3Red8 wants ISPs to use its dark fiber interstate to close the digital divide

Infrastructure company 3Red8 has a plan to build a new open access dark fiber network by 2027 that, like the interstate highway system, will crisscross the U.S. and allow a free flow of traffic from coast to coast and border to border. While 3Red8 itself plans to operate using a wholesale business model, the company eis hoping to partner with internet service providers (ISPs), co-operatives, and municipalities to use their fiber backbone to help close the digital divide. The company is currently planning to run fiber all the way from Los Angeles, California, in the west to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in the east, with a north-south route from Pembina, North Dakota, to Texas City, Texas, pretty much evenly bisecting the country. All told, it’s looking to deploy more than 70,000 route miles of fiber across 18 states, with edge data centers stationed about every 50 miles along the way. Partners on the project include Quanta Telecom, Schneider Electric, Dentons, EDJX, and Deloitte.