Yesterday, Lightpath announced that it is building its regional network in Eastern Pennsylvania to artificial intelligence (AI) specifications, the third such regional network buildout unveiled this year.
Previously, the company entered the Phoenix, Arizona market (in February) and the Columbus, Ohio market (in April).
The Eastern Pennsylvania buildout will include 130 route miles of AI-grade fiber infrastructure designed to connect the quickly developing data center ecosystem in the region. The first phase of this network will diversely connect numerous data center campuses in the Susquehanna region. Planned future phases will expand the network to more than 400-route miles in total, to keep pace with data center development.
According to the company, the new buildout, when completed in mid 2026, will provide bandwidth connectivity between the new hyperscale AI data center facilities in Eastern Pennsylvania and Ashburn, Virginia, the largest data center and cloud ecosystem in the world.
“The Eastern Pennsylvania data center ecosystem is rapidly growing, and much like Lightpath’s other AI-grade projects, we are aggressively pursuing these opportunities to support our growing portfolio of hyperscale and strategic partners,” Lightpath EVP of Major Infrastructure Solutions Tim Haverkate said in a prepared statement.
“This third project announcement of 2025 is continuing evidence of the trust Lightpath has earned through our tailored approach in connecting these large-scale AI infrastructure markets. Our partners select Lightpath for our proven fiber construction capabilities, commercial flexibility, the agility in which we operate, and having the financial capacity to take on projects of this scale.”
The Phoenix buildout, a planned 230-mile route, was announced in February.
The company said that 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.
