Lightpath is bringing its fiber connectivity to the Phoenix, Arizona market with a planned 230-mile route in the region, which the company says will be anchored by hyperscale customers.
The company said the buildout is designed to meet the area, with hyperscalers planning for AI-related initiatives. Lightpath had previously announced $110 million of AI-related bookings in 2024 with a remaining demand pipeline of approximately $1 billion.
Data centers will be the predominant customers of the announced Lightpath buildout in Phoenix, with eight carrier hotels and data centers to be connected during the initial buildout and more than 30 other data centers near the planned routes.
The Lightspeed infrastructure will include multi-conduit systems with capacity for 20,000 fibers to connect emerging data center ecosystems in Goodyear, Buckeye, Chandler, Glendale, Mesa, and Tempe, with additional connectivity to major carrier hotels throughout Phoenix Metro.
Construction is already underway. The first routes will be completed by the end of the second quarter of this year. Lightpath plans to make subsequent routes will be service-ready on a phased basis, with overall completion of the Phoenix network in 2026.
The company will provide a full range of infrastructure and connectivity services on its Phoenix network, including high-count dark fiber, conduit services, wavelengths up to 800 Gbps, ethernet, and internet.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with our hyperscale customers to develop the next generation of fiber infrastructure in greater metropolitan Phoenix,” Chris Morley, Lightpath CEO, said in the announcement. “Phoenix represents the fifth largest data center ecosystem globally with 1.6 gigawatts of operational capacity and an additional gigawatt planned by 2027.”
A little less than two years ago, Lightpath announced the launch of its enhanced national long-haul network that would offer high bandwidth wavelength and Ethernet services between Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Ashburn, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, and Miami. Lightpath had announced its entrance into the Miami market in late 2022
