By Rob Powell, Telecom Ramblings
While everyone else takes those late summer vacations, Everstream has been busy working on a new fiber project in the midwest. The regional infrastructure builder and operator has unveiled plans to expand its metro presence into Columbus, Ohio in a big way.
Starting in September, Everstream plans to start out by lighting an initial 80-mile fiber ring passing through downtown, covering the perimeter via the I-270 beltway, and connecting to three key data centers. From there they will be expanding out to 580 route miles, eventually investing as much as $24M. Also in the works is a new local office in downtown Columbus with 21 new employees ready to sell and maintain the new infrastructure. Columbus is a logical target for expansion along Everstream’s southern frontier, complementing the company’s deep presence in Cleveland and northern Ohio.
Everstream’s overall expansion in the Midwest has a target of 15,000 route miles of fiber connecting 3,000 on-net buildings by the end of 2020. The company does seem to be settling in for an organic push, as earlier this year Columbus was just one market on a long list of expansion ideas. Yet they already did one of those via inorganic means in April with the purchase of Arch Fiber Networks in St. Louis, so I’m sure they won’t hesitate to do that again if the right opportunity arises. Last year AMP Capital took over ownership at the company, promising to fund expansions exactly like these.
Source: https://www.telecomramblings.com/2019/08/everstream-builds-columbus/