BAI Communications said it would acquire ZenFi Networks, with the two companies expected to close the deal in the fourth quarter. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the deal further underscores BAI’s goal of growing into a strong player in the neutral host digital infrastructure market in the U.S. and globally.

Acquiring ZenFi will provide BAI with approximately 1,100 miles of fiber across New York and New Jersey, as well as a unique C-RAN solution and some existing customer contracts with enterprises and mobile network operators, according to the companies.

BAI will also receive the rights to ZenFi to provide mobile devices at 4,000 LinkNYC kiosks in New York. LinkNYC kiosks currently provide New Yorkers with free Wi-Fi and other digital services, but the city recently announced its goal to upgrade those sites with 5G.

BAI’s acquisition of ZenFi builds on its recent acquisitions of other telecom networks. BAI acquired Mobilitie (220 distributed antenna networks, 10,000 small cells and 300 tower sites in the US) in 2021, followed by Signal Point Systems (which has installed more than 300 small cells on US military bases). BAI has also been a long-term majority shareholder in Transit Wireless, which operates wireless networks in the New York City subway system primarily through a deal with the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). Today, Transit Wireless operates approximately 160 miles of fiber, serving 283 subway stations on 22 metro lines.

Small cells could become a key part of the digital infrastructure landscape.

Ray LaChance, co-founder and CEO of ZenFi, said: “Bringing together the reputation and relationships ZenFi Networks has built in New York City and surrounding areas, as well as our expertise in fast-growing areas such as small cell deployments, with BAI in North America and the combination of global scale and coverage, which creates the perfect platform to capture the growth opportunities of growing 5G and interconnected infrastructure.”

All in all, BAI’s acquisition in the US shows the company’s ambition to join DigitalBridge, Crown Castle and other digital infrastructure operators in the US. These companies have been working to accumulate ownership of various such infrastructure assets, whether standard, macro cells, small cells, fiber networks or data centers. As neutral hosting operators, they then sell access to that infrastructure to cloud computing companies, venue owners, mobile network operators and others.

To be clear, BAI’s goals are not limited to the United States. The company has various digital infrastructure businesses in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the UK and, most recently, Italy. Canada Pension Plan Investments (CPP Investments) owns 86% of Australia-based BAI. BAI, formerly the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, now has 752 broadcast and television stations and 400 base stations in the country.

BAI is clearly in expansion mode. Led by former Nokia executive Igor Leprince, BAI recently won a 20-year contract to build a vast telecommunications network within the London Metro system. In the US, New York’s MTA recently proposed a ten-year, $600 million plan to install base station equipment in all of the city’s subway tunnels.