Denver-based infrastructure supplier Zayo on Wednesday stated a brand new 622-mile long-haul fiber route has been accomplished, providing new entry to low-latency connections for knowledge facilities within the western US.
The Umatilla-Prineville-Reno (UPR) long-haul fiber route will interconnect with Zayo’s present 19.5 million fiber miles and 1,700 linked knowledge facilities all through the US. The corporate stated the route will ship new entry to underserved areas in Oregon, California, and Nevada.
The route gives a substitute for the 290-mile I-5 fiber hall, which runs alongside Interstate 5 by California and Washington.
“With out connectivity, knowledge facilities and AI factories are simply costly fridges: chilly containers of compute with no means for knowledge to get in or out,” Invoice Lengthy, chief product and technique officer at Zayo, stated in a press release. “We’re delivering the capability and attain the place it’s wanted to make sure AI can work, scale, and innovate with out limits.”
The UPR is constructed with SMF-29 fiber, a number of conduits, and 13 Zayo-owned signal-boosting in-line amplifiers (ILAs). The venture was partially funded by the NTIA Center Mile Grant Program. Zayo was awarded $92.9 million within the grant to prop up infrastructure throughout eight states and over 2,100 route miles.
Earlier this 12 months, Zayo unveiled plans to construct 5,000 new long-haul route miles by 2030, addressing bandwidth bottlenecks and supporting the growing infrastructure wants for AI and cloud workloads. The corporate additionally plans to assemble fiber routes from Texas to Atlanta.
Areas for the tasks have been based mostly on the necessity for quicker broadband in rural areas and socio-economic elements.
“Zayo is deeply dedicated to offering connectivity to unserved and underserved communities,” Lengthy stated.
A Rising Want
A 2025 Fiber Broadband Association report stated that 2.3 occasions extra fiber is required within the US to assist AI efficiency, scalability, and safety. The US is predicted to see hyperscale knowledge heart capability triple by 2029, in keeping with the report.
“The necessity for quick, safe, low-latency connections between hyperscale knowledge facilities has accelerated with the delivery of AI,” Deborah Kish, vice chairman of analysis and workforce improvement at FBA, stated in a launch.
