Enventis, Consolidated Communications marriage complete as brands unify under one name

Consolidated will now begin doing business in the markets it entered through its acquisition of Enventis, an independent telco formerly known HickoryTech, under the Consolidated Communications brand.

In October 2014, Consolidated completed its acquisition of Enventis, a deal which gave it instant presence in a number of new markets, including Minnesota and into Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Bob Udell, president and CEO of Consolidated Communications, said in release that by providing "one brand and one team" it will have "greater scale and resources to provide our customers even more value."

By acquiring Enventis, Consolidated enhanced its fiber network reach across 11 states. In 2014, Consolidated reported revenue of $790.1 million and total connections of 849,452.

At the same time, Consolidated is already moving ahead with new business and residential growth initiatives in these states.

On the business side, the service provider continues to expand its on-net fiber footprint to serve more business customers with Ethernet and optical services. Consolidated said during its first quarter earnings call that it expanded its fiber network miles by over 5 percent to 13,038 total miles and on-net buildings by 3 percent to more than 4,800. 

For consumers, the focus has been on expanding the availability of its 100 Mbps and growing 1 Gbps fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) offerings throughout its footprint, including its recent rollout in Texas.

While Consolidated has more work to do with integrating the Enventis assets into its fold, the telco won't rule out acquiring other regional fiber providers or even cable operators if they could provide complementary footprint or reach that would enhance its business and wholesale service capabilities.

For more:
- see the release

Related articles:
Consolidated brings 1 Gbps broadband service to Texas
Consolidated's Childers: Our future M&A activity will focus on regional fiber providers, cable assets
Consolidated's Udell: 'we win back' Google Fiber customers with high-touch service
Consolidated's Udell: On-net fiber opportunities drive metro Ethernet success
Consolidated's Udell: 1 Gbps service gains traction, boosting interest in other speed tiers