After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, Allied Fiber’s Southeast network subsidiary is set to put its assets up for auction in July.

Allied Fiber had hoped to provide dark fiber and carrier neutral colocation services across the US, but AF’s push into the southeast proved too costly to remain viable.

Allied Fiber South East locations
Allied Fiber South East locations – Allied Fiber

Icarus falls

Speaking at a DCD conference in 2009, Allied Fiber CEO Hunter Newby said he wanted to build a single large fiber ring around America to provide intermediate access points in states that currently do not have any choice in backhaul except from the incumbent telecoms.

The service provider then spent $20.5 million making preparations to build a Northeast route, but was unsuccessful.

AF Southeast, on the other hand, originally had better luck. It built a dark fiber network connecting 11 colocation facilities that are around 60 miles (96.6km) apart by short-haul fibers, with the network’s long-haul connection points located in Miami, Jacksonville and Atlanta.

Construction finished last spring, but business failed to pick up, Telecom Ramblings reports. AF Southeast ended February 2016 with $8.5M in annualized operating costs and only $0.5M in annual recurring revenues. The next month the company fired all employees to cut costs, and hired back a small number to keep things running.

The move failed to turn things around, causing the subsidiary to file for bankruptcy. The auction will be held on 12 July, with a bid deadline of 7 July.