Windstream Acquiring New York-Based CLEC MassComm

**Editor’s Note: Please click here for a look back at the biggest channel-impacting mergers and acquisitions from 2017.**

Windstream is acquiring Mass Communications (MassComm), a CLEC that provides telecommunications and connectivity management, consultation and development offerings for voice, data and networking technologies to midsize global enterprise customers.

The CLEC works with hardware and software technology vendors and MSPs that share its “consultative, customer-first approach to delivering turnkey, scalable solutions.” Its customers are in the financial, legal, health care, technology, education and government sectors.

Windstream disclosed the acquisition in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing.

According to the filing, combining “MassComm’s innovative services and customer base with Windstream’s larger CLEC operations and fiber network will enable the combined company to increase its competitiveness by expanding its portfolio of services, generating efficiencies that benefit customers, and serving more customers over its own facilities where it can.”

Windstream will buy all of MassComm’s issued and outstanding capital stock in an all-cash transaction. MassComm will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Windstream after the transaction closes, which is expected in the second quarter. Further financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Last year, Windstream acquired both EarthLink and Broadview Networks.

“Because MassComm does not own any last-mile facilities, there is no concern that there will be a reduction in competition based on overlapping last-mile facilities,” the filing said. “Instead, this transaction will enhance competition in the market for medium-sized business. By combining MassComm’s customer base with Windstream’s presence and fiber network, the combined company will have the opportunity to serve more of MassComm’s current customers on Windstream’s own last-mile facilities.”

Windstream also announced its SD-WAN offering has been purchased by more than 500 mid-enterprise customers in regional banking, health care, retail, manufacturing and other verticals. The company credits this to the partnerships it forged with business customers in order to understand their business needs and application/cloud migration plans.

“Surpassing our first-year goal of mid-enterprise customer wins, tells us customers are excited about the exceptional SD-WAN experience Windstream provides,” said Joseph Harding, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Windstream’s cloud and connectivity business unit. “Our expert concierge service really struck a chord with larger business customers by simplifying network transformation so they can quickly reap the benefits SD-WAN offers.”