Comcast reached a long-term agreement with Level 3 Communications that provide inter-city and metro dark fiber as part of Comcast’s extension of its fiber footprint. Comcast’s backbone is principally based on 20-year dark-fiber IRU’s (indefeasible rights of use) from Level 3 and other sources. The new agreements currently total over 19,000 route miles, and cover 95% of Comcast’s national footprint. The initial cost of the network, including fiber capacity and routing and optical equipment, is expected to involve approximately $100 million of capital.
The network initially will be provisioned with multiple 10 Gbps wavelengths. It will be capable of carrying multiple 40 Gbps wavelengths, for a total potential capacity of almost 3 Terabits per second. . In addition to the fiber, Level 3 will provide a wide range of maintenance services to the backbone, which will be managed out of Comcast’s existing east and west National Operations Centers.
The companies said the deal would enable services such as video-on-demand, high definition television, digital video recorders, high-speed Internet access and advanced voice services. http://www.comcast.com/http://www.level3.com/
