Regional broadband provider Archtop Fiber has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire GTel, a fiber-based voice, video and Internet provider based in Germantown, NY.
GTel, which has been in business for 95 years, provides services in more than five townships across Columbia County. The acquisition in pending regulatory approvals and is expected to close in early 2023. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are honored GTel has entrusted us to continue the remarkable legacy it has established over nearly a century. Just like GTel, we are committed to innovation and building a brighter future for our neighbors in southern Columbia County and beyond,” Archtop Fiber founder and CEO Jeff DeMond said in a press release. “We have a deep-rooted relationship with GTel and are proud to keep the company’s momentum going. We will leverage our knowledge and experience to expand digital growth and bring even more jobs and tech-driven opportunities to this vibrant area.”
Archtop Fiber detailed its overall strategy in August. It said it would bring multi-gigabit fiber to underserved communities in the Hudson Valley. It is backed by the Post Road Group, which says that it will invest more than $350 million and aims to eventually bring service to more than 500,000 homes and businesses throughout the northeast.
Late last month, the company said that it had entered into an agreement to bring services to the town and village of Saugerties, NY. The project, which is scheduled to break ground this month, will eventually span 250 fiber miles. It will include Kingston—the town in which Archtop Fiber is headquartered—Ulster and other locations.
Archtop Fiber will leverage XGS-PON technology. In June, the Dell’Oro Group said that broadband access equipment sales increased 14% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the year-ago quarter. The firm said that XGS-PON drove the increase.
