The increasing value of optical fibre assets in metropolitan areas is shaping the business models of companies that provide access to them, finds Andy Extance
US tower operator Crown Castle International has agreed to acquire privately held Lightower Fiber Networks for about $7.1 billion in cash, a deal that will make it one of the largest owners of metro fibre in the US.
Crown Castle, which is the largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure in the US with 40,000 towers and 50,000 small cell nodes on air, is buying Lightower from a group of investors including Berkshire Partners and Pamlico Capital.
Cabling infrastructure will be vital in the deployment of 5G networks, meaning that the wireless will still depend on wires, says Jean-Jacques Sage
Jeremy Wastie takes a look at the challenges associated with procurement, and explains why connectivity in the UK does not have to be a postcode lottery
Power over Ethernet (PoE) could help service providers adapt to the opportunity provided by IoT in order to remain competitive, argues Ankit Agarwal
Network core flexibility will become just as important as capacity for future networks, and coherent solutions could be key to accommodating changing traffic flows, argues Eugene Park
Scott Modha takes a look at how the right technique goes a long way, and network operators could benefit from simplified microduct network deployments
