FTS Fiber
Headquarters Location:
16925 York Road, Suite C
Monkton, MD 21111
Q: Please tell us about your company history. When was it founded? How has the company evolved since its founding? Have your services changed? Are there key milestones in your company’s history and growth that you can highlight?
Before FTS Fiber, there was Freedom Telecom Services, LLC, a premium quality carrier-level voice, video, and data network construction, expansion, and turnkey installation company. They offered design, construction, and installation of cables, switch gear, routers, and connectivity hardware for customers on an international basis. But in 2013, a different opportunity arose; Verizon Wireless released a Request for Proposal seeking a bid for fiber optic cables to be installed for small cell backhaul in rural Pennsylvania. In October 2013, Freedom Telecom Services, LLC went on to win the bid and built 80 miles of aerial fiber by December 2013.
After Freedom Telecom Services, LLC finished the Verizon Wireless fiber build, the executive team quickly recognized that dark fiber would become a necessity as bandwidth demand continued to grow. They would not be content with just managing the services side of IT infrastructure, they wanted to expand.
Two years later, a couple of telecom industry veterans formalized an agreement, incorporated as a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) and created Freedom Telecom Services, Inc. Suitably, the company was formed a week before one of the largest international telecommunications conferences held in Chicago, IL. Freedom Telecom Services, Inc. attended International Telecoms Week and eagerly shared their diverse dark fiber route from Ashburn, Va. to 1275K Street in downtown Washington, DC with many potential customers.
As interest continued to grow, Freedom Telecom Services, Inc. thought they needed a name that distinguished itself from the services side, Freedom Telecom Services, LLC. The company rebranded to FTS Fiber in January 2016.
Q: Please tell us about company’s top executives and the work that they are doing in our industry.
Q: Explain your geographic reach. Where do you provide services?
We provide carrier-class network infrastructure in both rural areas and major markets of the United States. Currently, we are focusing on the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
Q: What types of services do you offer your customers?
We are a wholesale dark fiber provider.
Q: What is your target customer base? Please include names of prominent customers and case study details.
We produce reliable and secure, neutral fiber paths for various network operators and business sectors, including content and internet providers, healthcare, education, government and real estate developers.
We just won a bid to build a 110-mile dark fiber network for Kent County in the state of MD. See case study in a separate document.
Q: How is technology/new products and services impacting your business model?
As IoT continues to grow, and with the new FCC standards for broadband continuing to increase, we see long-term demand for dark fiber networks. Now more than ever, businesses are relying on big data to leverage marketing efforts and increase profits. According to a Baseline study, the average Fortune 100 company can see over $65 million in additional income with just a 10% increase in data accessibility. It’s no secret that high speed, secure data transfer is a must in today’s market, which is what FTS can provide with our dark fiber networks. We will build a low latency, cost-effective solution that allows for nearly unlimited bandwidth with minimal risk and customizable options.
Broadband connectivity is a key selling point in today’s real estate market, with 1 in 10 prospective buyers turning down a sale because of poor Internet access. Installing dark fiber will increase property value and attract new potential buyers. Dark fiber can lead to unlimited opportunities for small towns and rural areas across the United States. Increased broadband and higher connectivity speeds encourage economic development, new business growth and job creation. Bringing fiber to communities also allows easier access to healthcare and services, leading to a better quality of life for local residents.
Every minute, 1.3 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook, 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube, and over 400,000 tweets are sent. With virtually unlimited bandwidth, a dark fiber solution will help distribute and store high quality content for users at faster speeds.
When looking at Healthcare, with nearly 85% of physicians using electronic health records, there is an increased demand for hospitals to have the capability to store and transfer large amounts of medical data. Dark fiber allows hospitals to keep up with constantly evolving technology and improve communication both internally and externally, ultimately resulting in better patient care. With dark fiber, they can rely on a secure network for confidential medical information and get accurate results in the hands of patients faster than before.
Lastly, whether it’s at the local, state or federal level, governments need access to high speed broadband networks and the capability to transfer data securely. With dark fiber, cities and towns city will benefit from quicker emergency response times, more efficient alert systems and new technology and opportunities, thus improving the lives of their constituents.