Fiber Optics

Frontier Communications Exceeds Major Broadband Milestone

Frontier Communications Corporation today announced it exceeded its 2017 Connect America Fund (CAF) milestones in each of the 29 states it serves, reaching over 45 percent of its eligible households under the FCC’s CAF program. In addition to new broadband access, over 900,000 households experienced..

C Spire Plans Broadband Expansion in Another Mississippi Town

C Spire will hold a meeting in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Jan. 26, 2018 to educate area business owners about the opportunity to get Gigabit speed internet access for their businesses at the lowest price available in the U.S.  An earlier Dec. 8 meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather. ..

XKL's eVolocity Platform Provides Protection and Efficiency Gains to Subsea Cable Operators

XKL LLC, a leading provider of optical networking solutions, has introduced a subsea cabling solution that facilitates an optical protection scheme with protected LAN PHY links, DWDM links, or both, all in a single platform. Subsea cable providers can use the innovative eVolocity platform to max..

Zayo Acquires Optic Zoo Networks

Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. today announced it has acquired Vancouver-based Optic Zoo Networks for CAD $31 million. Optic Zoo owns and operates high-capacity fiber in Vancouver and has achieved a significant penetration of customers, with a focus on the digital media sector. The transaction strengthe..

Aqua Comms Joins Consortium Building North Atlantic Subsea Cable System

Aqua Comms DAC, the operator of Ireland’s first dedicated subsea fiber-optic network interconnecting New York, Dublin and London, announced it has joined the HAVFRUE consortium, which will own and operate a new subsea cable system connecting New Jersey to Ireland and Denmark, with connectivity optio..

Finisar Names New CEO

Finisar Corporation, a global technology leader for subsystems and components for fiber optic communications, announced the retirement of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Rawls, and the appointment of Michael Hurlston as Chief Executive Officer, effective Jan. 11, 2018.  Hurlston will also..

CommScope and OFS Extend Long-Term Fiber Partnership

OFS and CommScope have entered into a new eight-year partnership to help ensure the availability of optical fiber supply to CommScope for use in its customers’ networks. “Through this agreement, CommScope secures access to a premier supply of optical fiber for development of innovative fiber cablin..

GoNetspeed Expands Fiber Optic Presence in Pittsburgh

GoNetspeed, a fiber-optic Internet service provider, today announced it has added Beaver Falls, Economy, Conway, Beaver, Monaca and Rochester, Pennsylvania, to its Pittsburgh service territory.  In October 2017, the company launched its expansion efforts in the Pittsburgh area, by offering residenti..

President Trump Signs Orders to Improve Rural Broadband

President Donald J. Trump has signed an executive order and presidential memorandum designed to enhance internet speeds in rural communities across America. According to the executive order, agencies must remove barriers to capital investment and providing broadband services to those in rural commu..

ALLO Acquires Glenwood Telecommunications' Operations in Nebraska Town

Nebraska-based ALLO Communications today announced the purchase of the fiber network and customer contracts of Glenwood Telecommunications’ Hastings, Nebraska operations. “ALLO looks forward to operating the fiber network to serve the customers in Hastings with exceptional service and t..

Xtera Partners With Fortress Solutions to Enhance the Lifespan of Subsea Cable Systems

Xtera, a provider of innovative subsea fiber optic solutions, announced a partnership with Fortress Solutions, a leading provider of telecom equipment repair, to enhance the longevity of its cable systems. As an ISO 9001, TL 9000, ISO 14001 and R2-certified equipment repair service provider, Fortres..

JetStream Cable Blowing Machine Offers Installation, Versatility

General Machine Products (KT) LLC, a subsidiary of Klein Tools, added the JetStream Cable Blowing Machine to its line of fiber optic cable blowing equipment. From microfiber to traditional backbone cable installation, the JetStream is adjustable to place 0.23- to 0.79-inch diameter cable into 0.75- ..

Excavators Dig Up, Break Through Terrain To Lay Fiber Optics Over 210-Mile Project

Robinson Brothers Construction (RBC) – an independent utility contractor based in Washington – secured a contract with a major telecommunications company to increase connectivity from Umatilla to Portland, OR. The company specializes in underground construction applications to support the expanding ..

Frontier Communications Achieves Rural Broadband Milestone

Frontier Communications announced it has exceeded 2017 milestone requirements for the Connect America Fund program (CAF) in eight additional states: Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund program requi..

Fiber Broadband Association Releases White Paper on Fiber and 5G

The Fiber Broadband Association has released a new white paper, “The Road to 5G is Paved with Fiber,” on the necessity of fiber broadband for 5G networks. The paper explains how more wireline fiber—and a substantial amount of it—will be needed to support the next generation of our wireless networks...

SoCalGas Starts Work on Innovative Fiber-Optic Installation to Monitor Pipelines in Real-Time

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it has commenced construction on a first-of-its kind, fiber optic cable installation that will allow the company to monitor the condition of its high-pressure transmission pipelines in real-time. The fiber optic technology is being installed alo..

Cincinnati Bell, Hawaiian Telcom Merger Approved in Hawaii

The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ (DCCA) Cable Television Division (CATV) has conditionally approved the transfer of control of Hawaiian Telcom’s cable franchise to Cincinnati Bell Inc.  “We are pleased that our merger approval process is moving forward expeditious..

Fiber Broadband Association Names New Chairman-Elect for 2018

The Fiber Broadband Association has elected Kevin Morgan, Chief Marketing Officer of Clearfield, Inc., to the position of Chairman-Elect for 2018. Morgan will serve one year as Chairman-Elect then transition to the position of Chairman of the Board in 2019. This position is critical for leading key ..

Comcast to Expand Fiber-Optic Network in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware

Comcast Business is investing more than $13 million in a major expansion of its fiber-based network throughout Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey. Capable of delivering up to 100 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) of network capacity, the fiber optic Ethernet network expansion will support advanced ser..

Seaborn Networks Makes Leadership Changes

Seaborn Networks has added Wilson Otero and Kris Alexander to its board of advisors, and Chris Eldredge and Pete Hayes to the board of directors of Seabras Group, LLC. Seabras is the underlying owner of Seabras-1 between New York—São Paulo and is co-owned by Seaborn and Partners Group, a global pri..

Comcast to Expand Fiber Optic Network in Pennsylvania

Comcast Business today announced it will invest $450,000 to expand its fiber-optic cable network in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Capable of delivering up to 100 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) of network capacity, the fiber optic Ethernet network expansion will support advanced services and give Comca..

Route Survey Completed for Subsea Fiber-Optic Cable Project

As part of Crosslake Fibre’s project to lay the first subsea fiber-optic cable directly across Lake Ontario, Pioneer Consulting’s oceanographic experts have completed the marine route survey, which will help establish the most reliable route for the project. Once installed, the 60-kilometer cable wi..

Report: Global Fiber to the Home Market to Exceed $27 Billion by 2027

According to a new report published by Future Market Insights, the worldwide fiber-to-the-home market (FTTH) is expected to reach more than $37 billion by the end of 2027. Reasons for this growth include: Growth of smart homes and gadgets Rising awareness regarding various advantages offered by..

Meet the World’s Fastest and Most Powerful Temporary Fiber-Optic Network

Most high-speed, high-bandwidth networks consist of fiber optic cable that is permanently installed in protective walls, ceilings and flooring, or buried underground in thick, waterproof conduits. But building the world’s fastest and most powerful temporary network from the ground up each year for t..

Fiber Optic Sensing Association Releases Interactive Map Highlighting Global Installations

The Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA) has released an interactive map providing a geographic breakdown of more than 1,300 installations of distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) around the world.  The data reflects the largest representative sample ever published. Key insights include: ..

Vermont Town Proposes Joint Venture Purchase of Telecom Utility

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Burlington officials have directed the two buyers vying for the city’s Burlington Telecom utility to figure out a joint venture proposal. The Burlington Free Press reports Councilor Ali Dieng proposed the joint venture Monday night after the two votes to decide a final buyer ..

Companies to Build First Subsea Fiber-Optic Route Between U.S. and India

Seaborn Networks and IOX Cable Ltd have entered into a joint-provisioning agreement to provide the first next-generation subsea fiber-optic route between the U.S and India that will interconnect in South Africa and Brazil. Once completed, the project will connect Seaborn Networks’ Seabras-1, a subs..

Campaign Against Fort Collins Internet Plan Spends $451000

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Campaign finance reports show opponents of a proposal to let the city of Fort Collins set up its own high-speed internet system have spent more than $451,000 to fight the plan. The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported Saturday the spending was paid for in part by a $175,000 d..

C Spire Launches Ultra-Fast 1 Gbps Internet Access Initiative for Mississippi Businesses

As a part of the company’s Tech Movement initiative, C Spire today announced it will hold two upcoming meetings in Tupelo, Mississippi to discuss ways to make affordable, ultra-fast broadband Internet access widely available to consumers and businesses across the state. More than 1,300 local busine..

Company to Build Optical Submarine Cable Connecting Japan, U.S. and Philippines

NTT Communications Corporation, as part of a consortium comprising SoftBank, Facebook, Amazon, PLDT and PCCW Global, has signed an agreement to participate in the construction and maintenance of the JUPITER large-capacity low-latency optical submarine cable between Asia and the United States. The J..