Allied Fiber signs new customers

Allied Fiber, which offers open-access, integrated, network-neutral colocation and dark fiber services, has announced several new customers over the past month.

The company most recently announced the signing of a 20-year indefeasible right of use (IRU) agreement with Planters Communications, LLC, a subsidiary of Georgia incumbent local exchange carrier Planters Telephone Cooperative. Planters will avail itself of dark fiber as well as colocation space at five Allied Fiber facilities in Georgia: Hahira, Warner Robins, Ashburn, Barnesville, and Fargo. The deal enables Planters to create a nearly 800-mile fiber-optic network route across southeast Georgia, including Atlanta and Macon, with connectivity to Jacksonville, FL. Planters Communications will use the route to provide Ethernet backhaul, IP transport services, and interconnection access to carrier networks.

The deal with Planters Communications follows the recent signings of 20-year IRU deals for dark fiber and colocation space with C&W Networks and Georgia Transmission Corp. (GTC). C&W Networks will use two of Allied Fiber's express fibers; local fibers in North Miami, Boca Raton, and Jacksonville, FL; and its five colocation sites. The local fibers will connect C&W's ARCOS-1, CFX, and PCCS submarine cables and landing stations in Florida to the Allied Fiber system.

GTC, a not-for-profit electric cooperative with more than 3,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and more than 600 substations, will use four fibers from Jacksonville to Atlanta via Allied Fiber's Southeast Route (see "Allied Fiber's Southeast Route reaches Atlanta"), as well as access colocation space in Fargo, Ashburn, and Barnesville, GA. The company will use the new infrastructure to connect to electrical facilities throughout the state.

Allied Fiber also has launched a Regional Service Provider (RSP) Initiative aimed at promoting use of its network to local government, education, healthcare and enterprise-level organizations throughout Florida and Georgia via RSPs. Dark Fiber Systems and Joytel Communications are the first two RSPs to sign up; both are already using the Allied Fiber network (see "Dedicated Fiber Systems becomes Dark Fiber Systems" and "Joytel Communications signs with Allied Fiber for dark fiber, colocation services").

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