Allied Fiber's southeast dark fiber assets head to the auction block

The dark fiber assets of Allied Fiber's Southeast network subsidiary will be auctioned off in July, reflecting the next step in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection process.

In late April, the subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following a number of attempts to sell dark fiber on its Atlanta-to-Miami fiber route.

PMCM, a Phoenix Capital Resources affiliate, has been retained by the bankruptcy court to take the southeastern assets of Allied Fiber to market. Bidders have until July 7 to make a play for the assets, with the final auction to be held on July 12. 

The company told FierceTelecom in an e-mail that it is leading the sale process for the three entities with assets located in the southeast: AF-Southeast, LLC; Allied Fiber – Florida, LLC; and Allied Fiber – Georgia, LLC. However, PMCM added that these assets do not include the parent company, Allied Fiber, LLC.

After a failed effort to build a Northeast network linking New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., Allied Fiber turned its attention in late 2012 to building a Southeast route. According to the Chapter 11 filing, the service provider spent $20.5 million making preparations to build the Northeast route.

For the Southeast segment, Allied Fiber built out 708 route miles of fiber with colocation huts about 1,200 square feet in size set every 60 miles along the path of the network.

The completed Southeast dark fiber network connects the service provider's 11 colocation facilities, which are spaced approximately 60 miles apart, via short-haul fibers that it says are designed to improve network control and performance while reducing network latency. A complementary set of long-haul connection points are located in Miami, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. Each one of the colocation facilities feature backup power, energy efficiencies, 24/7 security, hurricane resistance, and capability to fit a diverse set of industry needs.

The company's strategic placement of colocation facilities in the Southeast could be attractive to service providers that want to offer international capabilities by offering direct access to two new undersea cable landings in Jacksonville and four existing undersea cable landings in Boca Raton, Florida.

Although the Southeast route could attract a number of potential bidders such as Zayo Group or even a large cable operator, PMCM could not comment on whether it has received any inquiries about the network assets.

For more:
- see this release

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