Going Below

Northern Virginia has long been known as the data center capital of the world, owing to its status as one of the original four Network Access Points (NAP). That industry dominance, however, has created a need for other data center markets to emerge and provide further options for companies looking to take advantage of Virginia’s tech-savvy workforce.

However, a new world-class data center hub is taking shape along Virginia’s Interstate 64 corridor between Virginia Beach and Richmond. The installation of the MAREA and BRUSA subsea cables that land in Virginia Beach and terminate in Richmond has connected this region with European, Latin American, and South American markets. The facility where these cables terminate is a mega-data center outside Richmond. This unique combination of internet assets and capabilities has created what is called the Richmond NAP — the location where subsea fiber cables, powerful data centers, and terrestrial networks all converge to provide access to some of the fastest data transmission in the world.

 

MAREA is an ultra-high-speed 200 terabits(TB)/second fiber optic cable originating in Bilbao, Spain — 200TB/second is equivalent to downloading 12,000 high-definition movies per second — owned by Microsoft and Facebook and operated by Telxius, a Spanish telecommunications infrastructure subsidiary of the Telefónica Group. BRUSA is a 138TB/second cable owned and operated by Telxius originating in Rio de Janeiro. Both cables are among the most data-rich, highest-speed connections in the world.

A World-Class Data Center in Richmond

The MAREA and BRUSA sea cables were established in Virginia Beach in response to growing demand by U.S. companies for high-capacity, low-latency connectivity to Europe and South America. Both cables land at the Virginia Beach Cable Landing Station, which is owned and operated by Telxius.

In Richmond, QTS Realty Trust, a provider of hybrid colocation and mega-scale data centers, owns the closest Tier 3-designed data center to the MAREA and BRUSA cables. The 1.3-million-square-foot facility features more than 500,000 square feet of raised floor capacity and provides a wide range of IT infrastructure services.

The combined capabilities of the QTS-Telxius partnership are now attracting technology and internet companies to the I-64 corridor. The Richmond NAP is an attractive alternative for companies looking for the fastest, most effective internet routes to foreign markets, including Bank of America’s recent expansions in Henrico County and Facebook’s coming data center in White Oak Technology Park.

MAREA Cable at Sea

Attracting Major Clients

Capital investments have increased sharply in Henrico County since the deployment of the cables, with the county accounting for 53% of announced statewide investments in data processing and hosting, compared to just 6% from 2008–2016, according to a Mangum Economics report.

“The confluence of the MAREA and BRUSA next-generation subsea cables and the QTS Richmond NAP are establishing Richmond as a premier North American global interconnection hub,” said Sean Baillie, chief of staff for QTS Realty Trust said.

Facebook’s $1.75 billion data center campus is scheduled to become operational in 2020. The company is one of many looking to take advantage of increased capacity. More growth is expected as companies increasingly seek other routes through the Richmond NAP to major East Coast and Midwest cities.

• Enhanced connectivity for local businesses
• Growth of suppliers and vendors that support the IT industry
• Sustained growth for the regional construction industry as more data centers are built
• Higher internet speeds and reduced risk of failure outages

“The NAP is an absolute game changer for Henrico County,” Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas said. “With access to some of the fastest subsea cables in the world, the NAP puts Henrico County and central Virginia on the map with the 10 other U.S. major interconnection hubs. I do not believe that the impact the NAP will have on the quality of life for our region can be fully realized yet.”

A Promising Future

The subsea cables are fueling growth in the nearby Hampton Roads market in addition to increased activity in Richmond. Recent Hampton Roads data center announcements include:

• Globalinx Data Centers plans to build a 150,000-square-foot, three-phased data center campus in Virginia Beach, including a 10,750-square-foot, carrier-neutral cable landing station.
• ACA International has announced it will construct a 130,000-square-foot data center in Virginia Beach that includes corporate headquarters offices and a Tier 3 data center to provide neutral colocation services and to serve as the cable landing station for future subsea telecommunications cables.
• PointOne will invest $80 million to build two 31,000-square-foot facilities in Virginia Beach that will house computing data centers and a cable landing station for future subsea cables.

Companies with global markets expect instant communication and collaboration with partners and customers around the world, relying on infrastructure that provides 24/7/365, high-performance connectivity. The I-64 corridor is an ideal geographic location for North American access to subsea cables that provide these high-speed connections.

ACA International and Telxius plan to land new high-speed cables at Virginia Beach. Large content providers such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon are also increasingly involved in funding and constructing new cables.

“The internet and its growth, such as the new QTS Richmond NAP, means every company is global and as such has access to new customers, technologies and even employees,” Baillie said. “Just a few years ago, you rarely heard talk about subsea cables when you were talking about data center infrastructure. Today, virtually every data center is making interconnection with subsea cables a priority to support data-driven global business.”

Virginia provides an advanced network of IT infrastructure assets and data center providers, as well as available fiber easements, tax breaks, scalable power, and a highly educated workforce.

“This confluence of domestic and international connectivity has established the region as an international business destination, setting the stage for the next wave of investment and economic growth,” Baillie said.