Archtop Fiber signals fiber expansion with the completion of the Warwick Valley Telephone acquisition
With the acquisition of Warwick Valley Telephone (WVT) in toe, Archtop Fiber is ready to extend fiber broadband service to an area that has known the WVT brand since the turn of the 20th century.
As the third acquisition of a regional provider, Archtop entered a stock purchase agreement in May with Momentum Telecom, a leading provider of managed cloud communications services, to acquire New York-based Warwick Valley Telephone (WVT), which was founded in 1902 and has been part of Momentum since 2015.
By completing this acquisition, Archtop Fiber will provide telecommunications services to customers in New York’s Orange County, Mid-Hudson Valley, and northwestern New Jersey. Archtop also plans to leverage Momentum Cloud Voice solutions in its greenfield markets.
Focus on fiber
As Archtop integrates WVT into its fold, it is rebranding it as WVT Fiber in homage to the brand’s long heritage and ongoing transformation. Archtop is kicking off construction, over-lashing fiber onto WVT’s existing lines and preparing to power up its XGS-PON network, bringing gigabit speed broadband to the area early this year.
Area consumers and businesses will be able to access 10Gbps symmetrical speed services. Archtop is committed to continuing WVT’s tradition of dedicated customer service and maintaining a strong community presence.
“We were drawn to WVT for many reasons, not least of which was its reputation as a community institution committed to customer service. We are excited to expand on the strengths of both companies,” said Jeff DeMond, Chairman and CEO of Archtop Fiber. “This is an exciting time for WVT customers as we upgrade their service to fiber.”
Serving the underserved
WVT is Archtop Fiber’s latest acquisition to bolster its organic network builds as it expands its footprint in the Northeast.
In late 2023, Archtop completed acquisitions of family-owned Hancock Telephone, based in Hancock, New York, and GTel, also family-owned, in Germantown, New York.
These acquisitions are part of Archtop Fiber’s larger plan to bring broadband to underserved communities in New York’s Hudson Valley and other surrounding areas with multi-gig Internet services.
Archtop previously secured $350 million in private funding from the Post Road Group to build over 2,500 miles of fiber infrastructure. It has also executed 17 Memoranda of Understandings (and dozens more in the pipeline) representing commitments from municipalities throughout the Hudson Valley to help it expand its network with public funding.
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Sizing up Archtop’s fiber broadband acquisitions
Here’s a quick snapshot of Archtop Fiber’s acquisitions since its inception. These acquisitions further the provider’s efforts to target underserved communities across New York State’s Hudson Valley and other areas lacking broadband choice and speed.
Each of its three acquisitions enables it to serve a diversity of new markets:
GTel: By acquiring GTel, Archtop can better penetrate New York’s southern Columbia County.
Hancock Telephone: This acquisition enabled Archtop to further reach into parts of Delaware County, New York, and the northeastern Pennsylvania service area.
Warwick Valley Telephone: The provider will be able to serve parts of Orange County and portions of central New York and northwestern New Jersey.
Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategies of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report across their websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.