Cincinnati Bell (CBB) Receives Wireless Backhaul Contract

Cincinnati Bell, Inc. (NYSE:CBB) is progressing with new business prospects and opportunities. The company reportedly received a 1,100-site wireless tower backhaul contract. The deal enables the company to be the backhaul service provider of almost all the towers in Cincinnati.

Small Cell & Backhaul

The telecom service provider confirmed that it has a contract to build 260 sites. The company, in collaboration with a larger carrier, has deployed around 230-235 small cell sites.

The company is in talks with other wireless operators for full-fledged 5G deployment. Teaming up with dark fiber partners will help in backhaul small cell densification projects. Dark fiber provides abundant bandwidth required for smooth functioning of wireless networks such as 4G and 5G. Dark fiber-based backhaul provides scalability and efficiency to bandwidth management. This will enable the company to significantly reduce backhaul costs.

Hawaiian Prospects

Meanwhile, Cincinnati Bell is also eyeing business opportunities with wireless backhaul and small-cell expansion in Hawaii. The company is also planning to expand fiber foothold in Hawaii.

Notably, Cincinnati Bell recently received the conditional approval from the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' (DCCA) Cable Television Division (CATV) for the buyout of Hawaiian Telecom Holdco, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCOM) . This marks a major progress in the deal closure process.

In November, the merger completed the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act review period. Hawaiian Telecom shareholders approved the proposed deal. The deal is currently under review by the Federal Communications Commission and the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Hawaii. The deal is expected to close as soon as all regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions are met.

The merged entity is expected to provide high-speed, high-bandwidth fiber optic network while building a complementary IT solutions and cloud services business in Cincinnati and Hawaii.

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Cincinnati Bell currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the past three months, the company’s shares have returned 6.0% against the industry’s decline of 3.9%.

Recent Deals

In October 2017, Cincinnati Bell completed the $201-million acquisition of OnX Enterprise Solutions. The takeover will help the company's transition to a hybrid IT-solutions provider.

In November 2017, CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE:CTL) finally completed the acquisition of Level 3 Communications amid regulatory approval from authorities and states.

In February 2017, Windstream Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:WIN) acquired EarthLink Holdings Corp. The deal witnessed the incorporation of 29,000 fiber-optic route miles from EarthLink, taking the total to 145,000 route miles.

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