Windstream Wholesale unveils 5 new strategic fiber routes on its nationwide 100G network

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., May 15, 2017 -- Windstream (NASDAQ:WIN), a leading provider of advanced network communications, announced today at ITW 2017 in Chicago, the opening of five strategically located fiber routes on its nationwide long-haul fiber transport network. This marks another milestone in Windstream’s commitment to be a premier nationwide provider of large bandwidth solutions, providing customers cloud connectivity between major interconnection points in Tier 1 cities, as well as Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets across the United States.

Secured as part of Windstream’s recent merger with EarthLink, these new routes offer customers cost-effective access to greater network diversity options, improved reliability and higher bandwidth capacity – all of which are crucial in today’s business world and especially critical in the data-demanding ecosystem of international carriers, content providers, data center and cloud operators, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Supporting Windstream Wholesale’s broad portfolio of solutions - including optical Waves, MEF 2.0 Certified Carrier Ethernet, MPLS and Dedicated Internet Access – the newly-opened routes are outlined below:

• Dallas to Atlanta: a low-latency, direct route bridging the two markets with add/drop capability in Birmingham, Jackson and Shreveport.
• Miami to Atlanta: running along the Gulf Coast via Tampa, this route complements the existing route traveling along the Atlantic Coast via Jacksonville. Customers with traffic terminating in the U.S. via the Miami NAP international landing station benefit from the diverse routing options over Windstream’s network.
• Raleigh to Savannah: also called the “Beach Route,” this route offers another unique, direct path extending along the Eastern seaboard
• Houston to Gulfport: referred to as the “Gulf Coast Route,” this route offers add/drop capability in Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
• Memphis to Charlotte: this path utilizes optical fiber composite overhead ground wire, offering customers unique routing over a highly reliable infrastructure.

“Connecting several markets in the deep South, as well as along the Gulf Coast and the East Coast, these routes offer Windstream Wholesale customers even greater network efficiency and performance, along with access to our entire scalable, secure fiber solutions suite,” said Buddy Bayer, senior vice president of transport engineering for Windstream. “Additionally, our unique Miami to Atlanta route offers our international customers diverse, low-latency 100G connectivity to Tier 1, 2 and 3 markets across the country. This premier entry point unlocks the key to market expansion for many international carriers, especially those in Latin America.”’

In addition to the new routes, Windstream’s merger with EarthLink brings several other benefits to Windstream wholesale and enterprise customers, including access to more than 445 new Point of Presence (POP) locations, as well as the addition of many new data centers and carrier hotels to the Windstream network.

In combination with Windstream’s coast-to-coast network expansion efforts, the completion of these new routes further solidifies the company’s transformation into a nationwide provider of high bandwidth transport services for its wholesale customers – including international carriers, content and cloud providers, cable and other network operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), other network service providers and more.

For information on these routes or Windstream Wholesale’s nationwide fiber network, click here.

About Windstream
Windstream Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:WIN), a FORTUNE 500 company, is a leading provider of advanced network communications and technology solutions for consumers, small businesses, enterprise organizations and carrier partners across the U.S. Windstream offers bundled services, including broadband, security solutions, voice and digital TV to consumers. The company also provides data, cloud solutions, unified communications and managed services to business and enterprise clients. The company supplies core transport solutions on a local and long-haul fiber-optic network spanning approximately 147,000 miles. Additional information is available at windstream.com. Please visit our newsroom at news.windstream.com or follow us on Twitter at @Windstream.

Media contact:
Tanja Jameson, 501-748-7236
[email protected]