Because of Power Availability, Fiber Providers Racing to Connect Remote Data Centers

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 24, 2025 — The data center landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift with power availability now dictating location decisions, forcing fiber providers to adapt with unprecedented long-haul infrastructure builds, industry leaders said Feb. 25 at the MetroConnect conference here.

"It used to be the decision was made, 'Hey, I need to be somewhat near a fiber footprint.' Now it's 'Where's the power?' And then everyone else has to figure out how to get to me from there," said A.J. Moul, vice president of wholesale for Frontier Communications.

Arnab Ghosal, vice president and chief operating officer of Southern Telecom, highlighted the scale of power demand fueling this transformation. His parent company, Southern Company, currently has 50,000 megawatts in its connection queue, with about 10,000 megawatts of "legit load" expected in the next five years.