HCA deal helps Lumos expand to Richmond area

Central Virginia is new territory for Lumos Networks now that the Waynesboro-based telecommunications company signed a multiyear Ethernet network contract with HCA Virginia in Richmond. The company’s relationship with HCA dates back to 2004 when it began offering voice services to LewisGale Medical Center in Salem.

The contract will increase to 43 the number of HCA locations where Lumos provides fiber services.  “In another 25 locations we will be providing access,” says Joseph McCourt, executive vice president and chief revenue officer for Lumos Networks.

Talks between Lumos and HCA began in June 2012. The new 100-mile fiber network will connect 11 HCA Virginia facilities along with satellite offices and critical-care locations to HCA’s Richmond Data Center.

McCourt is excited about adding the Richmond area to the Lumos network. “Our discussion with HCA was one of the keys to coming to Richmond,” he says. “As a company that is in growth mode and expanding, it made sense to expand to Richmond. Having an anchor tenant like HCA made it an easy decision.”

Lumos plans to provide services to other companies in the area as well. “Our business doesn’t support just HCA,” he says, adding that Lumos is also talking to HCA about expanding its relationship out of the current footprint.

The company, which was part of Waynesboro-based NTELOS Holdings Corp. until 2011, provides communications infrastructure that helps businesses tap into cloud computing through broadband connections. The majority of the company’s customers are in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It also has customers in Kentucky, Ohio and Maryland. “That makes Lumos unique in the depth and breadth of network in a rural area,” McCourt says.

Customers include businesses involved in health care, higher education and finance as well as state and local governments. Several major national wireless carriers rely on Lumos to provide services to them so they can offer services to their customers.

Lumos’ business is growing every quarter. The majority of the company’s revenues are now coming from strategic data and “it’s our goal to continue that trend,” McCourt says.