A Data Center Middle-Mile Solution Could Also Serve Rural Broadband Providers

The middle mile has been a problem for rural broadband service providers since early DSL services in the 1990s. Even today, the distance between a rural BSP’s service area to the nearest connection to the core network could be hundreds of miles. Establishing a fiber link to the core network is costly, and, with the distances involved, latency will creep into the service no matter how fast the last-mile, fiber-to-the-home speeds might be. Companies that require very low latency for their fiber communications have turned to using internet exchange points. An IXP is, simply put, a way to bring the internet closer to the user. It is a physical location located at an intermediate point between the core network and connecting internet service providers. A high-speed backbone line connects a small building or room in an office building to a series of switches. The result is a shorter middle mile, lower cost, and lower latency. To date, however, IXPs have been a tool to improve connectivity for large companies in urban areas and rarely in rural areas. In fact, 14 states have no IXPs. But that could be changing as data center owners seek rural areas to build facilities and meet the connectivity demands created by artificial intelligence.