Ownership of wholesale fiber networks is becoming increasingly strategic for operators and their infrastructure partners. Not only are these valuable for expanding broadband services into new areas, but they are in rising demand to backhaul small cell, WiFi and smart city networks (see separate item). If they come combined with some spectrum in the fashionable high frequency bands, such as LMDS, the excitement is even higher. Hence the strong reaction to reports that US fiber provider, Level 3 Communications – which also owns LMDS spectrum licences via its 2006 acquisition of Telcove – is up for sale. This would follow Verizon’s proposed purchase of the fiber unit of XO Communications, another wholesale infrastructure player with LMDS spectrum, both of which…