Uniti Group has begun offering nationwide dark fibre services over infrastructure spanning 31,000 fibre route miles across 35 states. Uniti says it has ‘full ownership and use’ of this fibre network – equivalent to 2.2 million fibre strand miles – as part of its recent settlement agreement with Windstream. Combined with its existing network, Uniti is now able to offer dark fibre services on over three million strand miles of fibre. Metro, regional, and long-haul fibre will be available in these markets via Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) or lease structures.
TeleGeography notes that Windstream’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganisation was approved by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in June this year. In July Uniti received the true lease and real estate investment trust (REIT) opinions in connection with its settlement with Windstream. Finally, last month Windstream successfully completed its financial restructuring process as a privately held company. Through this process, the telco reduced its debt by more than USD4 billion.