Lumos Networks is putting its new 75 route mile long-haul network from Richmond to Hampton Roads, Va., to work by beginning to pre-sell services to businesses and carriers that reside along the path between these two cities.
Set to be lit in the third quarter of 2015, this route will mark the initial segment of the company's approximately 665 fiber route mile network expansion to be available for pre-sale activities.
This network was not developed on a speculative build-it-and-they-will-come mentality, but rather one that was driven by customer needs. Already, the service provider has secured a 12-year contract with a large wireless operator for fiber-to-the-cell (FTTC) wholesale service, including 257 unique sites.
Lumos said the 75-mile network is part of a broader strategy to expand the telco's footprint not only in Richmond, but also to establish a new presence in metro markets of Petersburg, Hampton Roads and Norfolk, Va.
Joseph E. McCourt, chief revenue officer for Lumos Networks, said in a release that while it will initially use existing sales resources in these efforts, "as we move through 2015, we expect to add headcount, particularly in the Norfolk area, as demand requires."
The service provider said that the sales force has identified a number of potential enterprise, data center, transport and FTTC leads on this new route. What's more, the route will provide Lumos' Carrier End User sales team with new opportunities to pursue the nearly 30 telecom and cable operator partners it has established Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with.
FTTC and enterprise services that leverage its fiber network infrastructure continue to be two growing business segments for Lumos. During the fourth quarter, the service provider reported that fiber-to-the-cell (FTTC) and enterprise revenue grew 16 percent and 3 percent sequentially.
All of this was driven by an aggressive fiber buildout strategy where the service provider added 375 new FTTC sites, 250 unique FTTC connections, 408 route miles of fiber and connected to an incremental 133 lit buildings and seven data centers.
For more:
- see the release
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