The Big Carrier Chess Board

There was big news in the long-haul fiber business recently when Zayo announced it will be acquiring the fiber assets of Crown Castle and adding 90,000 miles of fiber to its network.  The acquisition will also Zayo’s access to major buildings to 70,000. And it looks like there may be other big news on the horizon. Some of what may be coming soon:

• There are rumors that Crown Castle hasn’t been doing well, with its slowdown based on the decision of cellular carriers to expand via small cell sites. Crown Castle made a major bet that small cell sites was going to be a thriving business. That didn’t sound like a bad bet based on the rhetoric of the big cellular carriers a few years ago—but the expansion to small cell sites ceased abruptly.
• It's widely reported that AT&T is going to make a $5.5 billion bid for Lumen’s retail fiber business. This deal is far from over, and AT&T hasn’t even made a formal offer yet. There are already rumors that T-Mobile, Verizon, and BCE (the Canadian company that recently purchased Ziply Fiber) might make counteroffers.
• Verizon will be growing it’s footprint and is expected to close the acquisition of Frontier sometime in 2025.
• T-Mobile has also been active in fiber acquisitions and purchased a share of Lumos and Metronet last year, and is partnering with two providers in Louisiana that are pursuing BEAD grants.