Fiber Page 26

Fiber

We provide the latest Fiber news, analysis and opinion. In the Fiber sector we cover companies including Zayo Group (private), Cogent Communications (NASDAQ: CCOI), Uniti Group (NASDAQ: UNIT), and Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN). Within Fiber, we focus on the sub-sectors of wholesale / dark fiber, enterprise fiber, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), and subsea cables.

Our fiber news discusses how fiber optic cables consist of bundled glass strands that transfer data signals into optical light. Importantly, fiber is the connective tissue. Fiber supplies connectivity, and enables all of the other three types of digital infrastructure to work.

Fiber news includes discussing how fiber provides the core connectivity for internet traffic globally. Additionally, fiber connects cellular tower sites, data centers, small cells, and last-mile customers into the broader global network.

Our fiber news segments are in two core verticals: dark fiber and lit services. Dark fiber is the leasing of individual fiber strands to provide dedicated high bandwidth, fixed network capacity. In this case, the customer lights the fiber themselves. Whereas, lit services is where the service provider lights the fiber and enables connectivity for the customer. Connectivity ranges from 100 Mbps of capacity to 100 Gbps of capacity.

Additionally, our fiber news includes discussing how the fiber revenue model varies by segment. Fiber revenue can typically be parsed into two segments or customers bases: wholesale fiber and enterprise fiber. Wholesale fiber is carrier-to-carrier traffic, where connectivity services are provided for mobile operators (e.g., AT&T) and other fiber providers (e.g., Cogent). Enterprise fiber is the supply connectivity services to businesses, government agencies, health care providers and telecom providers.

Uniti Windstream Bankruptcy

Uniti Group Lease Agreement Becomes Effective as Windstream Emerges from Bankruptcy

Uniti's largest customer, Windstream Holdings, which represented 65% of Uniti's 2019 revenue, emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Lumen RDOF

Lumen Technologies Enters the FCC’s RDOF Phase I Auction

Federal Communications Commission released the list of bidders, Lumen included, that completed applications for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).
Fiber

Crown Castle Draws $1bn Investment from Activist Hedge Fund Elliott

Elliott Management took a $1bn economic interest in Crown Castle and released a presentation & letter targeting Crown Castle's capital allocation strategy.
Cogent Communications Net-Centric

Cogent Communications Net-Centric Pricing Down, Volumes Up

Cogent Communications sees Net-Centric revenue slow in the months of July and August as consumers watch less digital video, thus using less traffic.