BIG Fiber’s CoreSite San Jose build solidifies its Bay Area dark fiber presence
Key Highlights
- BIG Fiber’s new infrastructure provides high-capacity, AI-ready dark fiber connecting over 65 data centers in the Bay Area.
- The expansion includes a subsea fiber route under the Bay, the first in decades, and a buildout into CoreSite’s SV1 data center for improved tenant connectivity.
- Physical path diversity is implemented with a second entrance into SV1, ensuring network reliability and resilience against congestion.
- The company’s network now spans over 310 route miles with 2 million fiber miles, serving critical data centers and enterprise clients.
- A $140 million green loan from ING supports BIG Fiber’s environmentally sustainable growth, meeting Green Loan Principles and expanding high-capacity fiber infrastructure.
BIG Fiber, a dark fiber provider, has put the finishing touches on its San Francisco Bay Area expansion effort with a connection into CoreSite’s SV1 data center in San Jose.
What’s significant about this deployment is that it creates an AI-enabled network that allows for scale across more than 65 interconnected data centers.
As an insurgent fiber provider, BIG Fiber can start with a cleaner fiber slate, free of older fiber network facilities installed 20 or 30 years ago. In particular, the older networks lack the capacity and physical diversity to accommodate the ongoing adoption of AI.
Take BIG Fiber’s build for the Bay Crossing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Launched in 2024, the unique subsea route was the first fiber cable under the Bay to be installed for communications services in decades.
BIG Fiber’s latest 6,000-foot buildout into CoreSite’s facility at 55 S. Market Street in San Jose provides tenants with access to a new, purpose-built network designed for current and future demands.
“Our latest expansion is the final piece of the puzzle for our San Jose footprint,” said Patton Lochridge, CCO at BIG Fiber. “In dense environments like downtown San Jose, achieving true route diversity is an engineering challenge.”
He added that “by investing in this new infrastructure, we provide our customers with paths that bypass the congestion of legacy networks.”
Focus on density, diversity
With the addition of this new site, BIG Fiber is now present in the majority of major carrier hotels encircling the Bay Area, including key hubs at 200 Paul in San Francisco, 1100 Space Park Drive and 2820 Northwestern in Santa Clara, and the Great Oaks campus in Santa Clara.
BIG Fiber’s San Francisco Bay Area network has more than 310 route miles and 2 million fiber miles, connecting the most critical data centers across the region.
The expansion into CoreSite’s SV1 data center enables tenants to leverage BIG Fiber’s dark fiber for high-speed, low-latency connectivity. To ensure maximum reliability, BIG Fiber is implementing a second entrance into the building, offering physical path diversity.
“The addition of BIG Fiber to our SV1 data center enhances the value we provide to our tenants by offering them new, diverse dark fiber routes that are essential for navigating today’s data-heavy environment,” said Matt Senderhauf, VP of Interconnection Strategy at CoreSite.
What are Green Loan Principles (GLP)?
The Loan Market Association (LMA) Green Loan Principles (GLP) are voluntary guidelines creating a framework for the green loan market, requiring loan proceeds fund "Green Projects" (i.e., renewable energy and green buildings) with clear environmental benefits, using defined processes for project selection, tracking funds and detailed reporting on use and impact, promoting a standardized, eco-friendly lending approach across financial markets.
Eying further expansion
Having already activated over 100 on-net data centers and over 600 miles of route fiber, the company serves enterprises and cloud providers with AI-ready infrastructure across its three core markets.
Looking forward, BIG Fiber plans additional expansions, with construction of 300 route miles in progress across existing markets and at least one new market set to launch in the Midwest.
BIG Fiber got a boost last June when it increased its green loan facility with ING to $140 million from $90 million.
The expanded financing provided by ING Capital LLC, with continued commitments from BankUnited, N.A., and Woodforest National Bank, and a new commitment from Third Coast Bank, will further support BIG Fiber’s mission to develop high-capacity fiber networks for hyperscalers and cloud providers, enhancing AI support.
What’s notable about BIG Fiber’s green loan with ING was that it was the first of its kind in the dark fiber market. It aligns with the Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles, ensuring that BIG Fiber’s network expansion meets specific environmental sustainability standards.
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Fiber to data center builds accelerate
As hyperscalers and cloud operators expand their data center reach, the need for fiber to these facilities has never been more pressing. Several new dark fiber expansions have emerged over the past year to accommodate these demands:
- Lumen secured $8.5 billion in deals with tech giants (Microsoft, Google, AWS, Meta) for AI-focused fiber infrastructure, aiming for 45% AI network utilization by 2027.
- Zayo invested $4 billion in 5,000 miles of fiber for AI/cloud expansion, including new routes and upgrades.
- Arcadian Infracom added over 3,500 route miles of fiber on the West Coast.
- ZB8 Infra built a new fiber route in Virginia between Ashburn, Richmond, and Virginia Beach cable landing stations.
- Lightpath is expanding its fiber reach into various markets, including Columbus, Miami, and Phoenix, to support AI data center growth.
- BIG Fiber completes the latest expansion of its San Francisco Bay Area network with a strategic buildout into CoreSite’s SV1 data center in San Jose.
- Astound Business Solutions has built a 300-mile fiber route, connecting NYC's 111 Eighth Avenue data center to Ashburn, Virginia.
About the Author
Sean BuckleySean Buckley
Sean is the Editor-in-Chief of Lightwave. He establishes and executes Lightwave's editorial strategy across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products. Before coming to Lightwave in July 2023, he served as editor of Broadband Communities. Earlier, he served as senior editor of FierceTelecom and the editor of the former Telecommunications Magazine. He got his start in the optical industry in 1998 when he became the editor of enterprise and optical networks at Information Gatekeepers. He has a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and lives in Dracut, Mass, with his wife, two sons, and his cat, Dove.
