-
Microsoft found that most unserved rural locations could be served most economically through fixed wireless broadband.
-
Zayo’s spectrum band has excellent broadcasting characteristics and large parts of it are unused in rural areas.
-
The Microsoft Airband Initiative aims to extend broadband access to at least 3 million people in unserved portions of rural America.
Zayo Group Holding has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corporation to bring connectivity to the rural communities across all of U.S. . Airband is Microsoft’s initiative that aims to bring high-speed broadband to three million people in rural areas of the U.S. where service isn’t available.
The Microsoft Airband Initiative partners with internet service providers that are using a mix of technologies to close the rural broadband gap. This includes TV white space, which provides an economical wireless solution for rural areas. In addition, Zayo will also provide backbone fiber solutions through its existing network to ISPs for high speed internet.
Prior to launching Airband in 2017, , with a smaller portion best served by fiber to the home. The company has been a particularly strong advocate for TV white spaces technology, which uses vacant TV spectrum on an unlicensed basis. That spectrum band has excellent propagation characteristics and large parts of it are vacant in rural areas.
Zayo’s deep, dense fiber networks are present in every major market in the U.S., which includes Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 cities. and large parts of it are unused in rural areas. Currently comprising 10 service provider partners, the Microsoft-backed undertaking aims to augment network connectivity to at least 3 million people in rural America by July 2022.
Learn more:
Zayo's long haul networks connect multiple markets, traversing rural areas in more than 30 states, either in place or under construction. . Working with Microsoft's Airband Initiative, Zayo will enable communications, collaboration and innovation to rural communities.
Through collaborations with ISPs and other companies and organizations, the Microsoft Airband Initiative aims to extend broadband access to at least 3 million people in unserved portions of rural America by July 2022. Despite advances in telecommunications technology over the past decade,
“When underserved areas gain access to high-speed internet, everyone benefits. Broadband provides access to educational, employment and healthcare resources at the family level as well as facilitating economic development in the communities in which they live. Combining our large mobile infrastructure builds and our ever expanding K-12 education networks provides Zayo an unparalleled platform to support the Airband Initiative. We look forward to working together with Microsoft -- and with rural service providers -- on this innovative initiative to close the digital divide.”
- Brian Daniels, SVP of Strategic Networks at Zayo
Zayo continues to enhance global reach by augmenting its fiber footprint and forging partnerships with local service providers. It , which should drive its top line. Its multi-site data center portfolio, capability to connect globally over its network and ability to customize solutions are key growth drivers.
Learn more:
The company is well poised to gain from a diversified blue chip customer base that comprises the largest and most sophisticated users of bandwidth. It emphasizes on less than 12-month payback deals while opting for investments like e-rate transactions, mobile infrastructure and long-haul fiber. Such deals leverage its existing assets in conjunction with new builds. The company aims to grow the network business at 5% and beyond while controlling expenses to boost OpEx efficiency. All these factors are likely to deliver strong free cash flow yield and attractive return on invested capital.
“Our customers are no longer talking gigabits—they’re talking terabits on multiple diverse routes. Zayo’s owned infrastructure, scalable capacity on unique routes and ability to turn up services quickly positions us to be the provider of choice for high-capacity infrastructure.”
- Zayo's Julia Robin, SVP of transport
The challenge of providing fixed or mobile broadband to rural areas is complex. In addition to the technology issues of serving rural and remote areas, the economics related to fixed installation costs for low density populations have historically been prohibitive for providers, even with federal support through the Universal Service and Connect America Funds.
Microsoft is working primarily with wireless internet service providers (WISPs) on the Airband project, offering technical assistance and in some cases, monetary support. The Zayo deal calls for Zayo to provide fiber connectivity into the communities that Airband partners will serve.
The news is a reminder that Zayo now provides fiber connectivity to many U.S. markets – not just the largest cities but also to the tier 2 and tier 3 markets that have not been a focus for some fiber networks. Late last year, Zayo struck a similar deal with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), a buying group for small rural cable companies.
About Zayo Group
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) provides mission-critical bandwidth to the world’s most impactful companies, fueling the innovations that are transforming our society. Zayo’s 133,000-mile network in North America and Europe includes extensive metro connectivity to thousands of buildings and data centers. Zayo’s communications infrastructure solutions include dark fiber, private data networks, wavelengths, Ethernet, dedicated internet access and data center colocation services. Zayo owns and operates a Tier 1 IP backbone and 44 carrier-neutral data centers. Through its CloudLink service, Zayo provides low-latency private connectivity that attaches enterprises to their public cloud environments. Zayo serves wireless and wireline carriers, media, tech, content, finance, healthcare and other large enterprises. For more information, visit zayo.com.