Windstream expands metro fiber network in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., May 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Windstream (NYSE:WIN, news, filings), a leading provider of advanced network communications, today announced a major expansion of its advanced metro fiber network in Knoxville, Tennessee’s third-largest city. Windstream’s expansion will provide the area’s growing business community with world-class fiber and fixed-wireless infrastructure that connects even more local data centers and commercial buildings with Windstream’s high-speed, highly available nationwide fiber network.

“With a metropolitan area that has grown to more than a million residents and is home to a number of influential companies and organizations including the University of Tennessee’s flagship campus, Knoxville is an incredibly important regional economic hub,” said Jeff Lowney, regional president for Windstream. “Knoxville, like many other parts of Tennessee, has experienced tremendous economic growth over the past five years, and we are excited to do our part to help the area sustain those levels of growth by investing in our local fiber and fixed wireless networks.”

Windstream has a strong track record of investing in its Tennessee fiber and fixed wireless networks. The company announced in June 2016 that it had completed a similar expansion in Nashville. Both expansion projects will result in a new level of connectivity and network stability for local businesses and will allow Windstream to offer customers an expanded product suite and higher levels of service.

Windstream’s expansion of its local metro fiber network and the addition of fixed wireless service will connect the company’s national fiber network to major data center complexes and commercial buildings in the Knoxville area. This expansion will connect companies directly to other major and mid-size markets across the country, and it also will enable business customers to utilize the enterprise-class data, voice, network and cloud services that Windstream customers in other major markets use as the foundation of their technology strategy.

One Knoxville-area organization that will benefit directly from Windstream’s expansion is the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It is the University of Tennessee System’s flagship campus, and it has a $1.6 billion annual impact on the Tennessee economy.

“The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has incredibly complex communications needs. We have 8,000 faculty and staff members who serve more than 28,000 students, all of whom need and expect highly reliable voice and data services when they are on campus,” said Joel Reeves, associate vice chancellor and chief information officer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “Windstream’s expansion of its local fiber and fixed wireless infrastructure will improve the quality and breadth of services available to all business and organizations in Knoxville, including us. It will also drive additional competition that will benefit the entire community.”

Windstream’s expansion in Knoxville increases both the footprint of the company’s network and the services that are available to local customers – including fixed wireless service, unified communications, managed services, network security, business continuity, network solutions and cloud services, all of which are provided with the support of a truly local team.

Windstream is expanding local metro fiber networks across the country as part of an initiative that will support customers in the banking, financial services, legal services, education, healthcare, government, hospitality and retail industries, among others. In addition to Knoxville, Windstream is expanding its metro fiber networks in a number of cities including Charlotte, Detroit, Nashville, Richmond, Little Rock, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Dallas, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Cleveland.

Windstream offers a full suite of advanced network communications and technology solutions like UCaaS, SD-WAN and Diverse Connect along with voice and data services such as VoIP access, SIP trunking, MPLS and dedicated high-speed Internet. Windstream also offers managed services, cloud computing, and network security services designed to help businesses increase productivity and improve operational costs. For more information, visit windstreambusiness.com.

About Windstream
Windstream Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:WIN), a FORTUNE 500 company, is a leading provider of advanced network communications and technology solutions for consumers, businesses, enterprise organizations and wholesale customers 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 small business and enterprise clients. The company supplies core transport solutions on a local and long-haul fiber 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.