M/C Partners Completes Investment in TowerCom

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–M/C Partners, a Boston-based communications and technology services-focused private equity firm, announced today that it has closed on an equity investment in TowerCom, LLC, a Jacksonville, FL-based communications tower developer. M/C’s initial investment and additional future commitment will allow TowerCom to continue to execute on its robust new tower build plan on behalf of national and regional wireless carriers.

“Our exceptional team of operating partners and the strength of our go-to-market approach, coupled with this latest round of funding from M/C, positions us well to capitalize on our platform to drive our next phase of growth.”

“As wireless carriers expand their 5G footprints and nationwide coverage with mid and high band spectrum, the industry, and TowerCom, should see strong colocation prospects in the coming years,” said Rad Lovett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TowerCom. “Our exceptional team of operating partners and the strength of our go-to-market approach, coupled with this latest round of funding from M/C, positions us well to capitalize on our platform to drive our next phase of growth.”

“With its experienced team, long track record of building and operating towers across the country, and strong carrier relationships, TowerCom is well-positioned to continue its recent momentum and make an even bigger impact in this space,” said Brian Clark, Managing Partner at M/C Partners. “Our investment in TowerCom gives us the unique opportunity to partner with a proven tower developer that brings visibility into a scaled portfolio of towers as carriers ramp up spending on their 5G deployments in a critical investment cycle for the wireless communications industry.”

Abhishek Rampuria, Vice President at M/C Partners, added, “Our investment in TowerCom builds on M/C’s long and successful heritage of investing in the wireless industry. The TowerCom team has built a best-in-class tower development platform and we are excited to begin this partnership and support the next chapter in the TowerCom story.”

As TowerCom’s primary financial investor, M/C Partners will contribute its extensive experience in the communications and technology services markets. M/C has been a leading investor in this sector for more than three decades, having previously invested in Lightower, Zayo, MetroPCS, Connectivity Wireless and others. Legal counsel for M/C Partners was provided by Sidley Austin LLP and Fox Rothschild LLP.

About TowerCom

TowerCom is a Jacksonville, FL-based communications tower developer executing new tower builds on behalf of carrier customers primarily in the Southeast and Southwest US. TowerCom has established itself as a major regional tower developer with deep relationships with both national and regional wireless carriers. TowerCom is responsible for the end-to-end tower development process, taking carrier input on target locations and coverage needs and then executing site acquisition, permitting / zoning, construction, and operational support. The company is led by a veteran management team that has experience in all phases of tower infrastructure development, deployment and management. For more information, visit www.towercomenterprises.com.

About M/C Partners

Based in Boston, M/C Partners is a private equity firm focused on small and mid-sized businesses in the communications and technology services sectors. For more than three decades M/C Partners has invested $2.2 billion of capital in over 130 companies, leveraging its deep industry expertise to understand long-term secular trends and identify growth opportunities. The firm is currently investing its eighth fund, partnering with promising companies and empowering strong leaders to accelerate growth, optimize operations, and build long-term value. For more information, visit www.mcpartners.com.

Only 25% of Census Blocks Have Competition for 100 Mbps Broadband (INCOMPAS report)

Only one-quarter of developed U.S. census blocks have two or more providers of 100 Mbps broadband, according to a broadband competition report from INCOMPAS – and according to the competitive carrier association, competition is even less than that finding would suggest because the finding is based on Form 477 data collected by the FCC.

Virtually everyone agrees that the Form 477 data overstates broadband availability. In this case, an entire census block would be considered to have 100 Mbps broadband, even if only a single location in the census block can get service at that speed.

The finding is one of a range of data points that INCOMPAS uses to back up its assertion that “the fixed BIAS [broadband internet access service] market, as well as the business data services marketplace, remain highly concentrated” in certain geographic areas.

Other key INCOMPAS findings about the BIAS market:

• 31% of developed census blocks have no provider offering service at 100 Mbps speeds

• 41% of developed census blocks have only one such provider

• Only 5% of census blocks have three or more providers advertising 100 Mbps service somewhere in the block

• Virtually all census blocks with gigabit service have only a single provider of service at that speed

INCOMPAS Broadband Competition Report
INCOMPAS filed the broadband competition report with the FCC in response to the Communications Marketplace Report issued by the FCC several months ago.

In comments included with its filing, INCOMPAS urged the FCC not to remove pro-competitive policies such as network unbundling and resale requirements. INCOMPAS also argued that the FCC prematurely deregulated business data services (BDS) pricing in 2017, which according to the association, has caused incumbent carriers to raise BDS prices.

According to INCOMPAS, AT&T, Verizon, Frontier and CenturyLink have raised BDS pricing and CenturyLink’s increases for special access DS1 channel terminations were as high as 150%.

Broadband speeds are too low in too many places, said Chip Pickering, CEO of INCOMPAS, in a press release about the INCOMPAS broadband competition report. In addition, he said, “prices are high and consumers are fed up with terrible customer service.”

He added that “More competition is the answer, and it’s time for the FCC to launch a competition crusade based on gigabit speed goals that create jobs and new opportunities for small business growth.”

Ascend Technologies LLC Launches to be the Premier Midwest-Based Managed Services Provider

ORGANIZATION THAT COMBINES WEST MONROE PARTNERS’ MANAGED SERVICES DIVISION AND GRATIA, INC. IS WELL POSITIONED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR REMOTE WORKFORCES DURING PANDEMIC AND BEYOND.

March 30, 2020 – Chicago, Illinois

TODAY, ASCEND TECHNOLOGIES LLC, a Midwest managed services provider founded on a commitment to using innovation and technology to enable business growth, announced its launch.

The creation of Ascend Technologies (Ascend) marks the conclusion of the December 2019 acquisitions of West Monroe Partners’ Managed Services Division and Gratia, Inc by the private equity firm M/C Partners. The combined companies bring decades of managed services, cloud and infrastructure, service desk, application management and data management experience.

“We are launching Ascend as businesses are facing extraordinary change and uncertainty,” says Wayne Kiphart, CEO, Ascend. “Our teams have come together at a critical time when supporting remote-workforce team collaboration while maintaining security are more crucial than ever. Not to mention, being on call 24×7 not only to provide technical support for remote workers, but to help our clients in demanding industries redefine how to support a changing workforce. We are here to ensure operational continuity and support those on the frontlines,” continues Kiphart.

“Bringing what has developed over the last 10 years within the Managed Services practice at West Monroe and combining it with the expertise of Gratia and backing of M/C Partners, Ascend will deepen our current solutions while expanding into new innovative services creating both organic and acquisitive growth to grow with our clients,” says Mark Nelson, Chief Strategy Officer, Ascend.

The resulting new company, headquartered in Chicago, has over 100 U.S.-based technical professionals based across the Midwest and nationally.

Boston Omaha Corporation Enters its Third Line of Business with the Acquisition of AireBeam Communications

OMAHA, Neb.- Boston Omaha Corporation entered the telecommunications services business today with the acquisition of AireBeam Communications, a family-owned rural broadband fiber and fixed wireless internet service provider. For 17 years, AireBeam has served communities in southern Arizona with high-speed, fixed wireless internet service and is building an all fiber-to-the-home network in select markets.

Co-Founder and CEO Gregory Friedman said, “AireBeam, has successfully delivered high speed internet to rural communities while achieving favorable returns on our invested capital. My wife Judith and I and the entire AireBeam team are thrilled to be working with Boston Omaha as they are the right long-term partner to help us expand our fiber-to-the-home footprint.”

AireBeam operates in underserved communities throughout Arizona that need higher speed and greater internet capacity. AireBeam’s focus on engineering solutions specific for these distinctive communities has resulted in the delivery of broadband service to more than 7,000 customers.

Full financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, Boston Omaha acquired substantially all of the assets of the predecessor company in the deal and all employees are expected to remain with the company. Gregory Friedman is continuing as CEO while retaining a 10% initial ownership stake in the newly formed entity as he continues to guide AireBeam’s next phase of growth. The remaining 90% initial ownership stake will be owned by a wholly owned subsidiary of Boston Omaha, which intends to make significant additional capital investments to fund the company’s planned fiber-to-the-home expansion.

“Boston Omaha is excited to enter the high speed broadband business as rural communities increasingly demand more bandwidth to their homes and businesses than their current offerings can reliably provide. Within certain markets, we believe that fiber-to-the-home is a long-lived asset that fits perfectly with the long-term vision of Boston Omaha to invest in durable businesses that can earn good after-tax returns on capital,” said Boston Omaha co-CEO Adam Peterson.

Boston Omaha’s other co-CEO, Alex Rozek added, “One hundred years ago, 35% of U.S. households had electricity and today just 37% are passed by fiber. We believe that the combination of AireBeam’s rural broadband business model aligned with Boston Omaha’s strong balance sheet provides a powerful platform to bring fiber-to-the-home to additional communities and delight customers for years to come.”

Liberty Global sizing up partnerships to expand reach of Virgin Media's network

Liberty Global has plans to expand the Virgin Media network to an additional 7 to 10 million homes in the UK and is exploring a wide range of options to get it done.

While a portion of that will come from its ongoing Project Lightning fiber-to-the-premises initiative, the operator is also taking a look at potential partnerships involving investors and other network operators.

But, for now, Liberty Global isn't sharing a ton of detail about what types of partnerships it is exploring, despite recent reports that the company is already in talks with Comcast-owned Sky about a fiber joint venture and possible cable wholesale deal.

"I'm not going to get into great detail about what we might or might not be doing" with respect to potential network-facing partnerships, Mike Fries, Liberty Global's CEO, said Friday on the company's Q4 2019 earnings call. But he acknowledged that any way to expand the reach of Virgin Media's network in the UK would create a "very positive outcome."

"We're examining all options," Fries said, noting that it's part of a longer-term strategy at Liberty Global and not something that will be solved Q1 2020. "We would be interested in not just financial partners but also network operators who are interested in the same opportunities."

But Liberty Global is not interested in sacrificing free cash flow to make this happen, mirroring the financial strategy it's employing today for Project Lightning. That FTTP-based project added 505,000 premises passed in 2019, ending the year with 2.1 million premises passed, 454,000 customers and about £236 million ($307.79 million) in revenues.

"While we're not willing to sacrifice free cash flow to do that [network expansion] on-balance sheet… we would certainly entertain ideas [and] ways of achieving that off-balance sheet that could accelerate the reach of 1-gigabit speeds and the Virgin brand," Fries said.

Fries said Virgin Media is also looking into wholesale opportunities that could bring cash flow immediately to the company's bottom line, noting that 40% of the operator's network is currently being utilized. The con in that scenario is possibly cannibalizing Virgin Media's business, he added. Bloomberg reported last month that Liberty Global applied to Ofcom to pursue wholesale opportunities in the UK.

More generally, Fries noted that the UK market remains a tough one (Virgin Media lost about 110,000 revenue generating units for all of 2019), highlighted by an increasingly competitive (and promotional) broadband market alongside flattening video subscriber growth. That's being amplified by "external headwinds" over the past three years involving broadband tax increases, inflationary programming contracts and changes to mobile regulations. Those headwinds will continue into 2020 in the form of an anticipated operating cash flow reduction of about £100 million ($130.36 million).

Despite those challenges, "we are more than holding our own in this market," Fries said of the UK.

Regarding the company's video strategy, Fries noted that Liberty Global still sees pay-TV as a service "worth protecting," though the operator won't chase after less profitable, lower-end customers – essentially replicating a strategy being undertaken by major US cable operators such as Comcast and Charter Communications. As it focuses on more profitable customers, Virgin Media will soon roll out the company's new user interface, Horizon 4, on its V6 boxes (replacing TiVo), and the ongoing integration of OTT apps such as YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

"We are open for business when it comes to app integration," Fries said.

The Horizon 4 rollout in the UK will also mark Liberty Global's expansion of a video product that utilizes the Reference Design Kit, a preintegrated, open source software platform being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter.

"We think it will be transformational to the consumer experience in the same way X1 was for Comcast," Fries said. "The bundle matters, and video is a big part of the bundle."

Liberty Global hit its 2019 financial targets, but growth is becoming harder to come by in the wake of the company's sale of operations in Germany, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic to Vodafone last July.

Liberty Global Q4 2019 revenues were $2.98 billion, down 0.5%, and $11.54 billion for the full year, down 0.6%.

In the fixed services category, Liberty Global added 15,700 broadband subs in Q4, compared to a gain of 24,800 in the year-ago period. The company lost 91,300 video customers, versus a loss of 74,900 a year earlier; it also lost 52,700 voice subs, compared to a year-ago gain of 17,600.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading

No More Fear and Loathing Over Video Subscriber Losses

Broadband strength keeps Wall Street bullish on pay TV sector

MIKE FARRELL

JAN 27, 2020

Pay TV providers are set to report the worst year in their history in terms of video customer losses, according to a handful of analysts. Yet, despite the losses and the increases in cord-cutting, cord-shaving and cord-nevering, those analysts are probably more optimistic about the future of the industry than they have been in years.

Comcast kicked off the fourth-quarter earnings season Jan. 23, reporting a decline of 149,000 video customers. The rest of the sector is expected to report in the coming weeks, with AT&T going on Jan. 29, Verizon Communications on Jan. 30 , Charter Communications on Jan. 31 and Altice USA on Feb. 12.

Cord-cutting has been on the rise for years: 2019 was worse than 2018, which was worse than 2017 and so on. Evercore ISI media analyst Vijay Jayant estimated cable would lose about 1.96 million video customers in 2019, up from the 1.26 million it lost in the prior year. Satellite-TV providers would see their losses more than double from 1.2 million in 2018 to 3.25 million in 2019, mainly due to heavy losses at DirecTV. Jayant estimated that DirecTV would lose about 800,000 video customers in Q4, down from the 1.1 million it lost in Q3.

Video Losses Aren’t Troubling

“Interestingly, complacency doesn’t seem to be an issue with respect to video,” Craig Moffett, MoffettNathanson principal and senior analyst, said in a note to clients. “There, cable investors seem to be keenly aware of the downside to estimates. It’s just that they (appropriately) don’t seem to care very much.

“The age of worrying about video subscriber losses finally seems to be behind us,” Moffett added. “Good riddance.”

But the fourth quarter, like the quarters behind it, will be characterized by broadband growth. Jayant estimated that cable operators will continue on their path of accounting for more than 100% of overall domestic broadband growth, adding 832,000 customers in Q4 compared to the addition of 612,000 in the same period last year.

“Cable’s clear speed advantage in roughly half the U.S. is driving continued strong share performance,” Jayant wrote. Jayant’s optimism for the sector is shown in his “outperform” ratings on Comcast and Charter (the top-rated stock in his coverage universe). Evercore ISI analyst James Ratcliffe has an “outperform” rating on Altice USA.

The slowdown affecting over-the-top providers also is expected to continue. Jayant predicted that virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) like SlingTV, AT&T TV Now and Hulu with Live TV would gain about 804,000 customers in 2018, less than half of the 2.3 million additions the sector enjoyed in 2018.

For the full year, Jayant estimates, pay TV subscribers (including OTT, cable, satellite and telco) will have declined by about 5.4 million, more than three times the 1.5 million the sector lost in 2018.

On the flip side, total cable, telco and satellite broadband subscriber additions are expected to reach 2.8 million in 2019, up 12% from the 2.5 million additions in 2018. Cable broadband adds are expected to be 3.1 million in 2019 (up nearly 15% from 2.7 million in 2018) while telcos are expected to lose 402,000 broadband customers, an increase over the 342,000 the sector lost in the prior year.

Mobile Share on the Rise

On the wireless front, Jayant wrote that while telcos Verizon and AT&T still dominate, cable managed to take some share in 2019, driven by higher net additions at Charter and the launch of Altice USA’s aggressive offering late in Q3.

Jayant predicted that the postpaid wireless base, including cable operator customers, increased by about 2.2 million in Q4, a rise of 160,000 subscribers year-over-year and 560,000 sequentially. He believes cable operators (mainly Comcast, Charter and Altice USA) captured about 25% of postpaid net additions in Q4 2019, up from 17% in the prior year.

Wireless, primarily a retention tool for other cable services, is starting to break out of that box as subscribers rise. Charter added a surprising 276,000 wireless customers in Q3 (most analysts had expected a gain of about 230,000) and Jayant sees the momentum continuing into Q4, with 263,000 additions. Overall, he estimates Charter will add about 923,000 wireless lines in 2019 (up from 134,000 in 2018) and 1.04 million in 2020. He sees Altice USA stepping on the wireless accelerator in Q4, adding about 80,000 wireless customers in 2019, rising to 550,000 additions in 2020.

Wireless growth is expected to return to Comcast after a bit of a slowdown. Jayant predicted the largest U.S. cable company will add about 778,000 wireless customers in 2019 (down from 855,000 in 2018), rising to 909,000 additions in 2020.

M/C Partners Completes Acquisition of West Monroe Partners’ Managed Services Division

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–M/C Partners, a Boston-based Communications and IT Services focused private equity firm, announced today that it signed an agreement to acquire the Managed Services division of West Monroe Partners, a national business and technology consultancy. The acquisition closed on Dec. 30, 2019. Wayne Kiphart has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and will be responsible for driving the company’s growth and long-term returns for stakeholders.

“I am excited to join the talented team at West Monroe Managed Services and to lead the company in this next chapter of growth,” said Kiphart. “Our focus will continue to be on driving the highest satisfaction for our customers – some of whom have been customers for over 10 years – through additional investments in service delivery and IT capabilities. Over the next few months, I will spend considerable time with our customers to better understand their needs so that we can continue to deliver services that help them be successful. We also plan to launch a new brand, including a company name. It’s an exciting time for both myself and for our employees, who will now have a greater ability to impact the future of this organization.”

“West Monroe Managed Services represents an exceptional technology services platform,” said Gillis Cashman, Managing Partner at M/C Partners. “As a standalone, well-capitalized company with a highly experienced leadership team and passionate, talented employees, we feel the business will be in a stronger position to address the existing and future needs of its customers.”

Abhishek Rampuria, Vice President at M/C Partners, added, “West Monroe Managed Services has built a differentiated application management expertise that is highly valued by its customers. We are excited to begin this partnership and to provide the financial and operational resources to facilitate future growth and continued success.”

Wayne Kiphart joins West Monroe Managed Services from Gratia, a cybersecurity-focused MSP. Wayne was previously President of OnX Managed Services and Vice President of Managed Services at Logicalis. He brings nearly 20 years of experience across a range of functional areas including sales, operations, and client services, as well as knowledge in various vertical industries.

As West Monroe Managed Services’ primary financial investor, M/C Partners will contribute its extensive experience in the technology and communications services markets. M/C has been a leading investor in this sector for more than two decades, having previously invested in Thrive Networks, Involta, Ensono, Fusepoint, Attenda, Denovo, Carbon60 and others. Legal counsel for M/C Partners was provided by Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP.

About West Monroe Managed Services, LLC

West Monroe Managed Services is a Chicago-based IT managed services provider offering technology solutions to small and medium-sized businesses across the Midwest. The Managed Services division was started within West Monroe Partners in 2009 by Mark Nelson in order to provide help desk support and infrastructure management solutions for West Monroe’s growing list of clients and their increasingly complex IT environments. Over the last ten years, the Company has expanded its service offering to include cybersecurity and managed application services. West Monroe Managed Services primarily serves small and mid-size businesses and has 50+ customers across a variety of industries who are served by a team of ~100 employees. For more information, visit WMP.com/WMMS.

About M/C Partners

Based in Boston, M/C Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on the communications, information technology services and media sectors. The firm has invested over $2.2 billion of capital into over 130 companies, generally investing in companies with enterprise values of $25 million to $250 million. Related current and prior investments include Cavalier Telephone, Carbon60, Ensono, Everstream, Fusepoint, Denovo, ICG Communications, Involta, Lightower, Neutral Connect Networks, NuVox, Thrive Networks and Zayo Group. The firm has strong institutional backing from the nation’s leading pension funds and endowments as well as a long track record of success. For more information, visit www.mcpartners.com.

2019 Was a Big Year for Telecom Mergers and Acquisitions

As 2019 winds toward a close, the fate of the proposed Sprint/ T-Mobile merger is still uncertain. But whatever the fate of that deal, 2019 was a big year for telecom/ broadband mergers and acquisitions – and virtually no segment of the industry was exempt from the trend.

Investment Firms
Some investment firms are moving into or expanding their telecom/ broadband operator holdings, including WaveDivision Capital, which previously invested in several broadband providers. Wave said earlier this year that it will purchase Frontier’s operations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Also this year, investment firms EQT Partners and Digital Colony led a deal to acquire competitive fiber provider Zayo, which itself has made numerous acquisitions over the years.

In addition, investment firm Macquarie Infrastructure Partners bought Bluebird Network, which operates a fiber network spanning several midwestern states, as well as the business operations of Uniti Fiber’s Midwest network.

Grain Management was also quite active in M&A, with a few deals in 2019 including deals for Hunter Communications, Summit Broadband, and Ritter Communications.

Rural Network Operators
A considerable amount of this year’s M&A involved Tier 2 and Tier 3 network operators – perhaps because policymakers seem to have awakened to the importance of ensuring that all Americans, including those in rural areas, have broadband available to them. Other drivers may be the relative lack of competition in rural areas, as well as the recognition that future mobile networks will need dense backhaul infrastructure that Tier 2 and Tier 3 carriers are well-positioned to provide.

Telecom/ broadband M&A deals that involved an independent telco as either a buyer or seller this year include:

• TDS bought Continuum

• Bluebird Network, which itself was acquired by investment firm Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, has since announced plans to purchase Illinois Network Alliance, a fiber network owned by several rural competitors in the state.

• Segra, a company formed when EQT bought Spirit Communications and Lumos Networks, plans to purchase independent telco North State.

• Hargray, which started out as a rural telephone provider, announced several acquisitions this year, including Kings Bay Communications, Dark Fiber Systems, and USA Communications’ Alabama network. In addition, the network operator bought three colocation facilities and an IT services firm in Infinity.

• Nex-Tech bought Cordell

• Ritter Communications sold a majority stake in the company to Grain Management

• Great Plains Communications bought Intercarrier Networks

• EPICTOUCH bought CP-TEL

• Novado bought Price County Telephone

• Shentel bought Big Sandy

• Horizon bought an unnamed Indianapolis network

Cable and Competitive Provider Deals
Cable companies and competitive providers, including fixed wireless providers, also saw considerable M&A activity in 2019.

• Vyve Broadband’s purchase of GTCR marked one cable consolidator buying another

• Cable One purchased Fidelity

• Nextlink, a competitive provider that was one of the big winners in the CAF II auction, bought the internet service business of Connecting Point (ConPoint)

• Vast Broadband purchased NTS

• Firstlight bought Maine Fiber Network and ColoSpace

• Everstream bought Arch Fiber Networks

• Metronet acquired Lightspeed

Telecom Supplier and Vendor Deals
A few notable telecom vendor deals occured in 2019 as well, including:

• Ribbon (formerly GenBand) acquired ECI

• NISC acquired Affinegy and Electrical Distribution Design

• NeoNova/NRTC acquired SecurityCoverage

This is certainly not an all inclusive list, as other deals were also announced in 2019. But it does illustrate quite a busy year for M&A in the broadband sector.

Comporium Celebrates 125 Years of Service to Customers

ROCK HILL, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comporium, one of the nation’s leading independent telecom providers, will celebrate its 125th anniversary on December 10, 2019. Headquartered in Rock Hill, S.C., the company serves over 134,000 residential and business customers in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Comporium’s history dates back to 1894, when its parent organization, Rock Hill Telephone Company, was issued its charter by the State of South Carolina. The business was sold to E.L. and Mary Barnes in 1912; a total of 433 lines were in operation at that time. As the communications industry advanced, so did the company’s service offerings to customers. To reflect this growth, RHTC and 10 affiliated businesses became known as Comporium Group in 2001. The rebranding and reorganization signaled a new era for the privately-held company, where the fifth generation of the Barnes family is currently on the job and leading Comporium into the future.

“Regardless of whether industry changes brought major shifts to the marketplace or the latest advances to consumers, Comporium has remained at the forefront of telecommunications through strategic planning, commitment to constant innovation and devotion to customer service,” stated Comporium’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Matthew Dosch. “It’s a combination of dedicated employees and innovative thought that’s allowed us to evolve and respond to the changing world around us.”

Over the past 125 years, evolving technology meant many privately-owned telecoms were faced with major challenges. In order to keep pace with larger competitors, Comporium successfully transitioned its primary line of business from twisted pair to fiber, bringing leading-edge services to areas of the Carolinas that may not otherwise have had such resources.

The company’s numerous accomplishments serve as a testimony to the vision and diligence of its leaders and employees. Notable highlights from Comporium’s 125-year history include:

• Comporium was an industry leader in installing fiber-optic cable and provided direct connection to residences with fiber services.

• The company was the first provider in South Carolina to launch 1GB internet service.

• CN2, Comporium’s local television station, won an Emmy for “Television News Programming Excellence” at the 2014 Southeast Regional EMMYⓇ Awards.

• Comporium won the Charlotte Business Journal’s 2018 Family Business Award.

Today, Comporium provides a host of solutions to its residential and business customers. These include internet, voice, digital video, wireless, security monitoring and home automation, computer network services, and structured wiring and cabling. Areas served in South Carolina include York, Lancaster and Chester counties and parts of Lexington, Saluda, Edgefield, Orangeburg, Calhoun and Aiken counties. In North Carolina, full services are provided in Transylvania County and parts of Mecklenburg and Union Counties. Business services are available throughout the Charlotte metro region.

As Comporium looks to the future and how it will meet customer demands in coming years, the company is poised to release several new products. A recent partnership with Alarm.Com brings with it exciting new options for customers with ReadyHome, Comporium’s security and home automation service. Subscribers who are signed up for the company’s video product will soon have access to a new streaming video service that will have an over the top (OTT) feel. Comporium STREAM TV, is planned to launch to customers in the first quarter of 2020 and will provide live tv via an internet-based app. The company is also working to innovate its original product offering, voice, offering cloud-based business services outside of its traditional service footprint.

Behind the scenes, Comporium has recently made significant investments in upgrading its core network. Replacing hardware and upgrade connections, the company has moved to a mesh network. This means an even more reliable network for both residential and business customers. Comporium is also overhauling its Business Support System, sometimes referred to as its billing system. Both of these projects, expected to be completed during the next year, will give the company better tools to serve its customers now and in the future.

About Comporium

Comporium, Inc., headquartered in Rock Hill, S.C., is a diversified, privately-held communications company that employs nearly 1,100 people and provides broadband, TV, voice, wireless, smart home systems and advertising services throughout the Carolinas. Comporium’s ventures include companies providing business solutions, data storage and managed services, smart devices and connected home services, and digital signage. For more information, please visit www.comporium.com.

Contacts

Matthew Dosch
Comporium
Phone: 803-326-7287
matt.dosch@comporium.com

C Spire Expanding Fiber Broadband Footprint

C Spire Home is bringing its Gigabit FTTH platform to the Mississippi markets of Saltillo and Gulfport, with plans to add Biloxi to C Spire markets beginning next year. The expansion will cover roughly 78K households in total.

Saltillo, a small town in the northeast area of the state, is a suburb of Tupelo in Lee County. Work on the FTTH platform is slated to begin in early November, with customer services starting by the first quarter of 2020.

Work in Gulfport also will begin next month, with expansion to areas of neighboring Biloxi early next year. Initial Gulfport subscribers will be turned up during the first quarter of next year. Thousands of homes will be passed in Harrison County – the state’s second most populous – by next summer.

The projects, which will provide subscribers with Internet access, live streaming TV and premium digital phone service, represent the 23rd and 24th C Spire initiatives in Mississippi. The company says it will add to its 9,200 route miles of backbone fiber in the state. The Harrison County project will cover 20 “fiberhoods” and a majority of the two cities’ households. The Lee County project will cover much of the county’s 32,000 households and many “fiberhoods,” though the press release doesn’t offer a precise number.

C Spire says that recent studies found that Gigabit speeds can add $5,437 – 3.1% — to the price of a $175,000 home.

C Spire, both a regional wireless carrier and fiber broadband carrier, has made several recent announcements regarding its broadband strategy:

• In March, the provider brought its FTTH to The Highlands, a residential subdivision in Jones County. It is outside the city of Ellisville and represented C Spire’s first foray into southern Mississippi.

• In January, Telecompetitor discussed C Spire’s broadband consortium with Chief Innovation Officer Craig Sparks. Partners in the initiative are Microsoft, Nokia, Airspan Networks and Siklu.

• In October, 2018, Indatel Services expanded its regional networks by adding C Spire. At that point, C Spire added 8,600 route miles across Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. C Spire brought multiple data centers and major locations in 12 cities to the Indatel network.