As data centers chase power, will fiber follow?

At the Datacloud USA and Metro Connect conferences, fiber industry executives said they are getting plenty of requests from data center developers. But those developers are often pushing projects out of major metro areas in order to chase available power. So, they’re asking for fiber in places that don’t otherwise make economic sense for providers. Sound familiar? Bringing fiber to remote areas is, of course, the goal of the government’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, which continues to evolve and so far has not resulted in many new connections. Could the data center industry step in to connect parts of rural America? That depends in part on whether fiber providers are willing to take the terms offered by data center builders, primarily hyperscalers.