Zayo has been making inroads into the emerging small cell backhaul market, announcing that it now provides 1,200 sites in its territory with a mix of fiber and turnkey network solutions.
With Zayo set to announce its earnings tomorrow, this milestone emerges less than two years after the service provider entered the small cell market as an extension of its fiber to the tower (FTTT) business.
Having established itself as a provider of fiber-based backhaul services via its growing metro fiber network, Zayo reported that its small cell service has grown 260 percent over the past year. It has also seen an average cash flow yield of 15 percent across all small cell sales.
While providing fiber-based backhaul and fronthaul services are a key element of Zayo's offering, the service provider has also established itself as a professional services partner for its wireless clients. The service provider offers a set of RF design, site acquisition, permitting and equipment installation services for wireless operators that want to outsource their small cell deployments.
While Zayo could not name any specific customer names, Dave Jones, SVP of mobile infrastructure at Zayo, said in a previous interview with FierceTelecom's sister publication FierceInstaller that wireless operators remain divided on how much they want Zayo to manage their small cell backhaul deployments.
Given the challenges of securing rights-of-way, permits and overall network construction, Zayo will also attach the small cell equipment to a utility pole, turn it up and then provide the fiber backhaul back to an adjacent macro tower.
Overall, Zayo has continued to expand the reach of its fiber into more cell sites. Today, the service provider currently serves nearly 8,000 towers.
For more:
- see the release
Related articles:
Zayo's Las Vegas data center gains another 10K square feet as customer demand grows
Zayo pre-sells 7 new customers for planned Omaha-to-Dallas fiber route
Zayo carves niche in fiber-based small cell backhaul, turnkey installation services