Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) is continuing its aggressive business service drive with the introduction of Ethernet Internet service to 11 new markets, including Akron, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, Indianapolis, Wichita, Kan., Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Okla., northwest Arkansas, Augusta, Ga., Baton Rouge, La., and Mobile, Ala.
Delivering speeds up to 1 Gbps, Windstream's Ethernet Internet service can be used in conjunction with its growing base of MPLS Networking Solutions, including VPN or Virtual LAN (VLAN) services.
The expansion of its Ethernet services reach into new markets reflect Windstream's ongoing drive to up its business service power through its own organic growth initiatives and through targeted acquisitions focused on expanding its existing fiber network. These efforts included a $20 million investment in its own fiber network in addition to purchasing the assets of Q-Comm and NuVox.
But business Ethernet is only one piece of Windstream's ongoing bandwidth expansion effort. In separate news, Windstream revealed in a user forum that it plans to introduce VDSL2 infrastructure into specific markets by the end of the year to deliver 4 Mbps upload speeds.
In a previous interview with FierceTelecom, Jeff Gardner, CEO of Windstream said that it has introduced VDSL2-capable services in select areas, but admitted that most users are typically using 4 Mbps.
"We're deploying VDSL2 in our markets and it's allowed us to offer 20 Mbps and above," Gardner said. "In our biggest markets we can get 12 Mbps to nearly half of our customers. You have to keep in mind that most people on average are only buying 4 Mbps so we have a lot of headroom if our customers want a Netflix or a different video experience."
For more:
- see the release
- Broadband DSL Reports has this post
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