Cbeyond Inc. is extending availability of its dark fiber to small businesses, a strategy that comes as the provider works toward the closing of its acquisition by Birch Communications.

Birch already targets small businesses, and with the Cbeyond purchase, aims to strengthen that tactic as well as take advantage of Cbeyond’s larger base of enterprises.

For small business customers, the Cbeyond news means the ability to access small businesses that tend to be provisioned to bigger users. To that point, Cbeyond said this week its dark fiber can be turned on as needed in both on-net and near-net buildings. Most of the capabilities apply to multitenant facilities in metro markets that so far include Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco, among others.

“Small businesses have typically been excluded from fiber network availability, but now there is no reason for that market to be underserved,” said Mark Masi, vice president of fiber implementation and administration at Cbeyond. “Cbeyond is offering a greater number of small businesses the option of choosing an affordable, scalable, high-speed network that can positively transform their business.”

Cbeyond started deploying its fiber network in 2012 thanks to a partnership with Zayo Group.