Edge data center vendor Cologix tapped Bandwidth IG to bring custom dark fiber connectivity to its SV1 data center in the heart of Silicon Valley. The move will help Cologix meet the growing demand for mission-critical connectivity driven by a surge in IoT devices and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

This collaboration represents a “leap forward in empowering businesses to address their high-capacity network needs with unmatched speed, reliability and scalability with high-speed connections between multiple locations,” Cologix Head of Product Peg Hallberg told SDxCentral.

Dark fiber refers to optical fiber cables that have been installed but aren’t yet connected to optical equipment or transmitting data. As the name suggests, dark fiber cables literally lack the light signals used to share data over optical fibers.

Organizations using dark fiber can connect their optical equipment to the fiber and establish private networks. “This gives them full control over the capacity, speed and security of their data transmissions” and allows IT teams to “customize their network architecture and efficiently manage bandwidth according to their specific requirements,” Hallberg said.

The decision to work with Bandwidth IG was driven by the vendor’s underground network, which helps meet critical data requirements for enterprises and data centers that need new, quality connectivity options. Bandwidth IG’s San Francisco Bay Area network, in particular, serves 65 data centers and more than 310 route miles.

“Bandwidth IG’s dark fiber provides secure, seamless and scalable connectivity between facilities and providers,” Hallberg said.

“Partnerships like this are important because they not only extend more dark fiber services to Cologix, but provide interconnection across the San Francisco Bay area and beyond,” Bandwidth IG CEO Bruce Garrison said.

Silicon Valley represents one of the quickest growing data center markets in the world, thanks to the area’s strong fiber connectivity to internet backbones and an increased density of hyperscale onramps. That means Cologix’s dark fiber data center is in close physical proximity to major cloud and AI companies with high-density and -performance computing requirements, which are ideal use cases for this type of connectivity.

Hallberg expects the Silicon Valley data center will also be attractive to a wider variety of organizations. “It’s at the epicenter of innovation and investment dollars for entrepreneurs and startups,” she said.

The region was also attractive for its affordable utility rates at Silicon Valley Power in Santa Clara.

“We are excited to see the immense value this partnership brings to businesses seeking reliable, scalable and high-speed connectivity solutions,” Hallberg said.