Texas-based broadband service provider Grande Communications, which gained notoriety as one of the early, small triple play providers, is exploring strategic alternatives. That kind of language usually includes the possibility of a sale of the company or parts of it.
Amid deals such as FairPoint Communications' pending acquisition of Verizon Communications' properties in New England and Surewest Communications' deal to buy Everest Broadband, there's some speculation consolidation at the smaller end of the service provider spectrum is picking up. That suggests opportunism on the part of companies seeking to buy and sell, but it may be more of a defensive posture. The TV part of the triple play bundle is getting to be an expensive investment for small players, and not all of them are ready to handle the future investment it may require.
For more:
- see this story at Telephony
Related articles:
- Windstream said last fall that rural telco consolidation could slow