UK-headquartered shared network specialist Boldyn Networks has agreed to acquire US-based higher-education connectivity provider Apogee Telecom for an undisclosed fee. The announcement follows hard on the heels of its completion, yesterday (March 5), of the purchase of industrial private 5G specialist Edzcom from Spanish tower company Cellnex. Apogee Telecom sells residential networks for students and staff on higher education campuses, plus managed network solutions, fiber infrastructure (as-a-service), and video services.
Boldyn Networks, formerly BAI Communications, has been on a buying spree. It acquired Mobilitie in late 2021, Vilicom in late 2021, Signal Point in early 2022, and ZenFi Networks in late 2022; it has also picked up New York subway comms specialist Transit Wireless. Apogee Telecom claims 350 customers, including the “vast majority of US outsourced on-campus residential infrastructure connectivity”. Boldyn Networks claims a “full portfolio of wireless and fiber connectivity solutions”. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the second quarter.
A press note made reference to the ever-higher demand from students and staff for cloud services and applications (“AI, AR and VR and gaming”), and therefore for ever-higher connectivity capabilities, as provided by Apogee Telecom, with the broader influence of Boldyn Networks (“small cells, fiber, DAS, macro sites, smart cities, and private networks”) as its new parent. It said: “This represents a significant growth opportunity as colleges look to provide the highest quality wireless services to their students through outsourcing to a trusted technology partner.”
Igor Leprince, group chief executive at Boldyn Networks, said: “[The] US higher education [sector] is very attractive as the demand for managed connectivity services continues to grow. It also… complements our ambitious growth strategy. Apogee comes with a very experienced management team with a strong industry reputation, and endless opportunities to take this model to other regions while offering our full portfolio to customers in higher education and helping them to navigate the complex technology evolution and opportunities that come with it.”
Scott Drossos, chief executive at Apogee Telecom, said: “We’ve been working exclusively in this sector for the past 25 years, where there is a lot of growth potential… The synergies [with] Boldyn will open… opportunities to extend our capabilities to existing and new customers… Joining Boldyn means strengthening our technical and financial ability to deliver innovative, state-of-the-art connectivity to colleges and universities.”