Allied Fiber lines up funding for first phase of nationwide, carrier-neutral dark fiber network

NOVEMBER 23, 2010 -- Allied Fiber says it has reached financing arrangements with various partners, including affiliates of Falcon Investment Advisors, LLC and ABRY Partners, LLC, to fund the initial phase of a planned nationwide fiber network. The first of five planned construction phases for the carrier-neutral, high-count dark fiber, colocation and wireless tower integrated network will link New York City, Chicago, and Ashburn, VA.

Allied Fiber says the first phase is already underway and is expected to be complete by May 2011. When completed, the national network is expected to comprise 11,548 route-miles.

Potential customers of the network include submarine cable systems, large international and domestic wireline and wireless carriers and network operators, small rural carriers, cooperatives, cable television companies, and data center operators. Allied Fiber will leverage the new infrastructure to offer dark fiber, colocation, and fiber to the tower physical layer services on a network-neutral, open-access basis throughout the United States.

“In what has been a very challenging financing market, we have been able to prove the merits of the Allied Fiber system,” states Hunter Newby, CEO of Allied Fiber. “In response to the proven demand from our customers and the industry, we will be able to complete the phase one build and deliver the physical long-haul and short-haul dark fiber, colocation, and interconnection capabilities that are so critical for the next generation of network requirements in our country.”

Allied Fiber will implement a multi-duct design for intermediate access to the long-haul fiber duct through a parallel short-haul fiber duct all along the route. This design enables all points between the major cities, including data centers, wireless towers, and rural networks, to gain access to the dark fiber, the company says. Allied Fiber will establish neutral colocation facilities approximately every 60 miles along the route.

Based upon what Allied Fiber termed “evident customer demand,” the first phase of the system will comprise a combined 744 dark fibers and 19 colocation facilities. The fibers will be split between a 528-count, long-haul cable and a 216-count, short-haul cable. The fiber will be a combination of standard singlemode and non-zero dispersion shifted fibers. Each colocation facility will have more than 1000 sq ft of space.

Allied Fiber also plans to offer direct connections to the submarine cable systems linking the Atlantic, Caribbean, Latin American, and Pacific cables.

Overall, Allied Fiber asserts it will provide express routing of traffic through the United States on the latest and most advanced fiber types available. Building new, shortest path, physical duct and fiber routes combined with modern fiber will allow lower latencies as well as higher capacities to be achieved between these points, the company adds.

Allied Fiber is accepting customer agreements for fiber and collocation throughout the network, and will continue to offer pre-construction pricing until the fiber jetting process begins.

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