Windstream has enhanced its partnership with STL, a global provider of optical and broadband products and services, to advance its fiber expansion projects in its wholesale and Kinetic broadband divisions.
Windstream Wholesale has multiple fiber construction projects underway, including an extension of its existing Tulsa, OK route from Little Rock, AR, to Memphis, TN; a new fiber build from Raleigh, NC, to Jacksonville, FL; and another project from New York City to Montreal.
STL began its collaboration with Windstream in February 2021, when it started providing optical networking solutions to Windstream.
Meeting wholesale timelines
Building upon this foundation, STL has expanded its offering set to provide advanced optical designs like high-fiber count Intelligently Bonded Ribbon and Flat ribbon, in addition to its loose tube optical cables.
These products align with Windstream Wholesale's requirements for metro and long-haul optical networks, which currently provide up to 400G wave services to its customers with future support of 800G transport networks.
Windstream’s timing could not be better. According to Vertical Systems Group’s 2022 U.S. Wavelength Services LEADERBOARD, the expansion of the U.S. base of wavelength circuits is being driven by double-digit growth for 100+ Gbps connections through 2027. The research firm added that billable installations of 400+ Gbps services are emerging as wavelength providers expand availability and roll out new solutions.
“For us, it is a top priority to deliver the best reach and customer experience to our consumers, including the world’s largest hyperscalers,” said Buddy Bayer, president of Windstream Wholesale and Enterprise. “And we want to do it fast. Windstream sets the bar high in terms of technology and engineering and we are confident that STL, with nearly 30 years of Optical expertise and global footprint, will ably support our connectivity ambitions.”
He added, “It’s a bonus that both companies are equally committed to rural broadband.”
Scaling rural broadband
Wholesale is just one part of what STL provides to the telco. Through its Kinetic business, Windstream is investing $2 billion to expand gigabit internet service across its 18-state footprint.
The new BEAD Program and other U.S. federal infrastructure projects include domestic manufacturing requirements for fiber cable and other equipment.
In response, STL is building an Industry 4.0-certified manufacturing facility in South Carolina to produce “Made in America” Optical solutions for Windstream and other service providers. STL can commit to creating compliant materials with shorter-than-average market lead times through this onshoring effort and through flexing its global supply chain.
For its part, Windstream has been aggressively building out fiber. In 2022, the telco passed 300,000 new locations with fiber and has said it will also hit this target this year. Since many of the areas of Windstream are rural, Windstream will use a mix of federal and state government funding mechanisms, including the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
Windstream secured over $202 million in broadband grants in Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. And this year alone, it won $34.9 million in Georgia and has applied for several grants in Nebraska. It also secured $523 million in support covering 18 states from the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, which will be distributed over ten years.
Jeff Small, president of Kinetic by Windstream, said it and STL can more effectively pursue federal programs like BEAD to accelerate rural fiber broadband services. “STL and Windstream are extremely well positioned to take advantage of future market opportunities such as the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program,” he said. “Kinetic is committed to bringing the fastest, most reliable internet service to residents in under-connected communities using the best construction materials manufactured here in America.”
For related articles, visit the Optical Tech Topic Center.
For more information on optical components and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of optical communications technology, subscribe to Lightwave’s Enabling Technologies Newsletter.