Cogent buys UFO

Cogent Communications today announced it has acquired the majority of Unlimited Fiber Optics assets for an undisclosed sum. The San Francisco-based carrier provides point-to-point layer 2 services in the Bay Area and other areas of the West Coast.

Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer said that UFO’s network fits perfectly into Cogent’s plans to launch Layer 2 services next month. While Cogent is upgrading its Layer 3 Ethernet nationwide network now to handle point-to-point services, the UFO purchase will give it an immediate customer base of 67 customers.

Though only one UFO market lies outside of Cogent’s current footprint, many of the West Coast markets have buildings not fed by Cogent. The deal will allow Cogent to spread its initial launch of Layer 2 services from its original five planned markets of Chicago, Dallas, New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco to the entire West Coast as well as expand Cogent’s reach in those markets, Schaeffer said.

Cogent began mulling the idea of a Layer 2 service launch earlier this year after its purchase of LambdaNet’s assets in Western Europe. After taking over LambdaNet’s Layer 2 network, Cogent saw the demand for those services across the continent and decided to launch them in the U.S. as well, Schaeffer said.