Windstream Wholesale expands fiber network connections outside U.S.

Jan. 21, 2019
Windstream Wholesale, the fiber network services unit of Windstream Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: WIN), has made a pair of moves to expand its connectivity options outside of the U.S. The service provider says it will connect its core network to the MAREA and BRUSA cable landing station in Virginia Beach and expand its core network by more than 200 miles into Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Windstream Wholesale, the fiber network services unit of Windstream Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: WIN), has made a pair of moves to expand its connectivity options outside of the U.S. The service provider says it will connect its core network to the MAREA and BRUSA cable landing station in Virginia Beach and expand its core network by more than 200 miles into Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Windstream Wholesale will partner with Telxius, the telecommunications infrastructure company of the Telefónica Group, on the connections to the two submarine cable networks. The transatlantic MAREA network, founded by Facebook and Microsoft, runs from Virginia Beach to Bilbao, Spain (see “Microsoft, Facebook partner for MAREA undersea cable system”). BRUSA connects the U.S. to Brazil (see “Telefónica chooses Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks for BRUSA submarine cable deployment”). The connection with the cable landing station will enable Windstream Wholesale to offer terrestrial fiber-optic network services to tenants of the two submarine cables. The company also will be able to offer international connectivity to its existing customers.

“Windstream is excited to be one of the first U.S. national network operators in the MAREA and BRUSA landing station to provide this new level of connectivity options in Virginia Beach to support even the most aggressive and bandwidth-intensive digital initiatives,” said Joe Scattareggia, president of Windstream Wholesale. “Our collaboration with Telxius is laying the foundation to provide customers connectivity and diversity options coast to coast to all of the major peering locations throughout the U.S. and beyond.”

To the north, Windstream Wholesale says it will use existing long-haul fiber network resources for the extension in to Montreal. The fiber-optic network expansion will see Windstream connect with Cologix’s Montreal ecosystem, including its MTL3 data center at 1250 René-Lévesque. The company plans to wavelength services up to 100 Gbps and 10-Gbps internet and Ethernet services at the Montreal location.

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