The Ledes came up with a solution to this problem and negotiated a deal with the Canadian National Railway to install the cable in the railroad's rights of way alongside the tracks.
The company made significant contributions to the linear construction industry by inventing and patenting the Railplow, that is mounted on a flatbed railcar and used to rapidly excavate a trench alongside railroad tracks, install conduits used for housing fiber optic cables, then backfilling the trench and completing the construction and installation process within a very short span of time.
This technology enabled 360networks to rapidly lay out a North American fiber optic network throughout Canada and the United States along and within numerous railroad rights of way.
In 2000, the company changed its name to 360networks Inc., and its United States entity to 360networks (USA)inc., to better describe its 360-degree focus on a global network.
[6][7] In August 2000, the company acquired 11,000 miles of fiber optic infrastructure from Call-Net Enterprises Incorporated for $162.5 million.
[19][20] In July 2005, Greg Maffei vacated his position as CEO to work for Oracle Corporation, but remained chairman.