Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ: UNIT) experienced a significant uptick in its stock value during after-hours trading over the weekend, registering a 5.53% increase to $5.92. This rise followed a slight decline of 1.58% during the regular trading session, resulting in a closing price of $5.61. The positive momentum in UNIT stock on the US stock market charts ensued following the release of a corporate report by the company.
Uniti Group (UNIT) unveiled its 2023 Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") Report, detailing the company's ESG-related policies, commitments, and notable achievements in 2023. This comprehensive report is readily accessible on the Company's investor relations website.
Furthermore, earlier in the week, Uniti disclosed a significant expansion of its network in Huntsville, Alabama, one of Uniti's established 30 enterprise markets. This expansion project, expected to cover approximately 70 route miles upon completion, is geared towards supporting one of its strategic hyperscale customers.
Under a recently inked 20-year agreement, Uniti is furnishing multiple conduits and high-strand count fiber to its hyperscale client, facilitating the connectivity of crucial data center locations within the Huntsville metropolitan area. Additionally, this initiative will integrate diverse, long-haul routes linking Huntsville with other regional and national data center markets.
Uniti aims to fortify its relationship with this existing hyperscale client in one of the nation's fastest-growing cities. As the demand for generative Artificial Intelligence applications escalates, coupled with the associated power requisites, Uniti's southeastern tier-two and tier-three markets are increasingly appealing to hyperscalers seeking areas with surplus power capacity.
Subsequently, Uniti commenced supplying fiber infrastructure to local educational institutions starting in 2016. Over the ensuing years, the company secured multiple contracts from major wireless carriers to deploy fiber-based Ethernet backhaul to macro cell sites and dark fiber fronthaul to small cells.
Uniti anticipates completing the deployment of these fiber routes to its client within the next two years, ultimately culminating in the ownership of 190 route miles of dark and lit infrastructure within the Huntsville market.