Strengthening Columbus’ Digital Backbone with 102 Miles of Fiber
Lightpath, an all-fiber, infrastructure-based connectivity provider revolutionizing how organizations connect to their digital destinations, announced its entrance into the third largest data center ecosystem in the Americas: Columbus, Ohio. This move marks a significant milestone in Lightpath’s growth trajectory this year, adding 102 route miles of fiber infrastructure and reinforcing its commitment to delivering high-capacity, low-latency solutions for enterprise, cloud and hyperscale customers.
Making Moves in Columbus
Lightpath is making moves in Columbus by deploying a new, 102-route-mile underground fiber network engineered to support the increasing needs of AI and digital infrastructure. Anchored by a leading hyperscaler, this high-capacity network will enable seamless interconnectivity among strategic data center campuses and the metro corridor.
Columbus has quickly emerged into the third-largest data center ecosystem in the Americas, having 1.8GW active capacity and another 3GW under construction. In response to this growth, Lightpath invested in a multi-conduit, high-fiber-count network to support hyperscalers, enterprises, schools, government agencies, carriers, and wireless providers.
Engineering and design have already commenced, with the network to be completed by mid-2026. Upon completion, Lightpath will have a spectrum of services to offer Columbus, including dark fiber, conduit services, high-speed wavelengths up to 800 Gbps, Ethernet and Internet connectivity.
Investing in AI’s Future
The Columbus network is Lightpath’s second 2025 AI-focused network expansion after it entered the Phoenix market earlier this year. The two networks will help address record-breaking fiber capacity needs driven by AI and emerging digital technologies.
“The Columbus data center ecosystem is expanding rapidly and Lightpath is aggressively pursuing these AI-driven opportunities to support our hyperscale and other strategic partners,” explained Tim Haverkate, EVP of Major Infrastructure Solutions, Lightpath. “Lightpath possesses a unique blend of commercial flexibility, a proven operating and construction capability, and financial capacity to meet the ever-expanding capacity requirements of our customers.”
Lightpath’s dedication to AI-powered infrastructure is supported by its recent achievements, such as $110M in 2024 bookings associated with AI and a pipeline of orders totaling approximately $1B. In addition, this past February, Lightpath officially closed on its purchase of United Fiber and Data assets, further adding to its network inventory.
Stay Connected with Lightpath
Lightpath continues to define the future of digital infrastructure. As AI, cloud, and high-performance computing drive unprecedented network demand, Lightpath’s expansion into Columbus is set to play a key role in future-proofing infrastructure and unlocking new possibilities for businesses in the region. Read the full Columbus announcement here. To learn more about how Lightpath’s AI Infrastructure projects can help your business, call 877-544-4872 or connect with Lightpath on LinkedIn and YouTube.
