Competitive service provider US Signal today announced plans to extend its Midwest fiber optic backbone to Milwaukee, building a metro ring in that city, as well as to new access points in suburban Chicago.

US Signal operates a 3000-route-mile fiber backbone with 80 access points and 600 miles of metro fiber in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, where it previously built facilities in Madison. The addition of Milwaukee will provide broader connectivity for US Signal’s business, wholesale, institutional and carrier customers.

“We're excited to bring US Signal facility-based solutions to Milwaukee over our dedicated fiber network,” stated Stephen Oyer, executive vice president of sales and marketing, in a prepared statement. “The addition of the metro Milwaukee Sonet ring and connecting DWDM transport adds cost-effective access for advanced data solutions, as well as one-stop connectivity within or outside the Midwest region.”

US Signal is deploying optical network gear from Cisco Systems on the 81-mile Milwaukee ring, the company said. US Signal sells services ranging from data service for business to collocation and dark fiber services.