Data Center

Quantum Loophole breaks ground on massive data campus in Frederick, MD

June 28, 2022

The site, which will occupy more than 2100 acres in Frederick, MD, is designed to offer a nearby alternative to the increasingly crowded data center ecosystem in Ashburn, VA, for those looking to establish data center or colocation facilities.

Stephen Hardy

Quantum Loophole recently held a ground-breaking ceremony for its large-scale campus in Frederick, MD

Quantum Loophole, Inc., developer of gigawatt-scale master-planned data center communities, has broken ground on the first of its campuses. The site, which will occupy more than 2100 acres in Frederick, MD, is designed to offer a nearby alternative to the increasingly crowded data center ecosystem in Ashburn, VA, for those looking to establish data center or colocation facilities.

The site will be designed to serve the needs of a variety of data center operators, including hyperscalers, as well as colocation service providers. The two-year campus construction project includes the installation of the necessary power distribution and underground power ducts, water and sewer pump stations and piping, underground fiber distribution ducts, roads and entryways, and several environmental projects.

A significant feature of the Frederick campus will the QLoop fiber network, which will provide connectivity to Ashburn as well as other locations. The conduit-based infrastructure will support more than 200,000 strands of fiber and offer connections with 20-ms latency to Ashburn. To aid the provision of rapid connectivity, the two networking centers on the campus will leverage Telescent automated robotic cross connects. The cross connects will enable connectivity creation in minutes without the need for truck rolls and other human intervention, according to Quantum Loophole.

Josh Snowhorn, founder and CEO of Quantum Loophole, described the campus effort and some of the connectivity requirements and challenges as part of a panel during Data Center Week, the online conference co-produced earlier this month by Cabling Installation & Maintenance, Data Center Frontier, and Lightwave (see https://endeavor.swoogo.com/datacenterweek/1940403; all sessions are available for viewing on demand). Aligned Data Centers is the first announced tenant for the campus.

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.