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Zayo entered the frenetic fiber M&A fray this week, reaching a deal to acquire Electric Lightwave for $1.42 billion, a deal that will further its identity as the largest independent fiber provider in the United States.
Similar to other acquisitions that Zayo has made in recent years, the Electric Lightwave (ELI) deal is another fiber land grab.
ELI has 8,100 route miles of long haul fiber and 4,000 miles of dense metro fiber in Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Sacramento, California; San Francisco; San Jose, California; Salt Lake City; Spokane, Washington; and Boise, Idaho, with on-net connectivity to more than 3,100 enterprise buildings and 100 data centers.
Zayo will also use the additional fiber to also bolster its ongoing fiber-to-the-tower builds.
Electric Lightwave has had a storied evolution. Initially founded in 1990 as a Competitive Access Provider (CAP), the service provider was acquired by Integra Telecom in 2006 and its fiber network was used to support Integra’s SMB traffic.
Beginning in 2011, Integra began the transition to a fiber-focused business model targeting larger businesses and wholesale opportunities with wireless operators and content providers. A key focus of that effort focused on extending the dormant ELI fiber assets.
As Integra completed the fiber-centric business...