Aqua Comms Selects FirstLight for Unique Fiber Routes in the Northeast

Leading provider of global subsea connectivity services selects FirstLight to help diversely connect their transatlantic routes

Aqua Comms Selects FirstLight for Unique Fiber Routes in the Northeast

Key takeaways

  • Aqua Comms has selected FirstLight for its unique fiber optic routes in the Northeast, announced in Albany, NY on August 3, 2023
  • FirstLight's routes connect Aqua Comms' Trans-atlantic presence at Lynn Landing to carrier hotels and other points of interest in the Northeast
  • Chris Bayly, CCO at Aqua Comms, and Patrick Coughlin, Chief Development Officer of FirstLight, commented on the partnership
  • Both companies see rising interest in unique, high-capacity fiber routes that don't follow the traditional pathways

Aqua Comms selects FirstLight

Leading provider of global subsea connectivity services selects FirstLight to help diversely connect their transatlantic routes

Albany, NY – August 3, 2023FirstLight, a leading provider of digital infrastructure services to cloud, content and carrier customers, announced today that Aqua Comms has selected FirstLight for its unique fiber optic routes in the Northeast.

Aqua Comms sought a relationship with FirstLight to help provide diverse fiber optic connectivity to connect its Trans-atlantic presence at Lynn Landing to carrier hotels and other points of interest in the Northeast. FirstLight’s fiber routes to Lynn Landing presented Aqua Comms with an opportunity for high-capacity fiber, as well as unique routes for added resiliency and diversity. By partnering together, both organizations have access to unique capabilities and fiber routes that offer the diversity and resiliency.

What the executives said

“The partnership between Aqua Comms and FirstLight presents an opportunity for both organizations. FirstLight’s unique routes throughout the Northeast enable Aqua Comms and our customers to connect to carrier hotels, data centers, and many points in North America such as New York City, Montreal, Albany and more. These secure routes allow us to meet the needs of our customers by providing high capacity, resilient connectivity,” Chris Bayly, CCO at Aqua Comms.

Aqua Comms didn’t just choose FirstLight for its unique routes, but also considered other factors, including FirstLight’s reputation for support, its dedication to quality and a network that is designed for performance and speed.

What Aqua Comms gets

  • Diverse fiber optic connectivity to carrier hotels, data centers and many points in North America
  • High-capacity fiber with unique routes for added resiliency and diversity
  • Connections to New York City, Montreal, Albany and more
  • FirstLight's reputation for support, dedication to quality and a network designed for performance and speed

"Aqua Comms is an important customer and partner for FirstLight," said Patrick Coughlin, Chief Development Officer of FirstLight. “We’re not only excited to provide diverse fiber-optic connectivity for Aqua Comms, but we also look forward to a strong partnership that provides our mutual customers with access to high-capacity, global communications.”

Both Aqua Comms and FirstLight agree that the trend toward route diversity in network planning and design is not a new one, but the interest in unique, high-capacity fiber routes has been trending upward. “Content and cloud providers, carriers and large enterprises are seeking fiber routes that don’t just follow the traditional pathways,” said Bayly. “Together with FirstLight, delivering truly diverse, secure fiber connectivity across the Atlantic and to points beyond is now more possible than ever.”

About FirstLight Fiber

FirstLight, headquartered in Albany, New York, provides fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud, unified communications, and managed services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic connecting more than 15,000 locations in service with more than 125,000 locations serviceable by our more than 25,000-route mile network. FirstLight offers a robust suite of advanced telecommunications products featuring a comprehensive portfolio of high bandwidth connectivity solutions including Ethernet, wavelength and dark fiber services as well as dedicated Internet access solutions, data center, cloud and voice services. FirstLight’s clientele includes national cellular providers and wireline carriers and many leading enterprises, spanning high tech manufacturing and research, hospitals and healthcare, banking and financial, secondary education, colleges and universities, and local and state governments FirstLight was named a Top Workplace USA in 2021 and 2022.

To learn more about FirstLight, visit https://www.firstlight.net/, or follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Media contact: FirstLight

Maura Mahoney

MMahoney@firstlight.net

About Aqua Comms

Aqua Comms is a leading provider of global subsea connectivity services delivered through an extensive portfolio of owned and operated subsea systems. Aqua Comms offers connectivity networking solutions including managed capacity services, spectrum and dark fiber to the global content, cloud and carrier markets.

To learn more about Aqua Comms and its portfolio of connectivity networking solutions visit https://www.aquacomms.com/network

In April 2021, Aqua Comms DAC was acquired by Digital 9 Infrastructure plc (DGI9), an LSE listed investment trust managed by Triple Point Investment Management LLP. The Company invests in the infrastructure of the internet that underpins the world's digital economy. The number 9 in Digital 9 Infrastructure comes from the UN Sustainable Development Goal 9, which focuses the fund on investments that increase connectivity globally and improve the sustainability of digital infrastructure.

To learn more about D9 visit www.d9infrastructure.com.

Media contact: Aqua Comms

Andrea Forder

aforder@aquacomms.com

Frequently asked questions

Who is EXA Infrastructure?

We own and operate 180,000 route km of fibre and duct across 31 countries, with nine transatlantic cable systems connecting Europe and North America. Backed by I Squared Capital, and run as a pure-play infrastructure company, independent of any hyperscaler or cloud.

What does EXA Infrastructure sell?

Dark Fibre, Spectrum, Wavelengths and Ethernet on routes we own, a Managed Fibre Network (MFN) where we run the network on your behalf, colocation at cable landing stations and amplifier sites, and technical services from design and build to full network outsourcing.

Where does the network reach?

Across Europe and the Atlantic: terrestrial routes from the Nordics to the Mediterranean and the Balkans, nine transatlantic systems into North America, and corridors extending east toward the Caucasus.

Who does EXA Infrastructure serve?

Hyperscalers, NeoClouds and content platforms, carriers and service providers, financial markets, and governments and critical infrastructure operators: organisations that want the physical layer on their own terms.

How do you buy from EXA Infrastructure?

Long-term IRUs to hold capacity outright, flexible leases without the long commitment, or fully managed services. The model is yours to pick; the network is the same either way.

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