Zayo has won a $16 million dark fiber contract with a Tier 1 wireless operator to densify its network in Colorado Springs and expand capacity on the Front Range.
Similar to other fiber-to-the-tower (FTTT) deals where Zayo has been contracted to build out dark fiber, this build in Colorado will leverage the service provider’s existing network between the Denver Metro area and Colorado Springs.
As part of the build, Zayo will add 124 new route miles in Colorado Springs for the dark FTTT platform.
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Specifically, Zayo’s dark fiber solution will enable the wireless operator to deploy a centralized radio access network (C-RAN) architecture that will enhance wireless network densification.
The long-haul dark fiber will provide diverse connectivity between Colorado Springs and the Denver metro area. Leveraging dark fiber solutions, especially in high-growth areas like the Colorado Front Range, reflects wireless operators’ ongoing movement to invest in infrastructure to improve capacity and quality.
Zayo expects to leverage the buildout to serve other customers in Colorado Springs, a growing market with a diverse base of businesses.
The service provider could use the fiber from this latest backhaul build to potentially lure other area customer targets. Within this area there are five military bases, major aerospace and defense companies, technology and cybersecurity companies, healthcare facilities and professional services.
Zayo already has a decent amount of fiber in Colorado Springs, following a major organic expansion all along the Front Range area in 2012. That expansion was conducted to support a large customer project, which could provide fiber capacity and reach for other customers throughout the region.
When it completed the Front Range build, Zayo had fiber that reached into various cities, including Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Colorado Springs and the larger Denver metro area.
Already, Zayo is using its fiber wins with wireless operators to attract other local customers, particularly with school districts.
In markets like North-Central Texas, the service provider has extended services to schools located in Texas Education Service Center Region 11 via a fiber network build that's under construction in Dallas-Fort Worth for a major wireless operator. This 1,178-mile platform consists of 440 miles of a previously planned FTTT build, 443 miles of existing network, and 295 miles of new construction.