An Ignoble Experiment

Zayo has reached a deal to acquire Neo Telecoms, a Paris-based network infrastructure company, a move that will immediately increase the service provider's network capabilities in France.

Through this deal, Zayo will add 350 metro route miles in Paris and over 500 on-net fiber buildings. In addition to the fiber assets, Neo operates nine colocation centers across France, offering more than 36,000 square feet of data center space.

Upon completion of the deal, the Paris and regional network throughout France will be integrated into Zayo's existing European network connecting London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and the U.S.

Neo gained notoriety for operating one of Paris' first fiber-based Metro Area Networks (MAN), which it uses to enable companies throughout France to connect to Paris' international business hub. Like Zayo, the service provider also delivers a suite of dark fiber, IP, Ethernet, wavelength and colocation services to more than 600 service provider and enterprise customers.

"Neo has established a strong Bandwidth Infrastructure presence in France and we believe this acquisition will enable growth through our combined fiber footprint for end-to-end solutions," said Dan Caruso, president and CEO of Zayo Group.

Although financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, Zayo said it will be funded with cash on hand and is expected to close at the end of the second quarter of 2014. When the deal closes, the current CEO of Neo, Florian Du Boys, will become the leader of Zayo's new France business unit.

Purchasing Neo is part of a broader move by Zayo to become a bigger player in the European telecom market. The service provider's initial large move into the market came in late 2012 when it acquired AboveNet. Since then it has been expanding its existing network through organic builds and now a targeted acquisition.

For more:
- see the release

2. Frontier, CWA West Virginia union extend contract to end of May

By Sean Buckley

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Frontier Communications and the local West Virginia Communications Workers of America (CWA) have reached an agreement to extend their existing contract until 11:59 p.m., May 31, following nearly a year of negotiations.

After a contract expired last August, Frontier and the CWA have been working out how to resolve a number of complex issues during a series of contract extensions.

"We continue to make progress during our discussions with the CWA, and we're hopeful we can build on the common ground that we have established to come to a resolution soon," said Frontier East Region Area President Ken Arndt in a release.

Being one of its largest states, West Virginia is a key area for Frontier. Since it acquired Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) rural assets in 14 states in 2010, the telco has increased broadband access in the state from about 62 percent to about 90 percent.

This contract extension in West Virginia is just one of a number of union negotiations Frontier is working to resolve.

Earlier this month, customer service employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 503 union ratified a new labor agreement with the service provider. Last year it reached an agreement with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union covering over 1,100 employees in five Midwest states after seven months of negotiations and it reached another agreement with the CWA union representing 200 of the carrier's employees in Pennsylvania.

For more:
- see the release

3. NextiraOne takes on the Dimension Data brand

By Sean Buckley

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NextiraOne, a European ICT services and solutions provider, and its subsidiaries are beginning a new chapter as their new parent has rebranded them under the Dimension Data brand.

In February, Dimension Data acquired NextiraOne in a two-part deal as part of its broader effort to enhance its reach into Europe.

"When we acquired certain subsidiaries of NextiraOne, we saw the value in the increase in geographic footprint in Europe, combined with the improved market presence in sectors such as SMB, Commercial, Service Providers and Public Sector and the addition of a large skilled and experienced employee base across the region," said Andrew Coulsen, Dimension Data's CEO in Europe, in a release. "In transitioning NextiraOne's brand to Dimension Data we will now be able to seamlessly speed up the execution of our strategy in Europe."

Since acquiring the company, Dimension Data has been working to take its combined product sets to the market, while adding NextiraOne's skills in communications and collaboration networking, the contact center, video and data center to Dimension Data's existing portfolio.

Europe is only one part of NextiraOne's overall three-pronged expansion strategy that also includes Japan and the United States.

Just last week, Dimension Data struck a deal to acquire Nexus, an IT network integrator, enabling it to deepen its presence in the U.S. and broadens its services portfolio for high growth vertical segments like education, retail, hospitality and healthcare. Dimension data will immediately expand its U.S. operations by 40 percent and increase its presence in the West, Southwest and Southeast regions.

For more:
- see the release

4. Iowa House rejects state rural broadband bill

By Sean Buckley

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Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's proposal to expand broadband services in rural areas suffered a major setback as the state's House of Representatives voted against the bill, reports The Des Moines Register.

On Friday, the bill drew 44 votes in favor and 51 against. Out of the two groups, 42 Republicans and two Democrats voted yes, while 42 Democrats and nine Republicans formed a 51-vote majority against it.

Rep. Guy Vander Linden of Oskaloosa, a Republican who cast a "no" vote on Friday, said: "It sounds like a blank check I'm not willing to sign."

Branstad, who cited broadband expansion as a key initiative during his Condition of the State, said that he could not understand why so many Democrats were against the proposal.

"Rather than coming together to pass common sense legislation to increase broadband access in rural Iowa, Iowa House Democrats have turned their backs on rural Iowans and those who are under served," Branstad said. "Today, the Iowa House Democrats played the worst of political cards; the Washington, D.C., hand of ignoring what is in the best interest of the taxpayers for political purposes."

Democratic leader Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, told The Des Moines Register that a number of his party members did not vote to approve the bill because they did not think it was strong enough to drive meaningful broadband expansion.

"We did not feel that this was a good enough bill," he said, adding: "Our responsibility is to vote for what we think is best for the people of our districts, and that's what we did today."

For more:
- The Des Moines Register has this article

5. tw telecom, DuPont Fabros provide direct connection to Amazon Web Services

By Sean Buckley

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