Altice's Lightpath Fiber Unit Hits 2,000 Connected Wireless Sites

Altice USA-owned fiber provider Lightpath is working with a growing number of wireless sites and carriers to densify 5G deployments.

The company says it has reached a milestone — 2,000 connected wireless towers. In addition, Lightpath has doubled its on-net wireless sites in the past year.

Lightpath’s Phil Olivero

Chief technology officer Phil Olivero said Lightpath’s network supports carriers that want to “deploy or densify their 5G networks.” Lightpath can give carriers access to various points of presence and different connectivity options.

“Lightpath offers carriers a unique combination of network density, customized connectivity options, reliability and support,” Olivero said. “We are willing investors and have partnered with each of the major wireless providers to extend our reach to deliver and meet their coverage requirements.”

According to Lightpath, the recent upgrade of the provider’s optical transport services to WaveLogic 5 Extreme 800G Technology. Lightpath also uses Ciena’s interconnect platform.

“5G is altering how current wireless applications are connected, and it opens the floodgates for a tremendous number of new types of connected devices. Only densely deployed fiber networks will be able to scale to the robust bandwidth levels that will be needed to support these applications,” Lightpath CEO Chris Morley said. “Lightpath is uniquely positioned to support wireless carriers in our markets, which is why so many carriers are choosing us.”

Lightpath also announced that it has inked its first Greater Boston region wireless customer.

Company Changes

Altice USA in December 2020 sold nearly half of the Lightpath fiber enterprise business to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. The amount totaled roughly $3.2 billion, according to Altice.

Morley, former Zayo chief operating officer, joined the company in January 2021. Lightpath in April announced a new long-haul route that spans 300 miles between New York Metro area and Ashburn, Virginia. It also beefed up its Boston metro network with a 75-mile fiber route.

Lightpath operates with partners under the Altice Business partner program. It offers referral partner and agent partner opportunities. According to the company’s program overview, partners can earn upfront and residual commissions.

Lightpath’s revenue was mostly flat last quarter (up .6%), while net sales bookings grew 70%, according to Altice USA’s first-quarter earnings. See how other cablecos and telcos performed.