Windstream Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:WIN) has announced that its Little Rock metro fiber network will be expanded with a view to providing the business community in the area with high quality fiber services. The development will allow for the linking of more commercial buildings and local data centers with a high-speed fiber network that is available nationwide. Windstream’s headquarters are in Little Rock and the company has had a presence in the city for decades.
“We’re proud to make this investment in our hometown to help create a new level of connectivity and network stability for all the businesses here… It also will allow us to offer our customers an expanded product suite…” said Windstream’s chief executive officer, Tony Thomas.
Clinton National Airport
Most of the fiber network expansion efforts in Little Rock will be concentrated in areas such as Conway, Northshore Business Park, North Little Rock, West Little Rock, Midtown and Downtown. The Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport will also benefit.
The airport, named after former America’s first couple, is the biggest commercial service airport in Arkansas and is used by close to 2 million passengers every year. Over 3,000 employment opportunities have been created at the airport and it is estimated to bring in $1.2 billion to the state of Arkansas in economic benefits on an annual basis. Windstream’s expansion of its metro fiber network will allow it to offer world-class Wi-Fi connection.
National initiative
Windstream’s business clients will also get to enjoy cloud, network, voice and enterprise-class data services offered by the company to customers in other big markets. Both the long-haul and the local fiber network of the company spans about 147,000 miles.
Besides Little Rock, Windstream’s metro fiber network expansion is being carried out across the United States. This is in line with the company’s effort to support clients in the retail, hospitality, government, healthcare, education, legal, financial and banking sectors. Other cities in which the expansion of the metro fiber network is taking place include Cleveland, Detroit, Dallas, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, Richmond, Nashville and Charlotte.
On Wednesday shares of WIndstream Holdings Inc declined sharply by 7.51% to close the day at $5.91.
