Fibertech begins expansion into Cincinnati market

Fibertech Networks, a privately-held company owned by Court Square, has begun its latest expansion into the Cincinnati market, taking on established players Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) for business and government customers.

The service provider, reports The Community Press & Recorder, will initially begin building out 150 miles of fiber cable in the Cincinnati area.

This expansion is not based on a build-it-and-they-will-come scenario. Fibertech said it has signed up 10 area customers that will leverage the fiber for business services such as Ethernet.

Mike Hurley, vice president of marketing and sales of Fibertech, would not reveal how much capital is being spent on the Ohio expansion.  

"We target markets like Cincinnati. Our services provide vital competition," he said.

Fibertech will face two viable competitors in Cincinnati Bell and Time Warner Cable, both of which have sizeable fiber network footprints they are using to target business and government customers. Cincinnati Bell has been expanding its Fioptics Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) network, which in Q3 2012 passed 15,000 additional homes and businesses, while Time Warner has 4,700 miles of fiber already installed.

Cincinnati is just one part of Fibertech's broader Ohio market expansion effort. The service provider plans to enter other key markets in the state, including Akron, Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo, and expand its holdings in Columbus.

The Ohio network expansion is the largest expansion effort Fibertech, which already operates in 23 other northeast U.S. states, has made to date. In addition to Ohio, Fibertech last April completed a fiber network buildout in Indianapolis and has plans to expand into a number of Northeast and Midwest cities including Grand Rapids, Mich., Green Bay, Wis., and Manchester, N.H.  

For more:
- The Community Press & Recorder has this article

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