partnerships.
For more:
- see the release
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