Zayo’s Fiber-To-The-Tower (FTT) Network has reached another key milestone of 2,000 unique towers on-net. The FTT Network now offers more than 100G in overall bandwidth to over 3,000 tenants, with 46 markets in service and 6 more markets under construction. Throughout its history, Zayo has deployed over 4,000 metro route miles to support its FTT network. Additionally, Zayo is building more than 500 additional towers which will be brought on-net in the near future.

Through their FTT projects, Zayo has been a backhaul supplier for T-Mobile. Of their service experience with Zayo, T-Mobile USA’s Vice President of Technical Systems and Business Operations, Bryan Fleming commented, ”T-Mobile’s overall experience with Zayo on Fiber-To-The-Tower projects has been excellent. Zayo has worked through complex network designs, provided creative solutions and expedited service delivery that helped T-Mobile deliver amazing customer experiences, while providing exceptional service and network reliability.”

For more information on Zayo, please visit www.zayo.com.

In Section 3 of the World Bank’s report on ‘The Role of Mobile Phones in Sustainable Rural Poverty Reduction’ statistics are provided on the impact mobile has on rural markets. The research in this report finds that fiber infrastructure directly relates to GDP growth, job creation, productivity, tax revenue as well as social benefits, such as entrepreneurship and job searches, transport and even education, health and disaster relief.  The report outlines the true need and direct measurable benefits of new infrastructure.

The statistics of this report are further supplemented by a recent article in Business Week featuring Alcatel Lucent’s CEO, Ben Verwaayen. The article quotes Verwaayen as saying:

“They (Asia) are building a physical infrastructure that allows people, wherever they are, to participate in the global digital economy. That will give them an enormous advantage in the years to come.”

In essence, Verwaayen states that Asia is ahead of Europe in terms of deploying fiber infrastructure, and therefore has an “enormous advantage in the years to come.” This same statement would be 100% true if the word “Europe” was swapped with “US.” What countries like Asia and Africa realize is that the World Bank report statistics are true, and by building new infrastructure today they are bettering their economies for tomorrow. The US must invest and build fiber infrastructure in the same way to remain a competitive player in the global economy.

Hibernia’s recent announcement with Huawei shows that Project Express is underway and taking the necessary steps to complete the cable build. The purpose of Project Express will be to connect London to New York, two of the largest exchanges, with the lowest latency. Announced in 2010, Project Express has made significant strides since then. November 2011 brought on the physical survey where ships surveyed the entire proposed route.

The significance of Hibernia’s latest news with Huawei is that manufacturing of the cable is now underway. With the cable manufacturing underway, the next step will be the installation and delivery of service. Project Express will be an essential key route addition to Hibernia Atlantic’s existing Global Financial Network (GFN), by uniting hundreds of financial exchanges and global banks with a single low latency connection.

For more information on Project Express, visit www.hiberniaatlantic.com.

Zayo will be adding dark fiber to ExteNet Systems Inc.’s open network for a Distributed Network solution. ExteNet designs, builds, owns and operates outdoor and indoor wireless networks for wireless service providers, government agencies, and transportation corridors throughout North America. Zayo will provide a metro dark fiber network in and around Indianapolis preparing ExteNet and its clients for future network growth.

ExteNet will leverage Zayo’s fiber assets to meet the increasing bandwidth demands of its wireless carrier customers. This expansion will also support bandwidth demands anticipated in Indianapolis for upcoming sporting events. With its concentrated metro fiber network within Indiana, Zayo offers capacity and diversity for service providers like ExteNet.

For more information on Zayo, visit www.zayo.com.

Allied Fiber’s CEO, Hunter Newby, recently met with Benoit Felten from Fibre Evolution. Benoit’s experience derives from having worked in the telecommunication industry for the past 15 years. Aside from running his blog, Fibre Evolution, he is head of Diffraction Analysis, a company that focuses on issues regarding next generation fiber access.

During their meeting, Hunter and Benoit discussed how the cost of long-distance fiber was expensive even with relatively low bandwidth usage. Fiber deployed in the 90s isn’t optimal for modern communications and even with excess capacity; the cost for connectivity is far from affordable. Hunter and Benoit both understand the mission for open access dark fiber and share the same vision on the need to bring competitive rates to markets that need high-quality broadband. Allied Fiber owns, builds and will operate its own unique network-neutral, fiber optic cable system, using next generation, long-haul and short-haul dark fiber to address America’s need for more broadband access, wireless back-haul, data center distribution and lower latency communications services.

For Benoit’s full article, visit: http://www.fiberevolution.com/2011/12/the-other-side-of-the-ftth-ecosystem.html

You could find a payphone just about anywhere in the 80′s. They were our means of making phone calls when we were away from home. Of course, that might mean standing in line at times and having the change available for the phone call. Payphones certainly did you no good if you were stuck in your car or lost out in the woods. Here are ten times I and others might have wished we had cell phones in the 1980′s.

1. Mount St. Helens – No one new the full amount of destruction that would come with the volcanic eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980. Eight people lost their lives. Perhaps that number could have been lower with the availability of cell phone communication.
2. Chariots of Fire – This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and an Academy Award winner of Best Picture. If I’d had a cell phone in 1981, I’d have been texting all my friends and telling them  to go see that film, as soon as I got out of the theatre.
3. Air Traffic Controller Strike – Cell phones would have been been very busy during the three days that the air traffic controllers were on strike and travelers were trying to find ways to reach their destinations. A much better option than standing in line at the payphones in the airports.
4. Trivia Pursuit – This was the hot new board game in the 80′s that tested our knowledge on every level from science to history to entertainment. If I’d had a cell phone, I’d have been seeking out some extra help every time I landed on the Entertainment questions. Would that have been cheating?
5. Cabbage Patch Dolls – Even at top-dollar prices, these dolls were all the rage when they came out in the the 80′s and both my daughters were dreaming of ‘adopting’ one for Christmas. If we’d have had cell phones, my husband I would have split up in our last minute search of empty store shelves for these illusive treasures and kept in continuous contact for updates.
6. Reagan’s Second Term – My sister would have been at election headquarters all night long and if we’d had cell phones in 1984, she could have just kept me updated with her enthusiasm via text messages or phone calls throughout the wee hours of the morning. On second thought, maybe I’m glad she didn’t have a cell phone with her.
7. Out with the New – In with the Old – If I’d had a cell phone in 1985, I’d have been calling or texting all my friends the first time I found Classic Coke back on the shelves after having to endure the ‘New Coke’ replacement for several months.
8. Chernobyl – If there had been cell phones in most hands during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, I would guess that the seriousness of the situation would have been communicated much more quickly than it was and to more of those living near the nuclear plant.
9. Homer Hankies Waving – I would have been sending pictures of all the Homer Hankies waving in the stands when the Twins won the 1987 World Series, if I’d had a cell phone to send them with. It was quite a sight. Go Twins!
10. San Francisco Quake – On October 17, 1989, there were a lot people wishing that they had cell phones, either to call and ask for help or to let loved ones know that they were OK. Your voice can only carry so far when trapped inside a vehicle that’s been caught in a concrete sandwich.

We’ve come to take mobile communication for granted. To hear of someone who doesn’t own a cell phone in current days is a real rarity. Somehow we managed to live without them, just a few decades ago.

This article was originally posted at http://www.phoneservice.org/blog/2011/10-times-i-wish-we-had-cell-phones-in-the-80s/ 

Hunter Newby, CEO of Allied Fiber recently spoke at the New England Fiber Optic Council (NEFC) meeting in Waltham, Massachusetts. With a presentation focused on the topic of “The Need and Rationale for a New, National, Carrier-Neutral Dark Fiber and Colocation System,” Hunter gave an overview of where the industry currently is and where it is heading. The presentation also examined the justification for an entirely new, interstate neutral fiber and colocation infrastructure system in the United States. Hunter’s session discussed how the dark fiber system he describes will function, who can benefit from it and why this type of build is critical now in the US.

The NEFC is an organization of individual members and corporations professionally involved in the fiber optics industry. The NEFC’s goal through these meetings is to promote the regional fiber optic industry and spread information about fiber optics to the general public.

In case you missed Hunter’s session, click here to download the presentation. For more information on Allied Fiber, visit www.alliedfiber.com.

Hunter Newby, Allied Fiber CEO is speaking at the New England Fiber Optic Council (NEFC) meeting taking place December 8th in Waltham, Massachusetts. Hunter will speak on the topic of “The Need and Rationale for a New, National, Carrier-Neutral Dark Fiber and Colocation System” on Thursday, December 8th at 6:00pm.  The presentation will focus on the justification for  an entirely new, interstate neutral fiber and colocation infrastructure system in the United States. The session will also discuss  how the dark fiber system will function, who can benefit from it and why the US requires this type of build now.

The NEFC is an organization of individual members and corporations professionally involved in the fiber optics industry. The NEFC’s goal is to promote  the regional fiber optic industry and  disseminate information about fiber optics to the general public. To register for the NEFC meeting, click here. For more information on Allied Fiber, visit www.alliedfiber.com.

XKL, LLC. Founder and CEO, Len Bosack will present the Visionary Keynote address at the 4^th Dark Fibre International Convention taking place November 29-30 in London. The Dark Fibre Convention is designed to deliver insight into growth occurring in the dark fiber sector with presentations, case studies and a wide range of national and international networking opportunities. In addition to presenting the Visionary Keynote, XKL is also a key sponsor of the event.

The international conference will assess a wide range of issues including the increased fiber deployment occurring at metro, rural and national levels and the funding mechanisms supporting those types of builds. Attendees of the Dark Fibre Convention will examine customer segments and geographic areas offering new growth opportunities in emerging markets, including Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and Africa. XKL looks forward to participating at the event again this year as the convention sets the stage for the latest discussions in the dark fiber industry.

To schedule a meeting with XKL while at the event, email pr@jaymiescotto.com. For more information on XKL, visit www.xkl.com.

Fatbeam, LLC has joined Allied Fiber’s Dark Fiber Community. Hosted by Allied Fiber, the Dark Fiber Community is an online resource that brings together network operators, vendors, and industry experts in the interest of supporting communications network growth and development. With over 115 members, the Dark Fiber Community allows for easy exchange of information between industry leaders who are interested in eliminating obstacles for broadband access and in building new infrastructure for cutting-edge fiber optic networks.

Fatbeam provides lit and dark fiber services in the Pacific Northwest to enterprise, healthcare, education and government customers. Fatbeam’s main focus is on underserved markets. Fatbeam delivers fiber optic bandwidth beginning at 1 gigabit Ethernet, extending to 20 gigabit and jumping to dark fiber.

For more information on the Dark Fiber Community, visit http://dark-fiber.tmcnet.com.