Zayo closes $4.25B purchase of Crown Castle fiber, adding 40,000 on-net buildings

Zayo closed its $4.25 billion acquisition of Crown Castle's fiber solutions business on May 1, 2026, about a year after signing, Fierce Network reported. The deal adds about 90,000 route miles and 40,000 on-net enterprise locations, bringing Zayo's North American network to 224,000 route miles. Crown Castle's small cells business was sold separately to EQT's Active Core Infrastructure Fund and renamed Arium Networks; Zayo signed a long-term agreement to supply it fiber. Zayo also announced 8,000 new long-haul route miles backed by a new anchor tenant.

Many businesses that bought dedicated internet, Ethernet or dark fiber from Crown Castle now have Zayo as their provider. Forty thousand on-net buildings is a meaningful footprint, and it changes the competitive picture in metro markets where Crown Castle and Zayo previously bid against each other for the same buildings.

If you have Crown Castle circuits, confirm your account, billing and support contacts with Zayo, and check whether your contract's service levels, pricing and renewal terms carry over unchanged. If your building previously had both Crown Castle and Zayo as separate options, recognize that your on-net choices may have narrowed, and plan renewals accordingly. Ask for a diverse-path review if your primary and backup circuits now sit with the same owner.

On the positive side, a larger on-net footprint can mean faster installs and more route options. Get current quotes from Zayo and at least one competing carrier before your next renewal so you know the market rate.