Bandwidth IG Launches San Francisco Bay Area Dark Fiber Network Expansion

Bandwidth IG announced that the company’s latest network expansion in the San Francisco Bay Area will deliver over 310 route miles and more than 2 million fiber miles to one of the largest data center markets in the world. Bandwidth IG’s new fiber network will include the first marine cable laid in over 20 years under the San Francisco Bay, with a high-capacity fiber ring that connects Great Oaks and Santa Clara, up the East Bay and Peninsula. It ties into downtown San Francisco to create the newest and highest capacity fiber ring in the Bay Area.

“With unprecedented demand for data center space and power, providing the San Francisco Bay Area with new purpose-built, mission-critical infrastructure becomes a market necessity,” said Patton Lochridge, Chief Commercial Officer for Bandwidth IG. “Dark fiber is the foundation of data transmission but many incumbent networks in the Bay Area lack capacity or are not capable of meeting the needs of the world’s largest consumers of data. By continuing our focus on new fiber infrastructure, we’re creating a path for connectivity in critical areas of the market that will allow hyperscalers and data centers to fully leverage AI and other society-changing technologies.”

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the Silicon Valley data center market will remain a top North American market, with cloud and AI contributing to demand. The market has 824MW in operation and another 315MW under construction, which demonstrates the need for more fiber to empower the data center ecosystem of Silicon Valley.

In addition to providing added capacity to the market, Bandwidth IG’s networks are intentionally placed to provide the most direct route, which reduces latency. To enclose the northern part of the ring and create a direct path for connectivity between San Francisco and the East Bay area, Bandwidth IG constructed one of the only subsea routes under the San Francisco Bay with the highest fiber count available in the market. It’s also the first fiber cable under the Bay to be installed for communications services in decades.

Bandwidth IG’s San Francisco Bay Area network is on net to more than 65 data centers and will reach 10 additional facilities upon completion of the expansion. The project is expected to be complete by Q2 2024. 

Source: Bandwidth IG media announcement