Bloomberg reports that T-Mobile US Inc., which is already offering home broadband services via fixed wireless access, is investigating a fiber to the home (FTTH) roll out. The service provider is considering joint ventures and commercial partnerships as options with the help of Citigroup Inc., according to the report.
A Bloomberg source estimated that such a venture would be worth $4 billion, including investments from T-Mobile and its partner or partners. The Bloomberg reporters emphasized that the investigation into such ventures is in its early stages and therefore may not bear fruit or may head in a different direction.
Despite its roots in wireless service provision, T-Mobile dipped its toes into FTTH last year via a pilot program in New York City. Meanwhile, the company recently agreed to sell its Wireline Business to Cogent (see "Cogent to buy T-Mobile's Wireline Business").
While the influx of government dollars via such broadband infrastructure promotion programs such as RDOF and BEAD offer potential funding sources in the U.S., the expense of multi-state FTTH deployments remains significant enough for even major players to seek partners. Bloomberg earlier reported that AT&T is looking in a similar direction to that attributed to T-Mobile, for example (see “Bloomberg: AT&T looking to create FTTH joint venture”). Meanwhile, in Europe, Vodafone and Altice recently announced a collaboration in Germany (see “Vodafone, Altice to form joint venture for FTTH in Germany”), while Telenor has created a venture called Telenor Fiber in conjunction with investors KKR and Oslo Pensjonsforsikring (see “Telenor spins out infrastructure assets to create Telenor Fiber”).
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.