Axiom is keen on opportunities to bring dark fiber to towers and small cells in New York City, but the service provider said that wireless operators have to be more realistic about pricing.
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Felipe Alvarez, CEO of Axiom Fiber Networks, told FierceTelecom that while it is in discussions with various area wireless operators, the service provider said the biggest challenge it has in dealing with wireless operators is economics.
“The majority of them have what I think is a very unrealistic expectation for price,” Alvarez said. “It’s frustrating because it does not match the reality of what it takes to drive a strand to small cell sites they are starting deploy and work with.”
That’s not to say that Axiom isn’t working out deals with wireless operators in New York City.
“I think it’s workable,” Alvarez said. “It’s just the negotiation stage and for us it’s more of what is the long term view versus a short term project view where the economics are challenging with the price points that they are looking for.”
As it sees more wireless and wireline demand for its dark fiber, Axiom has established a new point of presence (PoP) at Telehouse NYC’s 85 10th Avenue Chelsea Data Center.
This agreement provides benefits for Axiom and Telehouse’s customers.
By establishing this new PoP, Telehouse’s carrier and enterprise customers will get access to Axiom’s dark fiber network that’s interconnected to major carrier meeting points.
Specifically, Axiom can offer cross-connectivity ranging from single pair fiber to larger configurations. It provides a dark fiber network that places every building from Midtown to Lower Manhattan within an easy dark-fiber cross-connect.
Likewise, Axiom customers will have key access to crucial international internet exchanges located in the facility.
“Telehouse’s 85 10th location is one we have had on our radar screen for a long time because it’s a large internet interconnection point,” Alvarez said. “We do get a lot of demand to get in there with lit and dark fiber and we’re finding in many cases that our quotes are edging lit services out because our dark fiber pricing is very attractive.”