Lightpath, the Altice USA-owned enterprise fiber provider, is expanding its footprint in the New York Tri-State area by connecting its network with DataVerge’s Industry City data center in Brooklyn, New York
Ruben Magurdumov, DataVerge co-founder and COO, explained to Fierce Lightpath’s move was a “no-brainer,” given the company already had a presence in DataVerge’s nearby Jersey City site. Essentially, Lightpath is using the data center to offer all its services, such as optical transport and point-to-point dark fiber, to a wider range of customers.
“We are actually the only data center in Brooklyn,” he said, noting the New York City borough is “growing rapidly.” Boasting over 50,000 square feet, the Industry City site hosts around 30 carriers, including major operators like AT&T, Charter Communications, Cogent, Verizon and Zayo.
“What we’re able to do is really have a large expansion of all the different networks that are currently placed in our Brooklyn location,” Magurdumov continued. “We basically have dark fiber connectivity going through all 19 buildings…any type of customers that are looking for connectivity are now able to connect to Lightpath through our ecosystem.”
Not only is Lightpath running its network through Industry City, but it’s also “built out a fiber presence” by providing cross connects to DataVerge’s carrier-neutral meet-me rooms, which are locations within the data center where ISPs and carrier networks can connect with one another.
“You have all 30 carriers inside that Meet-Me Room and somebody that wants to connect to one of those carriers, that inter-connection process takes place inside that room,” said Magurdumov. “So if you have an end-user that would like to have Lightpath services, the connection is established inside the Meet-Me Room.”
For Lightpath’s part, CEO Chris Morley stated in a press release the company is “delighted to increase and enhance connectivity for tenants, customers and carriers, as well as support in-building connectivity services” for Industry City.
Altice USA fully owned Lightpath until July 2020, when it sold nearly half of its stake to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners for about $3.2 billion. Since then, Lightpath has beefed up its fiber network, debuting last year a 300-mile route network from New York City to Ashburn, Virginia as well as 70 route miles between Connecticut and New York state. It ended the year by announcing in November plans to build a 135-mile network in the Miami metro region, with a 55-mile section set to be ready for service by early this year.
All told, Lightpath’s network consists of over 20,000 fiber route miles that provide connectivity to more than 13,500 service locations in the U.S. Magurdumov pointed out not only is Lightpath expanding its presence in Brooklyn, it’s continuing to connect its customers to “critical digital destinations throughout the country.”