Southern Light snags 10 E-rate builds with Southeast schools

As Southern Light moves forward with being acquired by Uniti Fiber, the service provider has racked up new E-Rate wins with 10 school districts in three Southeast states.

These school districts will receive a mix of high-speed internet and wide area network (WAN) connections through federal E-Rate funding.

Southern Light noted that 80% of the E-Rate wins are new customers, while Baldwin County Public Schools and Mobile County Public Schools represent major secured rebids for the company.

RELATED: Uniti says Hunt Telecom, Southern Light deals will provide sales, capex synergies

“We continue to work tirelessly to provide reliable broadband service to schools,” said Andy Newton, president and CEO of Southern Light, in a release. “Providing access to all students is the fastest way to eliminate the digital divide between those who have broadband access and those who are left behind.”

Southern Light E-rate wins     
School  Service Type State
Apalachicola Bay Charter  internet service  Florida
Archdiocese of Biloxi  internet service  Mississippi 
Baldwin County Public Schools WAN, internet service  Alabama
Biloxi Public School District  WAN, internet service  Mississippi 
Greene County School District  WAN, internet service  Mississippi 
Jackson County School District  WAN, internet service  Mississippi 
Mobile County Public Schools  WAN, internet service  Alabama
Pascagoula Gautier School District  internet service  Mississippi 
Poplarville School District  WAN, internet service  Mississippi 
St. John the Baptist  internet service  Louisiana
(Source: Southern Light)    

Southern Light is in the middle of being purchased by Uniti, a deal that will immediately increase Uniti’s scale with about $250 million in new annual revenue. Additionally, the company expects $12.5 million in opex synergies to be achieved over the next 18-24 months.

Uniti told investors during the recent 45th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference that it is already seeing network synergies form Southern Light for a fiber build it is conducting in Mississippi, for example.

Uniti will be able leverage 100 additional miles from Southern Light for one of its utility company customers.