FirstLight Fiber teams up with Fibrenoire to connect U.S. and Canada

FirstLight Fiber, a facilities-based service provider operating fiber-optic networks in upstate New York and Northern New England with connectivity to Canada, says it has entered into a relationship with Canadian telecommunications provider Fibrenoire to provide Ethernet services between the U.S. and Canada.

The relationship between the two fiber-based service providers enables the companies to extend their respective footprints to enable scalable, high-performance Carrier Ethernet services. Fibrenoire and FirstLight both offer Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) Carrier Ethernet 2.0-compliant Ethernet services.

Through this relationship, FirstLight and Fibrenoire say their customers can easily source cost-effective, high capacity, standardized Ethernet connectivity between the U.S. and Canada, which prior to this relationship had been difficult to obtain.

"Historically, businesses found it difficult to find connectivity across the border between the United States and Canada," said Benjamin Desmarais, president and CEO of Fibrenoire. "We have worked with FirstLight [through the former TelJet] for several years, and in our pursuit to increase our capabilities into the U.S., syncing up with an independent carrier operating in Northern New England, like FirstLight, was a natural fit. Our companies are similar in many ways."

"Fibrenoire's network complements the FirstLight network, extending our capabilities into new Canadian markets and allowing our customers to enjoy high quality services that don't stop at the border," said Patrick Coughlin, senior vice president of sales and marketing at FirstLight. "This arrangement … comes at the most opportune time, as bandwidth demand between the U.S. and Canada continues to increase across a variety of industries, including finance, gaming, media, and more."

For more information on Carrier Ethernet equipment and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.