Marconi to Deploy Deep Fiber to Austin-San Antonio Corridor

LONDON and PITTSBURGH, Dec. 19 -- Marconi has signed a five-year, $80 million networking supply agreement with Grande Communications, a Texas-based broadband service provider, to bring optical fiber connectivity to within 750 feet of most of Grande's customers, allowing faster Internet, telephone and cable television services from a single provider.

Grande is building the first broadband network for Texans along the I-35 corridor and in the Houston area. It began offering services to neighborhoods in Austin, San Marcos and San Antonio in February and plans to provide bundled services to other markets as sections of the network are completed. It currently has franchise approvals for 29 cities along the I-35 corridor, allowing it to pass more than 1 million homes in the next five to seven years.