EarthLink Adds Long-Haul Fiber Route Between Two Major Cities

EarthLink Inc. is adding a long-haul fiber route between Memphis and Chicago.

The expansion should be done by the end of the year, with a metro fiber ring in Memphis completed early next.

The new Memphis-to-Chicago long-haul route will extend EarthLink’s reach with up to 10GB service between the two cities, and provide network diversity and redundancy.

The Memphis metro fiber ring, meantime, is a Wave/SONET-enabled OC-192 ring on the 10GB backbone. It will give EarthLink more footprint in Memphis and offer the carrier access to metro and cellular operators in the city.

This long-haul route encompasses major wireless centers and, importantly, provides a redundant connection point between our Northeast and Southeast fiber networks,” said Jim O’Brien, an infrastructure executive for EarthLink.